Burnout Revenge was originally released on the Xbox in 2004 and it certainly made a big impact when it was launched, scoring high amongst the gaming press and even winning awards. The Burnout series is very popular and has a large following and although Burnout: Revenge is the fourth instalment of the series It’s ok if you haven’t played any of the previous games and are a newcomer. There is no storyline and the arcade style of the game means players can get into the game straight away. The announcement from EA that they were to bring it to the next generation platform on the Xbox 360 brought mixed feelings amongst Burnout fans, on one hand they would be getting a better looking game but on the other hand most of the content is just the same, so its mainly the same game with a fresher look if you played the Xbox version already.

GAMEPLAY

There are several game types in the game, so you cant really call Burnout a racing game as such, just more of a car game. There are race challenges, but also revenge challenges – where you have to cause a certain amount of cars to crash; traffic check challenges – here you have to use your boost to ram as many cars off the road or there is my personal favourite, crash mode. In crash mode there is a stream of traffic, AI controlled which is usually based around a junction. The player has to drive their car as fast as possible into the traffic to cause a major crash. Each piece of damage done to the players’ car and the computer controlled cars puts up the total amount of damage caused in dollars; the bigger the crash means the more dollars. The cars in the game are fairly easy to control, as controls are responsive however you wont be turning many challenging or sharp corners and if you do you should try and drift round them. This game is probably the furthest thing away from a realistic racing simulation. By performing manoeuvres like drifts or driving towards oncoming traffic, it builds up your boost meter which allows you to use a boost; the boosting feature is very similar to what you’d expect from a nitrous oxide effect in a video game. It gives your car an increase in speed but also a nice screen shake and blur effect kicks in, giving the player a real sense of speed which is quite a thrill! The learning curve is quite balanced as well, since most of the tracks are very wide and open, you don’t have to have the same sort of reactions as other racing games, say for example Project Gotham Racing where timing the braking is crucial for corners. It shouldn’t take that long for players to get used to the blazingly fast speeds in the game. The same game modes apply online, but some people may argue that it is a bit more thrilling racing against friends than just racing against the computer. There are many different cars to unlock and choose from, where each class has their own advantages and disadvantages, for example a heavy vehicle, like a pickup truck will take out other cars easier and be harder to barge off the road than say a lighter sports car, however the lighter cars handle better and go faster. I mentioned previously that the majority of the tracks are easy to navigate, however one problem here is that it doesn’t allow for much variation, so some of the tracks do feel too similar. The online play is well done, you can share burnout clips with other players and download them as well, there’s even a top 20 downloaded chart, so if you have had an amazing crash for example, you could save the replay and send it to a friend.

GRAPHICS

Part of the transition from Xbox to Xbox 360 involved a major graphic upgrade. The cars have more detail and the explosions & crashes are far more extravagant. The environments and car damage have also been noticeably improved. The game is very colourful, you could be driving a nice vibrant blue car, then your opponents could have bright red paint or a metallic grey car which is very pleasing to the eyes and adds a little more excitement to the game even if just for variation sake. The explosions are excellent, very well presented with plenty of fire and visible shockwaves. When you are trying to take out an opponent, the chances are you will barge into him from the side which scratches your paintwork and puts dents in your car, this is shown well in the game and is very detailed; the scratches in particular, if you’ve had a very contact heavy race. The motion blur effect creates a real sense of speed, this coupled together with the sound of a very highly revved engine is definitely an exciting visceral gaming experience.

SOUND

The soundtrack for Burnout Revenge is brilliant; in fact it nearly warrants the purchase of the game just for the soundtrack itself! There are 41 songs to choose from, most from well known bands. There is a mix of genres, so hopefully something here to suit everyone; however in my opinion it does seem to be slightly dominated by metal/nu-rock songs, however overall it is very fitting in regards to the style of game. The car sounds are equally impressive, although some sound alike, the engine noise and the revving of the engine, especially in boost mode, is brilliant and really helps towards the overall racing/driving experience.

LONGETIVITY

If you like to play for achievement points, this game will keep you going for a while. If you are just a casual gamer, then to complete the single player will still take time; however since the achievements are for perfecting the various stages, it wont take as long. For completing challenges, you will receive stars and after so many the next stage is unlocked. There are heaps of challenges, I was really impressed by the amount and it constantly changes, so the first challenge might be a race, but the next could be a crash challenge. The online portion of the game seems very similar to the single player, except of course there are no AI opponents. If you have Xbox live, this will obviously increase the longevity of the game. There are a lot of cars to unlock as well, which will add on to the already large amount of time the game will need to complete.

OVERALL

Burnout Revenge does what it’s trying to do very well. It is a thrilling fast-paced racer with plenty of adrenaline. The upgrade to a next generation platform has definitely done what was already a brilliant title, good. If you fancy something different, something exciting then Burnout won’t disappoint. For people who prefer the more realistic side of racers, then I suggest you stay away. If you owned Burnout on the Xbox and have fond memories, but are unsure whether just the graphics upgrade is worth a purchase, because very little content was added, then it is a decision which might be based on what your friends are playing. For anyone who is thinking about buying the game, there is a free market place demo available.