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Sept. 24, 2005 Video game road ragers, rejoice! Electronic Arts recently released “Burnout Revenge”, the fourth installment of the popular racing series, under its EA brand. For veterans of the series, “Revenge” combines the best of last year’s hit, “Burnout 3: Takedown”, and the older “Burnout 2: Point of Impact”, while adding a few twists of its own to the mix. And the results are very sweet indeed. The biggest, and most ballyhooed, change to the “Burnout” formula is the ability to use same-way traffic as a weapon. Now, cars and light trucks going your way can be bumped into rivals to cause takedowns and to earn the boost you’ll need to stay ahead of the pack. You can also score boost by using that traffic to knock out big rigs and buses in your lane or rack up trick shots by hitting vehicles coming the opposite direction. There are other some other new wrinkles in “Revenge” as well. The Eliminator race has been changed so that racers are eliminated after 30 seconds, instead of at the end of a lap as in previous versions of “Burnout”. Crashbreakers, which were introduced in “Takedown”, can now be used along with the Aftertouch, the ability to steer your car after it’s been wrecked, in races later in your career, giving you the opportunity to take out multiple rivals at once. And in Crash Mode, where you get to wreak havoc on busy streets, cars are now launched using a golf-swing meter. Set the power and the accuracy just so, and you burn off the line to start a disaster. Get the timing wrong, though, and when you blow the engine, an invisible audience laughs mockingly at your misfortune. This is especially true of the mobile diner, dressed up in the colors of Carl’s Jr., and a utility van dressed up with the Criterion logo. Single-play action involves earning stars to advance through ten ranks of “Revenge” mayhem, and includes race events like the Eliminator, Traffic Attack, Road Rage, and Grand Prix (a series of races where points earned determine the winner). Multi-player events include Crash Battle and Crash Party, which give players the chance to see who can do the most damage in a crash situation. EA has also packed away a couple special unlockable goodies, as a reward for owning other Electronic Arts games. If “Revenge” detects a “Takedown” save file while it is loading, it gives you a slick hot rod, the Dominator Assassin, to use in Crash Mode. If it detects a “Madden NFL 06” save, you get to crash with the Madden Challenge van. Veterans of the “Burnout” series, which Electronic Arts secured from the now-defunct Acclaim beginning with “Takedown”, will have a field day with the new freedom they have and the wide variety of racing venues. Novices will be able to pick up the game and have fun right away. “Revenge” was well worth the wait, and the price ($49.99 MSRP) for me, and will keep video game races glued to their games for some time to come. “Burnout Revenge” is rated E 10+ for violence by the ESRB. For more on “Revenge”, visit http://www.eagames.com/official/burnout/revenge/us/home.jsp ------------ About the author: Claxton Graham has written a number of articles for Useless Knowledge. He works as a business systems analyst. Email: scifiwriter8502@email.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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