As I said on Sunday, I recently re-purchased Burnout: Revenge for the Xbox 360. When I first got it, I had only just finished Burnout: Revenge on the old Xbox, so I was not really motivated to play through it again. I was probably suffering from Burnout BURNOUT lol! Some time has passed now though, and coupled with the measly 20/1000 Gamerscore I had amassed the first time around, and having a hankering for a driving game, I thought I’d give it another go.
I remember when it first came out, none of us on Random Fury were too impressed with Revenge. We had played Burnout: Takedown to death online (sometimes we’d even skip Halo 2 and go straight to Burnout you know), and this new one just seemed a bit too different, if you know what I mean. But coming into it with a clear head this time, I enjoyed it from the off a lot more. Sure, the cars lack personality compared to the previous games (I fucking loved that little green car), and they all look a little samey (even the names of the cars are dull and generic), but I got over that by concentrating on the game itself and the challenge it presented.
I’m by no means the best driver in the world (or player of racing games at that), but I’m getting through it at a nice pace. Only one event has proved really tricky so far – the preview lap in the sixth tier of events (racing the Criterion Racer GT around White Mountain), but it was the sweetest 30g’s of the game so far when I finally nailed it. I got a bit ahead of myself and did all of the Crash Junctions as soon as I unlocked a new tier, I couldn’t help myself, I just love them. A handy tip is that if you are finding an early event too tough, or just want some extra oomph, go to the highest tier available and get a Bronze (or better, if you like) medal in one of the Traffic Attack events that unlock a new car. Doing some of the lower tier events with a top tier car really gives you an edge. I just have the last two tiers to go, but I’m in no hurry to finish it off as I’m enjoying it very much. I won’t bother with the online Achievements as (I said before) I’m not the greatest of racing gamers.
I love the weighty clout of the vehicles juxtaposed with their fragility, I love the feeling of speed that no other racing game comes close to matching, and I love how it has the best drifting model in any racing game I’ve ever played. I love how Burnout has a vernacular all of it’s own. Other players are “Rivals”, ramming non-competing traffic is called “Checking”, smash an opponent off the road for a “Takedown”, it’s all very well thought out.
What next though? I have re-downloaded the Burnout: Paradise demo – I tried it when it was first released and I was not too impressed, but given that I’ve gone back to this and loved it, maybe I could get my head around a new, free-roaming Burnout. I gave it a whirl and it seems a whole lot more weighty than the previous games, slightly more realistic you could say, given how extreme the crashes got in Revenge. I’m interested, to say the least.
Next stop: Paradise?
