More Thoughts From Me #22: Crash & Burn

I’m not a realistic racing game fan. You can keep Forza and the rest. For me, the best racers are the unrealistic ones like Need For Speed, Mario Kart, and my all-time favorite: Burnout! Today, I want to talk about Burnout and why I think its so cool.

I don’t drive in real life. I tried to learn, but I was terrible at it. Believe me when I say that we are all much safer with me not on the road. And when it comes to realistic racing games, I’m terrible at those too. I’ve tried Forza and other ones like it. I always tend to drift to the side and hit other cars too much. So, I stay away from realistic car games and much prefer the unrealistic ones. My favorite is the game where you are encouraged to bump into other cars and crash them (and yourself). I’m talking about the Burnout franchise of course.

My first Burnout game was the one on the PS2 called Burnout Takedown (I don’t think I ever played the earlier ones). The game was fast and the crashes were spectacular. I think Takedown is still my favorite of the Burnout games because of the Crash mode, which wasn’t included in the later games. Crash mode had you driving into the center of an intersection and crashing as many other cars as possible. It was really amazing how many cars would pile up in that intersection. It was a shame that this cool mode didn’t return in other Burnout games. Though, the other Burnout games do have their good points!

My next Burnout game was Burnout Revenge. This game had even better graphics then Takedown (it was still on the PS2) and the crashes looked even more spectacular.  The courses had branching paths too, which was a first for the series. Revenge was a lot of fun. I missed the Crash mode, but I still liked this game a bunch. The next game I played was probably my least favorite in the franchise, but it was still a very cool game.

Burnout Paradise is the last Burnout game I played and the last to be produced (at least so far). I played Paradise on the Xbox 360. I liked how the game had an online mode where you could race around with people and talk to them. I also like the more open environment. That said, the game didn’t really feel like the old Burnout. Sure, you could crash your car and crash other people, but it didn’t have the same spectacular feel to it that Takedown and Revenge had. The more open environment also made it feel like a Grand Theft Auto game at times. I’m not saying its a bad game, as I mentioned there were great things about it (including the graphics), but it was definitely my least favorite game of the franchise. And I guess it didn’t sell too well because EA hasn’t done a new Burnout game in awhile…

Will Burnout ever return? I’m not sure, but I hope it does. I’d love to see the franchise go back to its roots and be more linear. I think the new game should include a bunch of cool modes like the Crash mode from Takedown, online versus and online co-op, and a bunch of other modes. Burnout would definitely make a cool party game, much like Mario Kart. Who doesn’t like crashing cars? In games. Crashing cars in games….yeah….exactly….

Hey, aren’t you glad I don’t drive in real life?

So, what do you think of the Burnout franchise? Did you like it too? What is your favorite Burnout game?

Next week: Its E3 week! You can expect a few More Thoughts From Me Special Editions next week. One will be focused on Microsoft, one on Sony, and possibly two on Nintendo. And maybe a column to wrap up the week on Friday if I’m not too tired. I’ll be posting news too. Oh man. I’m getting tired even thinking about next week!

More Thoughts From Me is an opinion column. All of the thoughts presented here are mine and mine alone. I don’t think anyone else at Games Reviews has even heard about Burnout. Though, I could be wrong. I’m often wrong, as you all know. Hey shut up.