First Encounter

By Steve Richter

Don't give me the "dish served cold" … after laying my hands on an early build of Burnout Revenge™, it's obvious that vengeance is best savored piping hot. (As proof, witness the primal roar that rises in your throat as you watch belching flames and showers of sparks pour from the wreckage of an opponent you've just run into the wall.) After all, everyone loves crashing faux luxury autos; the prequel Burnout® 3: Takedown™ established that much. But if there's anything the game's successor—featuring livelier backgrounds, sharper visuals, and a shameless emphasis on vehicular combat—teaches, it's this: random violence pays … literally. Granted though, the real bounty here is definitely bigger in terms of thumb-numbing adrenaline rushes.

Another one bites the dust.

The game's most obvious upgrade is massively enhanced artificial intelligence. Rival drivers aren't just smart, they're downright conniving. While, in a nod to realism, you occasionally see adversaries make mistakes, randomly skidding into storefronts or other motorists, these guys seldom go gentle into that good night. In fact, during races, other drivers can't help but get up in your grill. Bank on being bumped from behind, ground into medians, and thrust toward buses at every turn. Just when you think the coast is clear, WHAM—that's when a Ferrari clone comes sailing into view from off-screen, slamming you into the path of an oncoming tanker.

Keep on truckin'.

Blame the game's setup; you earn additional juice for turbo boosts (and increase the size of the turbo storage meter) the more opponents you obliterate. So while crossing the finish line first—and scoring enough points to earn a bronze, silver, or gold ranking, thereby opening additional rides and stages—is a noble goal, there's just one hitch: You have to be an absolute bastard to get ahead.

Even after accounting for your rivals' underhanded nature, the action's still nastier than the average Two Live Crew concert. Why? Because competitors hold grudges. If the icon above their head is blue, everything's cool … they'll just make themselves a nuisance. But if it's red … you've obviously done the particular portion of assembly code controlling this car a grievous wrong. Prepare to be harassed, hamstrung, and annoyed at every turn. Happily, bumping and grinding with assailants (or just introducing them to the random tree trunk) helps build a revenge meter, allowing for monster takedowns.

Beautiful symphonies of destruction result from such antics, too. Look around you—the city streets you cruise at speeds so fast they cause instant screen blur positively teem with life. Sedans, semis, and vans all go about their daily routine, pausing only to shatter or explode into twisted scrap when you rear-end them. The new multi-tiered course setups are perfect for wreaking havoc as well—drive through buildings, on top of parking lots, and make death-defying leaps between structures using strategically placed ramps. Punch the nitrous and scream up the side of an aqueduct, soar above a stretch of interstate, then land on the second story of a local office building. Don't even get me started on shortcuts … the path branches in multiple directions almost every 100 feet.

Pray you never see the mechanic's bill.

Hmm … wonder what's behind that gate?

My favorite trick so far: building up the Crashbreaker bar by torching rivals, then, upon impacting with an obstacle thanks to an A.I. wheelman's efforts, activating an explosive effect that annihilates them as well. The Aftertouch system also comes in handy—in the seconds following a collision, hold the A button and use the D-pad or left thumbstick to manually steer your car's wreckage into competitors. Nail one or more troublemakers (especially those holding a grudge) via this method and you recover from crashes with tons of turbo boost power left, instead of suffering the usual meter-emptying penalty. What's more, style's everything when attempting an assassination, as collision recaps are shown via slow-motion video clips. Master the above functions, and with the right combination of pile-up, wipe out all your opponents in a single massive conflagration. Afterwards, relive every grin-inducing second through the killer replay features.

Payback's a ... er, forget it.

An all-new Traffic Attack mode also makes a fine addition to the roster. The premise: starting with 99 seconds of play time, hurtle down random roadways, bowling over anything in your path. The more destruction you cause (dollar values are displayed with every hit), the better. Gain additional time and replenish the turbo meter by boosting and smashing into cars headed in the same direction. In other words, collide with everything besides oncoming vehicles and larger conveyances (trucks, trailers, etc.), which result in time-wasting setbacks. During other play modes, similar principles apply—kick into high gear and try playing bumper cars … it's a riot!

That's one way to catch a bus …

The game also boasts some amazing audiovisuals. The hard rock soundtrack simply screams, squealing tires and screeching metal echo through the speaker channels, and roadsters shimmer alluringly in the afternoon sun or twilight twinkle. Environments are photorealistic, and filled with objects—barrels, barriers, signs—you can knock over. Visit a town such as Detroit, and get blown away by the level of detail as grit covers the pavement, industrial complexes loom in the distance, and abandoned warehouses suddenly give up their secrets. Swing through Tokyo instead and as far as the eye can see, the scenery's all neon-lit highways, intertwining tunnels, illuminated billboards, and towering skyscrapers.

Good luck keeping your eyes on the road.

For now though, just know this—with badass crash-specific stages, more intuitive handling, and six-player online options, I'm already salivating. Burnout Revenge is going to be one wild ride.