Get ready to go head-to-head on Xbox. Get the scoop on the best sports games from Operation Sports Managing Editor Shawn Drotar. In addition to writing previews, reviews, and the site's blog, "Splinters From The Pine," Shawn is proud to provide exclusive coverage for Xbox.com. He can be contacted at shawn@operationsports.com.

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Burnout 3: Takedown: World Tour

Want to sample everything that the exciting Burnout® 3: Takedown™ offers? Of course you do—and so the Burnout 3 World Tour is for you. The deep single-player experience is the highlight of the game, and takes you to three different continents as you try to get the gold in nearly 200 different exciting events. As you win events, you unlock more powerful cars and different event series.

Pumping up the heat.

The different series are:

• Compact
• Muscle
• Coupe
• Sports
• Super
• Special
• Heavyweights

Each series contains faster vehicles that are even more fun and challenging to race with, with the exception of Heavyweights, which can be used in Crash events (see last week's Crash 'n Burnout for more details). Think you could do more damage with a commuter bus or a fire truck? I don’t know, it's possible—in any case, you'll have a lot of fun finding out!

Jockeying for position.

Crash events comprise roughly 40% of the World Tour events, but they go by quickly, and the crash junctions you unlock can then be used in any of the Multiplayer Crash modes—along with any of your unlocked vehicles.

The rest of the seven other race event types are varied, and keep the game fresh and exhilarating, even dozens of hours into it. Let's touch on each of them here.

• Race: This is exactly what you'd expect. Get to the finish line first by battling for position against your opponents.
• Grand Prix: You earn points for each finish in a series of races—the better you finish, the higher you score. Earn the most total points in the Grand Prix to win.
• Eliminator: This one's a blast. Literally. In this race, the last-place car in each lap explodes, ending their race. Stay near the front of the pack, or you'll be sorry!
• Face Off: This is a simple, point-to-point race against one other car. If you win, you unlock the opponent's ride. Be warned, however—the A.I. is very aggressive and tries to cause wrecks at every opportunity. This is one of the game's more challenging race types.
• Road Rage: While Takedown is a great stress reliever already, this mode brings it to a new level. You're given a target number of cars to take down. They have arrows over them as you hunt them along the course and smash them into tiny little pieces. Your car takes damage, too, so get as many of them as you can before your car becomes un-drivable.
• Burning Lap: This one's easy to learn. There's a target time set—get in your ride and beat it to win the event. Those times are tough to hit, however. If you wipe out more than once or twice, you probably won't make it, so near-flawless driving is essential.
• Special Events: As you progress through the game, these come available from time to time, but I won't spoil the surprises for you here!

Obstacle ahead … prepare to swerve.

On top of all that, Burnout 3 keeps track of every imaginable statistic, and you can unlock career trophies, Signature Takedowns, and Crash Headlines. The World Tour is the destructive, explosive, and fantastic gift that keeps on giving!

Get your World Tour started today. You'll be happy you did.

Article by Shawn Drotar, Managing Editor, OperationSports.com