[i]Burnout 3: Takedown[/i] and [i]Burnout: Revenge[/i] are probably my favorite racing games. Their ultra-fast pace is unmatched, and the amount of destruction in a racing game is amazing. This recipe equals awesomeness, and [i]Burnout Legends[/i] is almost the same.
[i]Burnout Legends[/i] came out when [i]Revenge[/i] did, and [i]Revenge[/i] offered a lot of new things compared to [i]Takedown[/i], and I was sort of expecting to see some of them (such as traffic-dodging). Sadly, I did not see these features, as [i]Legends[/i] is the best of the first three [i]Burnout[/i] games.
The game works a lot like [/i]Burnout 3[/i]. Many of the people who played the first three [i]Burnout[/i] games said that the first two did not get nearly as much emphasis as the third. EA probably has a lot to do with this, as they were not involved in the first two games. Most of the maps are from [i]Burnout 3[/i], which can get boring really fast for the people who played a lot of [i]Takedown[/i]. The races usually consist of three laps, and this, too, can be boring and repetitive. You can do signature takedowns, but they aren’t that spectacular.
Crash mode, obviously, is a lot more simplistic on this PSP best-of. There are no cash pickups, and it is very easy to receive gold medal. There is not a lot of destruction going on, but what does is pretty amazing for a handheld.
Road rage is still a fun mode. In this, you need to go and takedown as many opponents within a specified time limit-usually two minutes or so. This is probably the best part of the game but can get very tedious after a few races.
Pursuit mode reminded me of [i]Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit[/i]. I expected the same (getting chased or chasing), and I ended up being the cop. I didn’t really like the cop cars; I feel that they were not fast as they ought to be and crash too easily. This mode got boring for me very fast, and it was my least favorite mode. However, some of the takedowns I made (because that’s how you ‘arrest’ the opponent) were quite beautiful.
As you race, you unlock different kinds of car classes: Compact, Muscle, Coupe, Sport, Super, Race Special, Heavyweight and Collector. Sadly, about three-fourths of the collector cars are only available in multiplayer, which is a real shame if you don’t have friends who own PSPs or [i]Burnout Legends[/i].
[i]Burnout Legends[/i] is a pretty good game. The graphics are awesome-the PSP just keeps amazing me from game to game. The graphics are better than the games I saw on the PS1. One thing that can be annoying, though, is that sometimes the game freezes for a second or two.
The sound of the cars is all right-nothing special. The music, for me, was pretty bland and boring, since I am not a fan of the college-rock genre, or whatever the music was playing during the game. You can’t upload your own music, which would’ve meant A LOT to me-a possible difference in the ratings. I think that, at least for me, it is much more enjoyable going around and listening to some Iron Maiden or Ozzy than listening to some no-name, college-rock, wannabe punk band.
In my opinion, you should rent this game if you don’t have anyone to play it with. Spend your money on [i]Burnout Revenge[/i] instead if you are so desperate for a [i]Burnout[/i]. Even if you play [i]Takedown[/i], you’ll basically get the same experience minus Pursuit mode (but for the Pursuit mode, you have the [i]Need for Speed[/i] games). If you play alone, the game can get tedious, and [i]Burnout[/i] just doesn’t quite feel like [i]Burnout[/i] on the PSP. We all know EA, and we know that there WILL be a sequel or another [i]Burnout[/i] for the PSP, and hopefully it will be better and contain some of the things [i]Revenge[/i] has to offer.
Since Criterion makes [i]Burnout[/i], it is almost a [i]guarantee[/i] that the next [i]Burnout[/i] on the PSP will be superior, if the console games are an indication. On the other hand, if you have friends who have PSPs, buy [i]Burnout Legends[/i] because you will have a lot of fun.
