the Burnout series, a discussion

[BulletMagnet]

EA are also trying to put a stop to pre-owned games going on sale in shops like GAME & Gamestation.

Got a link to an article or the like? I hadn't heard that one...

[The n00b]

I liked Burnout:Revenge and Takedown. I also agree that they are not the deepest racing games around. The Burnout series just doesn't have the depth of other arcade racers like Rallisport Challenge, Project Gotham, or Outrun 2. So of course the Burnouts are not going to serve you well if you want something to play for 40+ hours. Of course the games are a riot at parties and that's when I think they come into their own. At parties, people who have never played a videogame are instant masters of burnout and can instantly hold their own against just about anyone.

[BrianC]

Why so much EA whining? They don't have some magic curse they put on games and it seems like they do give developers some freedom on the majority of the games not designed by EA. Yes, they did do some unfair things like getting the exclusive NFL lincense. They do make overrated games, but believe it or not, EA actually does put out some extremely good games.

You forgot to cover them mistreating their workforce, campaigning to raise game prices, trying to foster a monopoly, and other examples of general corporate scum sucking.

And EA ditching the Dreamcast. I actually haven't heard all of those, but I don't like many of EA's business practices. However, that doesn't stop me from liking some of their games. Turrican, I heard that Burnout 2 is better on Xbox and GameCube, but don't quote me on that.

[Ghegs]

At parties, people who have never played a videogame are instant masters of burnout and can instantly hold their own against just about anyone.

Hardly. Again, I can only speak when it comes to Burnout 2, but there's absolutely no question that a skilled player could Combo Boost through a track. A beginner isn't able to do that. There's room for all classes of players in the game. It ain't Pong.

I think I put in 20 or so hours into the game, and I didn't get the last few golds. Had I had some real live competition going (even just comparing times against other players') that could've easily doubled.

[iatneH]

I played Burnout Revenge once or twice when it came out. I'm definitely not suited to playing these games since I take driving pretty seriously....

When I played Need For Speed, I always gas lightly from a stop to get the smoothest acceleration, always drive below 50 km/h and do my best to keep to my lane.... Yeah, I keep losing...

I love Crazy Taxi though!

[maco]

If you’re planning to have a go at beating some of the lap records on Burnout 2, I would recommend getting the GC version for the better analog control, with Xbox second over the PS2 version.

For Crash Mode records definitely get the GC or Xbox version, they both have 15 more courses than the PS2 version and seem to allow higher scoring over the same courses that are available in the PS2 version.

If you’re not planning to play the game competitively, then any version will do if you’re not bothered that the GC and Xbox versions have 15 more crash courses.

[Moogs]

Oh, give me a break.

I don't even want to read thru that whole thing. Burnout's main gimmick from the start was the spectacular crashes, but the first two games (and especially the first) used them as some sort of punishment. Crash your vehicle in Burnout 1. Watch your timer tick down as you're shown all these angles of the wreckage. See yourself trying to avoid touching other vehicles in a game that, really, isn't asking you to.

Granted, Burnout 2 was far improved over the first game. In fact, it's easily my second favourite in the series. It's tight, fast, and focused, especially the "director's cut" version on Xbox. Burnout 3 was also great fun, but that annoying and unskippable announcer ruined the game for me. I let a friend borrow it a while ago, and when I picked up Burnout Revenge, I told him he could just keep Burnout 3.

Burnout Revenge, unashamedly, glorifies the violent and explosive crashes the series is known for; you can now plow thru same-way traffic without fear of being penalised. This is arcade-style racing, people, so I don't understand what the problem is. There are complaints about the tracks being too busy to navigate, but here I am, almost 29 years old and not in possession of the best vision, and I have no problem playing this game. Yes, sometimes you will run into scenery, but why is this an issue? The supersonic speed of the game in addition to the twisting and winding tracks makes the game challenging. I'd rather get that white-knuckled, sweaty-palmed fear from the environments rather than a bunch clones of VW vans that I can't so much as graze without my car imploding. But, hey, whatever.

Not once have I heard or read anything from anyone that suggests that the first two Burnout games are superior to the last two. I'm not saying that no one can feel that way, I just find it odd that with the surfacing of this article, all of a sudden, all these people pop out of the woodwork and agree with it.

There's nothing wrong with any of the Burnout games. This seems like vitriol fueled by hatred for EA more than anything else.

[The n00b]

Oh, give me a break.

I don't even want to read thru that whole thing.

....

Not once have I heard or read anything from anyone that suggests that the first two Burnout games are superior to the last two. I'm not saying that no one can feel that way, I just find it odd that with the surfacing of this article, all of a sudden, all these people pop out of the woodwork and agree with it.

There's nothing wrong with any of the Burnout games. This seems like vitriol fueled by hatred for EA more than anything else.

O Rly?

[Fighter17]

Sooner or later more Burnout sequels will come out until the series will lost its fire. In about 10-20 years, the developer of Burnout will be shut down by EA. MMMMM, this pattern always happens to EA over the last ten years.

[Moogs]

Oh, give me a break.

I don't even want to read thru that whole thing.

....


O Rly?

I don't want to.

Doesn't mean I didn't. Excuse me for using the wrong verb tense.

[neorichieb1971]

I played B2 this morning and I have to say I was extremely frustrated.

In most of the races, I could crash only once just before the winning line and 2nd place would overtake me. I break all the records but get a silver.

Yet replaying the same track, I can crash up to 6 times and get first place and gold.

The initial cars are crap, I aint got to the super cars yet which is where the game really shines.

The audio in B2 is terrible, the music is ok but the drone noise of the engine is off putting, and using the police car drives me nuts with that siren going all through the game.


I would say B2 is a good game, but it really needed better cars to start with and its unfortunate that its easier to win by bouncing all over the place. I prefer the stages with cross traffic and long corners.

[dementia]

B2 fans, what's the word on the Legends compilation for PSP?

[incognoscente]

using the police car drives me nuts with that siren going all through the game.

Press the horn button to turn off the siren. You might have to press it twice, I can't remember.

[Moogs]

B2 fans, what's the word on the Legends compilation for PSP?

If you can get past the foolishly long load times and the fact that, unless you turn off the soundtrack, you get odd little pauses during a race when a song changes... well.. still not really worth $50.

Just buy a console version.

[Damocles]

I just picked up Burnout 3 along with Mercenaries and Capcom Classics Collection yesterday and I must say that Burnout has proved to be quite fun. It's true that you will occasionally run into stuff that you did not see. However, this isn't as much of a problem as many people make it out to be. Interestingly enough, the game "suffers" from the same problem as Mario Kart DS, in that all the races are close. It really doesn't matter if you're in first and have a full boost bar. You'll never build up much of a lead due to the so-called rubberband AI. When I first heard people discussing MKDS, I couldn't help but shudder....until I played Burnout. I noticed it in Outrun 2 (which I was slightly disappointed in), but in Burnout 3 it seems more prevalent. However, in practice it's not such a big deal. If this was a hardcore sim I would be pissed. However, the point of Burnout 3 is dueling with your opponents, so it *should* always be a duel.

*shrug* That's my take, take it as you will.

Oh yeah...thank god they put autofire on the Capcom Collection.

[Obiwanshinobi]

So, is Burnout 2 for the 'Cube ANY better than the PS2 version? The latter seems easier to come by cheap, but I just fancy having one more racer for my Wii. As for the controller, I actually like F-Zero GX better with a DualShock 2 via adapter than the actual 'Cube joypad. Not sure why (the controls feel equally twitchy either way). Mario Kart Wii also felt just right with a DS2. Not sure about the first Burnout (I've got the GC version, but only played it briefly while drunk).

Burnout 3 was also great fun, but that annoying and unskippable announcer ruined the game for me.

I know it's a fairly old post, but one can totally switch him off, as well as any track on the radio.