Review:
BURNOUT LEGENDS
Genre: Racing
Publisher: EA Games
Players: 1-6 (AD Hoc)
Online play: No
Firmware: 1.52
Video:
Windows Media Player:
Burnout Legends - Trailer
QuickTime Player:
Burnout Legends - Trailer
It could only have been a matter of time before a Burnout title made its way to the PSP, and so it has with Burnout Legends. This style of arcade racing suits the PSP superbly. For those who are new to the Burnout series, this is an original experience of street racing madness, speed and aggression. Speed limits, tail gating and road rage are all rules and laws which need to be broken to do well in this game. The designers of the game, Criterion, have once again made another action packed racer to be enjoyed by anyone and everyone.
Burnout Legends is not exactly a port of an existing Burnout title, however most of its gameplay elements have been copied from the console title Burnout 3 Takedown. This includes all of the cars, tracks and race types in Burnout 3, such as Eliminator, Race, Grand Prix, Face Off, Road Rage and Crash Events. And some cars and tracks from the original Burnout and Burnout 2: Point Of Impact, have also made a pleasant reappearance for any Burnout veterans.
Sadly, you’re only up against 3 rivals during race events. This is not because Criterion decided to be lazy, but because the PSP would not be able to process the usual 6 racers as on the console versions. This makes Eliminator races quite a bit shorter and easier, but overall this isn’t such a big deal. We’re still playing Burnout!
The visual isn’t quite up to par with the console versions either, but for a handheld game we can’t argue for much more. Due to the high-speed racing in Burnout, it is important to have a clear and detailed image of the track ahead, which has proved to be quite challenging for the game designers at Criterion. It is clear that they have brightened the headlights and taillights of civilian vehicles so that they appear more visible up ahead. The sound is reasonable, but has proved not to be an essential necessity to the game.
The controls are pretty easy and comfortable for the duration of each race event, and the handling of the cars are appropriate to the racing arcade-style of the game, neither being too twitchy or too sluggish. An infrequent glitch has occurred a couple of times while I’ve been playing Burnout Legends, once when my car got permanently stuck to the left side of a rival car, and the other time when I boosted myself furiously off the track and into nothingness! However, I have completed this game 3 times now and they have been the only problems I have encountered during that time.
Infrastructure mode isn’t available on Burnout Legends which is a great shame, but the multiplayer games available via AD Hoc, which can support up to 6 players is brilliant. Here you can find all the classic multiplayer games, such as Race, Double Impact and Party Crash to choose from. Game sharing has also been added to Burnout Legends which can give you an enjoyable taster to the game’s multiplayer racing.
The success of this game is similar to that of Virtua Tennis and LocoRoco. These games are all kept very simple, yet offer so much fun at the same time. No uncomfortable or complex controls are needed for the game style of these games. Burnout Legends is a fast and destructive racing game and that’s pretty much it. We’re given a variety of different game modes to keep us interested and multiplayer offers yet another level of gameplay. A strong buy for anyone really.
The verdict:
Uppers:
- Burnout series on PSP
- Hardcore arcade racing
- Popular tracks, cars and events from past Burnout titles
Downers:
- No online play
- The very occasional glitch
- You might already have Burnout 3 Takedown
Overall score: 85%
Henry
01/02/2007
Linear Mode
