Reviews// Burnout: Revenge (Xbox 360)

Another example of the dumbing down of Burnout can be seen in the ratings system, which irks a little, reflecting as it does the blight of "cup is always full" have-a-nice-day optimism that besmirches much of the world today. Just like you can only buy coffee in "Large", "Extra Double Venti Large" and "Bismillarge, Mama Mia" sizes these days, Revenge rates your Gold performances as Perfect (as if you could not possibly have gone faster, lasted longer or caused more crash wreckage), awesome, and GRRRRREAT!!11!!ONEONE. Actually it says GREAT, without any exclams, or the Tony the Tiger emphasis, but you get the point. The thing is, everyone's a winner baby, that's no lie. But IT IS A LIE. There's first place and loser. This is the lesson the eighties taught us, greed is good, there are winners and there are losers, and no-one loves a loser (Except, maybe Sera in Leaving Las Vegas). But now it's become apparent that life's winners are the likes of Donald Trump who makes more money in interest before breakfast every day than you or I will make in our lifetimes, Paris Hilton who gets paid more for flaunting her astonishing lack of talent and frankly plain looks on TV for 15 minutes than we'd get paid if we sold our hearts for transplant surgery, and the celebrity equivalent of shit wallpaper, Chantelle. So to avoid a revolution, the evil marketeers have decided to portray matters as if there are winners and other, different, winners. But lets face it, second place is first loser. Society is trying so hard to hide this, with it's not-worth-the-paper-they're-printed-on qualifications, and everyone gets to go to college inclusivity. But it's a lesson kids have to learn, and one that Burnout Revenge is determined not to teach them.

Another element of the game that has changed is that you can now use boost as soon as it's earned. Rather than work to fill your boost bar before it can be used. The result of this is that you can start almost any race by drifting into oncoming traffic and then have boost at your disposal for pretty much the entire race. More dumbing down.

The music for the game is, for this reviewer, inferior to the previous outing, and seems to have a more dance floor orientated mix, featuring LCD Soundsystem, Timo Mass and a dodgy Doors remix among more indie fare such as Dead 60s and Black Velvets. But there's probably something there for everyone. But gone is the wondrously inane banter of the DJ that made Burnout 2 so funny and irritating.

So dumbed down and polished up... Burnout Revenge is - depending on which side of the Takedown/Traffic Checking debate you favour - either the best Burnout yet or an example of diminishing returns, as more features are rammed into an already excellent game.

Burnout: Revenge's main failing though, is the placement of your car back on the track after an accident. On occasion this is a total con. You can find yourself travelling at 160 miles per hour towards an obstacle that you are unavoidably going to hit before your brain has even deciphered what it is, and where you are. This seems to happen when you're placed back on the track just before it splits for one of the many "short-cuts" in the game. The game engine seems to try and put you back in such a way that you have the choice of routes, but usually you just stack into the dividing scenery.

To be honest, SPOnG isn't sure which side of the fence we're on. On the one hand, we think that maybe the lily has been gilded, but on the other hand, we can't put the joypad down. This is largely due to the beautiful lighting effects, fabulous car models and great track designs of Revenge. The cars themselves are the usual bunch of unlicensed models, but the petrol-heads among us can name what most of them are "inspired" by. We can't help but think that what the world really needs is Burnout 2's gameplay, with Revenge's tracks and resolution. But for now, we'll take what we're given.

SPOnG score: A-

Fabulous looking and damned near un-putdownable, Burnout: Revenge is a marvellous game. It's easy to spot its flaws, but they rarely stand in the way of your enjoyment. Sure the emphasis has shifted heavily from the first couple of games in the series, and the game now sits firmly in the arcade racer camp, with any semblance of realism thrown out of the window. But the result is just plain gorgeous and massively addictive. The 360 version is an excellent example of what the console is capable of, and it's the first game that has made SPOnG want to take the office 360 home, or even to buy our own. If you have a 360 - get this game now.