If you ask anyone who played the Burnout series they will tell you that Burnout 2 was amazing, but Burnout 3: Takedown was just an all around improvement and the peak of the series.
A Massive Improvement
Everything from the new after touch mechanic after totalling your car to try and cause even more damage, to the excellent soundtrack EA chose, it’s superb.
There was nothing more satisfying than being in a race, pit manoeuvring another driver into a wall and seeing him crash in slow motion and being rewarded with a boost bar almost the size of your whole screen!
Whoever decided that Burnout 3 needed more take downs and crashes than the previous games, was a genius and we hope he got a promotion.
Crash Party
Speaking of Crashing, Burnout 3: Takedown had “Crash events” which could involve speeding towards intersections (Crash Junctions) with the intention of causing as much damage as possible to get a gold medal
Theses event in my eyes had an aspect of puzzle about it as you had to use ramps optimally and collect the correct pickups to increase your score.
You would then be shown a sweeping shot of all the destruction you’ve caused.
Brutal Take Downs
Another crash event had you speeding around a track at high speeds with many other cars, seeing who could get the most brutal take downs before your car completely degraded and you could not cause havoc any longer.
This 2004 release also incorporated the Crash events into Multiplayer, calling it ‘Crash Party’ and used the modes, Team Crush, Double Impact and Party Crash, all fan favourites.
This game knew what was fun, and gave it to you. Without limits.
When you think of Burnout, you should think of this game.
To make it even better, this was in the age before EA would charge you micro transactions at every opportunity.
You just unlock cars and progress naturally as you complete races and events, as you should!
Is Burnout 3 Worth Playing Today?
Seriously, go play it again, it’s still just as much fun as it was back in the day, it still looks great and the most important thing is, its just as much fun as you remember. You’ll have a blast!
