|
Burnout Legends
There is little denying that the Burnout
series is one of the fastest and most addictive racing experiences on
the market. While with Acclaim, Criterion provided a glimpse of the
greatness that were to come in the future. Now with EA, and I'm sure a
substantial budget increase, the Burnout series has become legendary.
From the consoles to the PSP, there is little lost in translation in
Burnout Legends.
Taking the series award winning speed, action, attitude and using tracks
from Burnout, Burnout 2, and Burnout 3, gaming on the go has never been
so much fun. If there is a downfall to the title on a whole is that
gamers who are currently playing Burnout Revenge may have to re-adjust
to not being able to bully cars off the road from behind because in
Burnout Legends any car collision is a crash. Otherwise, there is little
to complain about in Burnout Legends and tons to praise.
The gameplay, like in any good Burnout game, is flawless. You would
think that a game that moves so fast and has so much crash potential
would be frustrating and sloppy. For some reason that logic never has
taken form with the Burnout series and Burnout Legends, even on a
smaller scale, plays just as well as its big brothers. You have all the
speed, all the crashes and all the modes including - Crash, Pursuit,
Burning Lap, Road Rage, Eliminator, Race, Time attack, Legends Face Off
and Legends GP.
You even have wireless Multiplayer action for up to four players in
Race, Crash, Pursuit and Road Rage modes. Want more? How about an all
new championship structure, a progression system that offers frequent
rewards keeping gamers coming back for quick bursts on the go. But
that's not all, you even have unlockable surprises in Burnout Legends,
such as 25 unlockable cars, 5 of which you receive randomly depending on
your specific copy of Burnout, with the other 20 unlocked by hooking up
with friends via WiFi and playing challenges.
Visually Burnout Legends is impressive. You have everything that Burnout
3 had visually, just at a smaller scale. This includes car reflections,
wall scraping, ridiculous speeds, awesome frame rate and metal bending
crashes that are only exceeded by the replay cameras offered. The
redesigned tracks from the previous Burnout titles are great to race on
again even if you have played the prior games to death. The car models
also impress, even if they are not licensed by auto manufactures.
The presentation of Burnout Legends is also great, giving gamers the old
school map track selector which was my favourite in Burnout 3. Choosing
your next destination is a little wonky in Burnout Revenge, so I was
happy to see the Burnout 3 way of choosing your route back in full
effect. Overall, you will only be disappointed slightly if you are
expecting something completely new, otherwise this is Burnout at its
core and at its best.
Audio in Burnout Legends is exactly what you would expect from this
series, nothing more, and nothing less. You have car crushing crash
effects, high revving engine sounds, and your typical love it or hate it
EA Trax music which we simply adore. Some of the sound effects from
Burnout Revenge even make it into the game such as the cheering crowds
after a massive crash.
In conclusion, Burnout Legends is easily going to be one of the defining
car games for the PSP that contains extraordinary graphics, brilliant
gameplay and the same addictive nature that was found on the XBox and
PlayStation. A must have for all PSP owners.
 |
