After failing a driving test earlier in the week it felt immensely satisfying to pick up the controller and play the latest game in the Burnout series in which road-rage, pile ups and knocking drivers off the road is not only encouraged but essential to progressing through the game.
Gameplay
Single player is split into a series of fast paced races called Events with different tasks ranging from beating the competition to the finish line, running a target number of cars off the road, through to an all out marathon of destruction. A rating system awards medals based on the tasks and how aggressively you carry them out.
The game is instantly accessible with a learning curve that becomes increasingly challenging the longer you stick with the game to keep you coming back for more. Accelerate, boost (and occasionally brake!) are all you need to learn to use, but learning to use them well is the key to pulling off the best collisions and catching the best air off of jumps. There's more to crashing than meets the eye too. Higher ratings are earned for the more spectacular smashes with combination collisions racking up the points.
Complicating events are rival racers. These guys are tougher, smarter and meaner than your average hatchback - they'll give you hell. It's often your task to take out rivals before they get to you. Easier said than done when they have a tendency to gang up and guide you head first into the nearest lamppost. Manage to destroy rivals and your boost gauge - allowing your car to reach speeds of 200mph upwards - will increase in size.
Environments are critical to success too. Levels are entirely non-linear adding to the pseudo realism. Smash through someone's gate and race down a back alley short-cut, boost through piles of boxes to skip a corner, take a sharp left turn to rev up a flyover and jump the main track - new routes can be discovered around every corner. Find the best routes and you can shave valuable seconds off of a race time.
Standard traffic is littered throughout the streets of every level proving to be both a help and a hindrance. Hit an oncoming vehicle and your spanking new Ferrari will be a write-off. Shunt traffic from behind and the vehicle will be flung off the road in a spectacular explosion of sparks, smoke and broken glass replenishing your boost gauge in the process. It's possible to keep the boost running throughout an entire race by continuously hitting traffic in quick succession. Difficult, although necessary to beat tight time limits.
Hit traffic in a particular way and you can begin to use them as oversized projectiles spun into the path of your rivals causing an instant take out in a satisfying slow motion, mid-action cut scene. Later into the missions and the action becomes so intense that adrenaline soon kicks in with a feeling of accomplishment when you finally beat your previous ratings and snag that Gold medal.
Multiplayer is a blast with up to 6 players able to compete at the same time. Beating the computer is one thing but Burnout 4: Revenge comes into its own when you’re trashing the car of one of your mates sitting in the same room as you. Online play, while not perfect, is well crafted and an excellent feature nonetheless. It lacks the immediacy of smirking at the loser in your sitting room but it extends play beyond the single player experience.
Graphics
Visually, Burnout 4: Revenge is stunning. Cars gleam, the streets are littered with traffic, crates, dust and other debris. Lighting is spot-on and the framerate never falters. Locations are varied, realistic and beautiful. Environments include cityscapes with towering buildings; farmland with derelict buildings and pylons lining the roads; snow capped mountains in a hill top resort and more. Crashes can be a little over-the-top but overall very impressive.
Sound
The screech of a Lamborghini's tyres burning around a sharp bend never sounded so good. The sound of a car smashing into an oncoming coach never sounded so disturbing. Realistic and gritty, the sound effects are very good. A large number of licensed rock, punk and indie tracks don't set the soundtrack aside from the likes of Tony Hawks but it's suitably heavy and compliments the action.
Overall
You certainly won't be penalised for bumping the pavement with your rear wheel in this game (no grudges here Driving Standards Authority). Burnout 4: Revenge is exciting, fun, impressively executed, has a mammoth single player, even better multiplayer, online play, looks and sounds amazing and should last you a very long time. One of the best arcade racers available - Revenge is sweet.
Jack Wallington
