Angry Burnouts!
One of the things I enjoyed most about Burnout Paradise was that it seemed like it was an evolution for the series. There was more to explore, the free-roaming element of the game felt more “grown up,” and there were more challenge types than ever before. Though the Burnout series has historically had a very arcade-style format, Burnout Paradise finally brought the series into the modern era. However, if you really hated this direction for the Burnout series, I’ve got a game for you: Burnout CRASH! This game is going to take the series back to a time before it was an arcade-style game, and make it a full, top-down arcade game.
If that sounds a little weird to you, you’re not alone. Burnout CRASH! is going to be a whole different beast than the regular Burnout. You can tell just by looking at it. Instead of focusing on the road, Burnout CRASH! will have a top-down view that will allow you to see the playing field. The object of this simple take on Burnout is simple: crash into as many objects as possible and rack up the most damage points. In a bizarre way, it’s a bit like Angry Birds. Fling the cars, kill the structures, and get a star-based rating. The only difference is that you keep control of your car until it crashes, and then you can control the explosions (you get two) and can time them for maximum destruction. So, Angry Birds with bombs strapped to their chest. Could this be a winning formula? Perhaps. As someone who is admittedly obsessed with Angry Birds, I can see the appeal of trying to perfect my score after playing and replaying levels. But does that feel like a Burnout experience? Not really.
In addition to the main crash-and-kill mode, there will also be a challenge mode that will task you with hitting and avoiding certain objects in the landscape. The top-down view should provide players with a very clear path to victory, and while I’m sure the mission mode will be the most difficult of those revealed, I doubt it will reach the challenge level of some of those timed crash modes from previous Burnout games.
If you are an Xbox-owner, Burnout CRASH! will have a little extra content in the form of a Kinect-specific mode. This mode will allow you use gestures to direct your crashing cars. You can use a regular driving stance as your car gets ready to crash, and the switch to leaning to direct your car once it is in the air. Again, this has some cool potential, but it really doesn’t seem like it will be an experience I would correlate with the Burnout franchise.
If you are an Xbox-owner, Burnout CRASH! will have a little extra content in the form of a Kinect-specific mode. This mode will allow you use gestures to direct your crashing cars. You can use a regular driving stance as your car gets ready to crash, and the switch to leaning to direct your car once it is in the air. Again, this has some cool potential, but it really doesn’t seem like it will be an experience I would correlate with the Burnout franchise.
Fans have been clamoring for a new Burnout game from Criterion ever since Paradise was released nearly 5 years ago. However, Burnout CRASH! is probably not what they were expecting. Still, as an arcade-style score attack game, it is looking pretty promising. Will Burnout junkies be satisfied with CRASH!? Probably not. But if you can get over the fact that this will be a Burnout game and see it for what it is, you just might find a worthwhile experience. That’s what I’m hoping for, anyway.
Burnout CRASH! should be coming to the XBLA and PSN this fall, so if you’re excited to blow some stuff up, you won’t have to wait too long.
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