Burnout Revenge is a 2005 racing video game developed by Criterion Games and published by Electronic Arts for PlayStation 2, Xbox and Xbox 360. The game was also made backwards compatible with the Xbox One in May 2018, and the Xbox Series X/S upon the console's launch.

Similar to its predecessor Burnout 3: Takedown, Revenge focuses on a mixture of racing in the midst of rush-hour traffic, and vehicular combat; players use the cars themselves as weapons. Revenge also expands on the combat side of its gameplay with new features such as "traffic checking" (ramming same-way traffic), Vertical Takedowns (landing on a rival car after the player's car drives over a jump), a new game type (Traffic Attack) and significant changes to the gameplay of Crash mode (a game type where players attempt to cause a crash as large as possible).

The online servers for Burnout Revenge were shut down for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox on November 1, 2007. The Xbox 360 servers were shut down on October 24, 2012.

Gameplay

In Burnout Revenge, players compete in a range of racing game types with different aims. These take place within rush-hour traffic and include circuit racing, Road Rage (where players cause as many rivals to crash as possible within a time limit, or until the player's car is wrecked), Burning Lap (a single-lap, single-racer time attack mode), Eliminator (a circuit race where every thirty seconds, the last-placed racer's car is detonated; the race continues until only one racer is left), the event in which a "checked" car hits a rival is considered as a Traffic Takedown. Traffic checking is the focus of a new race type, Traffic Attack tailgating opponents and drifting. Unique to the series is the concept of battling other rivals; unlike other video games in the racing genre, players are encouraged, and sometimes even required, to ram rival cars and cause traffic to crash. Causing a rival to crash is referred to as a "Takedown", rewarding the player by extending the length of their boost gauge and completely refilling it. In designated events, a boost can also be used to activate a "Crashbreaker" during a crash, detonating the car and causing other nearby cars to crash. and a Burnout 3: Takedown save will unlock the Dominator Assassin. Both of these cars are available only for Crash events. They are also available for online use if they own an online adapter. If a save for Black is present, the player unlocks the Black Elite Racer, a car that is usually unlocked at the Elite rank. It features some references from the game, for example, there are bullet holes all around the car, and the number plate on the back reads "Kellar", the player's character in Black. In the Xbox 360 version of the title, the bonus cars are unlocked through different methods, such as completing the final Crash event in rank 1 to unlock the Dominator Assassin and reaching elite rank is the only way to obtain the Black Elite Racer. If the player achieves 100% game completion, which is the game's toughest challenge, it unlocks the Revenge Racer, which was reused in Revenges successor, Burnout Paradise.

Xbox 360 version

The Xbox 360 version of Burnout Revenge included several new features and improved the graphics of the game to utilise the power of the console.

Reception

Burnout Revenges PlayStation 2 version received "universal acclaim" from professional critics according to the review aggregator website Metacritic, with the Xbox and Xbox 360 versions receiving "generally favourable" reviews. Eliot Fish of The Sydney Morning Herald gave the game four-and-a-half stars out of five and called it "relentlessly intense". Tim Meston of The Times gave four stars out of five, his only complaint being some repetition in the track layout for each stage, but said that it was somewhat reduced by the addition of numerous shortcuts along each route.

During the 9th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated Burnout Revenge for "Racing Game of the Year" and "Outstanding Achievement in Soundtrack". At the following year's awards ceremony, the Xbox 360 version won the "Racing Game of the Year" award outright.

References

  • Official EA website
  • Official Criterion Games website