Review: Burnout Legends (PSP)
This, then, is the magical 30% - a mythical figure branded about since the PSP's unveiling - the extra amount of fresh content a PSP game has to contain above and beyond a straight port of any PS2 version of the game. In this case, we're essentially reviewing Burnout 3.5 (or 3.3, if you like) - a game firmly based on Burnout 3 but with just enough extra content to make it a worthwhile purchase if you already own the console version too. If you're familiar with Takedown then you'll feel instantly at home with Legends and can safely skip the next three paragraphs; if you're a newcomer to the series read on.
When the first Burnout debuted a few years back it was the perfect antithesis to the Gran Turismo series - a loud, brash racer that firmly dispensed with any notion of simulating real driving, instead focusing on making every single second intense, exciting and best of all - fun. Over the years, Criterion have moulded Burnout into the definative arcade racing game, not just with a slick frame rate, great graphics and a decent variety of tracks and cars but also the ever increasing proportion of game being based on crashes.
Culminating in Burnout 3 last year, the series' affection for hard-hitting wince-inducing crashes brought about the fantastic Takedown mode, giving the third game it's post-fix in the title: racing games have never been the same since. Takedown mode was a stand-alone part of the game that finally made the other racers fight back - knock them hard enough into a wall or oncoming traffic and the game would cut away to a slow-motion of their unfortunate crash: you'd get the points but they'd get mad and eventually, even. The gameplay encased within Takedown oosed out into the other race modes too, so that you were always aware that each and even event was not just a sprint for the finish, but also a mental and physical battle with the AI (and other human) drivers.
Burnout also invented Crash mode, and again, in the third game this was finally perfected: hurtle down a ramp or empty street into lots of traffic and try to create as much damage as possible. Cause enough of a wreck and collect icons along the way and you'd score combos; make enough vehicles collide and you'd turn your own car into a four-wheeled bomb and careful activation of that would result in even more carnage and ultimately a higher score. Great fun at parties...
Which brings us, finally, onto Burnout Legends. The main single player game is World Tour mode (another mechanic from Burnout 3) which sees you taking part in multiple races, crash events, Takedown challenges and Pursuit modes (takedown the criminals in a high-powered Police car) around the World. Successfully obtaining a bronze medal is usually enough to unlock more events and tracks and racking up the medals, takedowns and crash cash opens the floodgate of new vehicles. World Tour is massive, and will take serious input and time to get through it, but has been sensibly broken down into the various speed categories, broadly based around car types (such as coupes and sports cars) so not only does the game constantly increase in speed but also is one of the most rewarding games to play if collecting is your thing.
The cars are roughly modelled on real life vehicles (we can spot a Civic Type-R a mile away, EA) but without official licenses presumably due to the amount of crashing going on. This actually isn't as much of a problem as it is in simulation-type racers because the handling is way out too, and best enjoyed from the in-car view anyway. There's also realtime damage which although is superficially only a visual thing it does add a lot to the feel of the game (and especially the replays) and actually acts as a health bar in Takedown mode.
The game isn't just limited to World Tour though - each of the modes can be sampled on their own on any unlocked track with your choice of vehicle previously used which is good practice for the real star here: multiplayer mode. Although technical issues prevent the same number of cars onscreen as the console versions over wi-fi Legends is already a classic. Not only can you play any of the single player modes but your friends don't even need to own the game themselves to take part thanks to the generous Game Sharing mode (which is similar to that in Fired Up!) which beams a version of the game to any nearby PSPs.
Visually the game is probably the best looking racer on the PSP just now: it looks like it's seen more development time than the otherwise great-looking TOCA 2 with rounder edges smoothing out the rough bits despite the series' raw aesthetic style. Legends is definately a looker, but sadly all the effects and amount of background detail mean the frame rate is locked at 30 frames per second (think Need for Speed Rivals rather than Ridge Racer) - 60 would have been nice but the game's as smooth as it can be given the amount that's going on at this stage in the PSP's lifespan.
We're not keen on the music though (and we miss The Ramones) - it's that awful noisy rock nonsense that EA seem to favour these days but there's a fully fledged EA Pocket Trax as normal so we presume somebody values the licensed tracks on offer enough to warrant their inclusion. They just don't seem to 'fit' the racing at all but that's just our opinion. Thankfully, engine sounds are grunty enough and all the crashes, swooshes and bumps sound great, even through the PSP's speakers (and better still through headphones). The presentation is great throughout - load times are fine and the game auto saves each time you make any progress.
Whether you consider it an essential purchase or not depends on your taste in games - it's no Gran Turismo but it doesn't pretend to be: the Burnout series has always been about balls-out hardcore racing and in that respect Legends totally lives up to it's bigger brother's legacy. We'd have liked to have seen some of the features present in Burnout 4 (such as traffic checking) but the inclusion of older 'classic' tracks from Burnouts 1 and 2 kind of compensate. In short, Burnout Legends is the most accomplished racing game on the PSP by a mile, and it might just be the second best game on the system across all the genres. Tony Hawk should be watching his back in case EA buy a skateboard...
Rating: 9 / 10
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