Burnout Legends

You’re racing down the narrow stretch of road that leads into a Normal Rockwell-like town that looks as peaceful as a grave … that is until a sleek and sexy muscle car just barely clips you. At the speed he was clocking he could have easily have rammed you off the road and into a ditch. How dare he do that, you say through gritted teeth. You step on the gas and you spot the same car and, as you approach him, you slam that muscle car from behind until it careens off the road and smashes to pieces as hits a wall. Revenge is a sweet dish both cold or hot and in Burnout Legends for the PSP you’ll find how true that really is so buckle up racing fans and lets go racing.

Burnout Legends takes a page from Electronic Art’s second Burnout game as well as the brilliant Burnout 3: Takedown and the new Burnout Revenge. If you’re unfamiliar with this racing series, well, you’re in for a real treat. You see, aside from looking like your average racing game (complete with laps and circuit-styled races) the game tosses in a healthy dose of demolition-styled takedowns that require an aggressive approach to racing. That means this is the type of game that doesn’t punish you for ramming your opponent into oncoming traffic. In fact, you’re encouraged to use any means necessary to win the race. Welcome to Burnout, folks, say goodbye to the lead car by nudging it into a brick wall.

So you can imagine this fan’s delight when a handheld version was announced for Sony’s PSP. For the most part, Burnout Legends feels like a complete package with only a few notable features removed. While many of the series’ best features made the cut, the loss of more racers on the track is hard not to notice. You’ll still find a World Tour mode and it’s surprisingly lengthy but it misses the various extra locales found in the console version. There’s not even an online multiplayer mode, although you can play the game with up to six friends using the portable’s Ad-Hoc features.

The game does offer nine different events from a normal Race mode, Time Attack, Road Rage (where you earn big points for slamming into your rivals), Eliminator (last one that reaches the checkpoint is out of the race) and Pursuit (where you drive a cop car and try to takedown your target). Then there’s Face-Off (where you go up against a single racer), Legend Face-Off (win this one and you’ll get the Legend car), Burning Lap (a beat-the-clock race) and Grand Prix (pull off some moves for big points). Then there’s the beloved Crash Events that have you speeding down a busy street and causing the biggest pile up for big points toward a gold medal.

You’ll also find World Tour where you’ll compete in a number of races to win the ultimate tour prize. It is here that you’ll get to unlock extra cars plus new racecourses and race types you can use in the other game modes. You’ll get to unlock some great cars from the interesting concept cars, muscle cars and supped-up racing vehicles. Unlike most racing games, though, these cars really take some damage and just as easily as you can annihilate other racers, you too can damage your car by slamming into oncoming traffic or hitting barriers. The great new addition to the Burnout games is its Crashbreaker feature that, if you manage to turn your car into a mangled mess, you can direct said mess into the path of any rival racer you left behind you.

Control-wise, the game handles just as beautifully as the console versions. The default controls make for a smooth ride and the framerate, even in the heat of an ugly race, never really drops dramatically. Depending on the type of car you can make short work of your rivals and thanks to the ability to boost you can quickly get the upper hand on your opponents. Boost is gained by performing a number of tricks like performing a near miss (zipping past traffic without getting clipped) or performing a number of Takedowns.

Visually, Burnout Legends looks as good as the console games. Your car really shows off the damage done to it and crashes, especially those seen in the Crash Events, really let the car parts fly to a wince-worthy degree. During the races, the PSP manages to capture the sense of speed perfectly and the cars to manage to reflect their surrounds nicely enough. Even the environments look good in this game.

As for the game’s sound, there’s a variety of tunes that play during races. Think of it as having a Grand Theft Auto-styled radio in your car so you can easily switch stations whenever you like. The tunes in question are pure indie punk rock tunes with some recognizable artists tossed in for good measure. Remember Stryker, the annoying radio DJ that introduces most of the game’s main events? Well, he’s nowhere to be heard in this game. The rest of the game is composed of detailed sound effects from revving engines, spectacular crash effects and the sound of cars speeding down the road.

Burnout Legends is one of the most addictive racing games you’ll find on the PSP this year and missing out on this one means you either hate your PSP or are allergic to fun. Seriously, this is a great portable version of a series that just keeps getting better and better each year so pick this one up if you like your racing games fast, furious and insanely enjoyable.

Gameplay: 9.0
The game plays just as good as the console games and that’s quite an accomplishment. The game’s solid controls make for an addictively fun time and with nine different game modes there’s very little to complain about. Well, there is the fact that the game throws in fewer racers on screen.

Graphics: 9.2
Visually, Burnout Legends looks sharp and wonderfully detailed. Many of the race courses will look familiar and the environmental detail looks just as great as the PS2 version of the game. Even the cars look sharp and reflect light and objects perfectly. In short, this is one seriously great-looking PSP game.

Sound: 9.0
The game features a nice amount of tunes from some pretty good indie artists as well as some familiar artists as well (like Yellowcard). The cars sound great in action and the crashes sound excruciatingly realistic. Add the fact that the annoying radio DJ is not present and you have a game that sounds great through the PSP speakers.

Difficulty: Medium
The AI opponents are sharp and, like the console version, great at getting you back for trashing them during Road Rage. The various events offer a varying degree of difficulty but it’s nothing multiply tries won’t remedy. If you’re looking for a Gold medal during the Crash events be prepared to try it again and again.

Concept: 9.0
Mixing elements from Burnout 2, Burnout 3: Takedown and Burnout Revenge, the PSP version still sees a nice number of cars to unlock, great courses and the same great crash events. On top of that there’s a surprisingly lengthy World Tour mode and even a multiplayer mode worth playing.

Multiplayer: 8.5
The lack of online play is unfortunate seeing as this game has all the goods and fun game modes worth sharing with other gamers through Infrastructure Mode. You can play against up to six friends wirelessly using the Wi-Fi connection and there are four gameplay modes that should definitely be shared. The game even supports Game Sharing so if a pal doesn’t have a copy they could download a race event and play along.

Overall: 9.0
While it’s missing a few of the elements the console versions offer, Burnout Legends is the perfect substitute to have with you when you’re far from your console. Not only does it look amazing but it plays just as fluidly and as gorgeously as the big boys do so do yourself a favor and pick this one up right away.