Burnout 3 Impressions (Release Version)

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Mon Sep 13, 2004 11:54 pm

How long did EA have to influence the game?

Isn't it the same developers but it changed publisher from Acclaim to EA?

They only announced EA's involvement a few months ago. Of course they could have been involved for much longer than that, given Acclaims financial problems.

I'm sure EA would have a lot of input but it's not clear how long they were involved with this game.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 12:05 am

WCO:

I'm not sure. But the series probably was due for a shift in focus, regardless of publisher, or it risked being called "stale" or "samey."

Nearly everyone likes the new direction focusing more on crashing and less on racing. I don't, even though smashing a few cars is damn fun.

As I said in a post last week, it's a shame that Test Drive: Eve of Destruction wasn't online. I think that could have been a KILLER game on Xbox Live, smashing the f*ck out of each other to relieve stress and talk some smack!

Take care,
PK

Spooky · Post by **Spooky** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 12:50 am

PK,

Not sure I agree with the 'more crashing, less racing' perception. The racing in this game is super intense and IMO the majority of this game (at about 40% complete).

Yeah, there are some 'crash' games, about one in every five races. But in no way do I feel this is more about the crashing than the racing. And the traffic being sparse must be the early on tracks cause the game I am playing has a TON of traffic on the majority of tracks. Enough that when I get on one that is soewhat sparse, I am thankful.

I do understand and respect your view on the game not doing it for you, I just don't see how you feel there is not anough racing and what is there is not fun or different tan the last two games. To me it is taken the best aspects from the last two and improved them.

Post by **ScoopBrady** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 2:17 am

Spooky wrote: To me it is taken the best aspects from the last two and improved them.

I totally agree with that Spook. Does anyone still have the first 2 Burnout games? Try popping it in right after playing Takedown and tell me what you think. It's really hard going back to Burnout 2 after playing this one.

Plus, you can't cheese in this game. You gotta love that. There is no way possible to cheese online in this game. Drive backwards around the track, fine by me.

Inuyasha · Post by **Inuyasha** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 2:41 am

pk500 wrote:I rented the game tonight, and it's fun. But I'm not blown away by the rest of you guys after 90 minutes of play.

As a veteran of both prior Burnout games, I guess I need to take a different attitude now that EA has taken over the franchise. Burnout no longer is a racing game like it was when Acclaim had the series. It's a vehicular combat game, like Road Rash, more than a racing game.

Some may like that. I don't care for it as much.

The sense of speed is damn good in this game, much better than the kiosk demo, with a catch. The catch is that the sense of speed is fantastic when you're using boost. When you're out of boost, this game is slower than either Burnout or Burnout 2 when its cars ran without boost.

But the kicker is that it's a hell of a lot easier to get boost in Burnout 3 than it was in either of the first two Burnouts because crashing, rubbing, grinding, etc., deliver a lot of boost. So boost almost feels cheap in this game compared to the first two.

The drift model also isn't as good in this game as it was in the first two Burnouts. You could have some lurid slides in Burnout and Burnout 2 just by letting off the gas in corners, even in compact cars. It seems you have to brake and then hit the gas to get a good slide in Burnout 3 in both compacts and muscle cars.

I just don't find the racing that compelling in this game because boost is so easy to attain and because the powersliding isn't that fun. And where is the traffic? I know it's early, but there was a hell of a lot more traffic to weave in and out of in the early races of Burnout and Burnout 2, which made for more ass-puckering racing.

Again, EA shifted toward car combat against rival racers instead of the high-risk racing in slower traffic vibe of the first two Burnouts, so maybe the lower amount of traffic was a conscious design decision. Either way, my kisser didn't pucker in 90 minutes of Burnout 3 the way it did within the first five minutes of playing the previous two editions of the series.

Ironically and possibly hypocritically, the Rage mode -- or whatever it's called -- is much more fun than the racing. It is quite fun to not worry about the rather dull racing and just smash the f*ck out of people. The Aftertouch is a really cool feature that I thought would be dopey, too. It's awesome to slide the car in slow-mo right into some rival or semi.

I haven't tried online racing and crashing yet.

Burnout 3 is a fun game. I don't have the same reaction to it that I initially did to NASCAR 2005, which I hated at first and now love. I think I'll stay somewhat non-plussed by Burnout 3 even though I'm keeping it for the full rental.

It's enjoyable, and I can see how people who never played much of the first two editions of the series think it's the dog's balls. I know it's early, but I just don't feel enough excitement and challenge to justify a $50 purchase price. And I know I'm in the VAST minority on that call.

Honestly, I popped in NASCAR 2005 after playing Burnout 3 for 90 minutes with little emotion either way, and I was screaming at the TV within the first 10 minutes of continuing my NASCAR career in the Craftsman Truck Series. A good videogame is like a good newspaper story -- it evokes emotion. NASCAR 2005 is doing that to me; Burnout 3 isn't -- yet. Who knows, it might!

But there's absolutely no way in God's green Earth that Burnout 3 is a "Game of the Year" candidate, as some sites have claimed. A very good arcade racing game, but no way is it a Game of the Year overall. It's not even the best racing game of the year. TOCA 2 still wears that crown, and I'll be surprised if anything knocks the crown from its head.

Take care,
PK

I don't know if this will make sense, but seemed like in BO2, the sense of speed felt faster because it felt like you had more friction with the ground. In BO3, I think it is just as fast as BO2 if not faster, but the 'feel' of it seems more like your gliding on the air rather than racing on the ground. Does that make sense?

My first impressions of the game were so-so, but now I do like the game more mainly because I forced myself to stop thinking ' I should be playing NASCAR'. I also don't think it's 'Great Game' material for my taste, but it's 'pretty good' if over the top arcade racers is what you’re looking for.
I also agree somewhat about the Crashes. I would rather have had them add more races and decrease the crash levels.

One cool thing that has helped me enjoy the game from an entertainment standpoint, custom soundtracks. I think I am a bit too old for the default soundtrack 'noise'/music. I like that EA finally put in workable custom soundtracks during in-game play.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 9:29 am

Damn good point, Weaver. Exactly the sensation I'm feeling, too.

The first two Burnouts had more of a Project Gotham powerslide model. Lurid slides, but you felt connected to the road and almost "felt" the friction and contact patch. Burnout feels more like a distant cousin to Wipeout or Jet Moto -- insanely fast hovercrafts or jet bikes.

Yeah, there's grip in Burnout 3 -- probably too much. But I don't get the sense of friction and "road feel" that I had in the first two editions of the series. I love to feel the slide in my arcade racing games, in any racing game, for that matter.

Arcade racing games like PGR, PGR 2, Vanishing Point, the first two Burnouts, Daytona USA, etc., etc., had very rally-like grip models. The cars could really slide, and you felt the slide. I don't have the same sensation in Burnout 3.

Still a fun game. But not the second coming as proclaimed by so many reviews, at least in my eyes.

Take care,
PK

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 9:50 am

Spooky wrote:PK,

Not sure I agree with the 'more crashing, less racing' perception. The racing in this game is super intense and IMO the majority of this game (at about 40% complete).

Yeah, there are some 'crash' games, about one in every five races. But in no way do I feel this is more about the crashing than the racing. And the traffic being sparse must be the early on tracks cause the game I am playing has a TON of traffic on the majority of tracks. Enough that when I get on one that is soewhat sparse, I am thankful.

Yeah, I think the game gets better as you go. The tracks are better, the racing is more intense, and the traffic is heavier. I like it more after 8 hours than I did after 90 minutes. I also do not feel like the game is more about combat than racing. It's an almost perfect mix of the two IMO.

I agree that it isn't game of the year material, however, it is my favorite arcade racer and it's worthy of the 94% Gamerankings score IMO.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 10:02 am

I certainly will give it more time, and I do like the game. But I'm not head-over-heels in love with it, and I think the hype is a bit too high.

Bottom line, I'm just not feeling that there's anything that revolutionary or novel in this game. It's very polished, and it takes some of the best elements from the first two editions of the series and adds some interesting new things to the mix. But I'm not seeling or feeling anything that makes me say, "Holy sh*t, this is something that blows me away" and makes this game worthy of a 95 out of 100 rating.

Put it this way: I was more blown away by the first Burnout than I was this game. Burnout was the fastest arcade racer I ever had played to that point, and the insane crash physics and graphics were stunning. But that was two games ago in the series.

Burnout 3 is a very well-polished package of a theme we've all seen and raced before in the first two Burnouts or in other car combat/racing games. I know it's pretty hard to mine a new concept these days since the hobby has been around for 25 years, but reviews -- both user and press -- suggest that this game is revolutionary. I don't think it is.

Maybe I got too sucked up in the hype vortex. I can certainly see myself picking this up sometime as a fun change of pace, a good pick-up-and-play game. But I'll wait until I can find it cheap on eBay or at a lower retail price around the holidays unless something really sways me in the next two nights.

With Halo 2, Ghost Recon 2, Men of Valor and Forza coming out in the next four months, those look like more attractive games for which I'll spend the full 50 bones, at least to me.

The "rental test" always proves to me what's a keeper. If I rent a game and long to play it either the next morning or really yearn to play it after the rental has expired and I've returned it to the store, then it's a keeper.

NASCAR 2005 was a keeper once I got a grip on the driving model and realized it wasn't a pure sim. I missed the hell out of that game when I returned my rental, and it's a game that I could play all day if I didn't have work and family commitments. It's a game I think about at times during the day. We all have had the same experience with games at times.

I don't have the same sensation with Burnout 3. It's not leaping into my mind this morning and screaming, "Play me, PLAY ME!"

Take care,
PK

Spooky · Post by **Spooky** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 10:24 am

pk500 wrote:I certainly will give it more time, and I do like the game. But I'm not head-over-heels in love with it, and I think the hype is a bit too high.

Bottom line, I'm just not feeling that there's anything that revolutionary or novel in this game. It's very polished, and it takes some of the best elements from the first two editions of the series and adds some interesting new things to the mix. But I'm not seeling or feeling anything that makes me say, "Holy sh*t, this is something that blows me away" and makes this game worthy of a 95 out of 100 rating.

Put it this way: I was more blown away by the first Burnout than I was this game. Burnout was the fastest arcade racer I ever had played to that point, and the insane crash physics and graphics were stunning. But that was two games ago in the series.

Burnout 3 is a very well-polished package of a theme we've all seen and raced before in the first two Burnouts or in other car combat/racing games. I know it's pretty hard to mine a new concept these days since the hobby has been around for 25 years, but reviews -- both user and press -- suggest that this game is revolutionary. I don't think it is.

Maybe I got too sucked up in the hype vortex. I can certainly see myself picking this up sometime as a fun change of pace, a good pick-up-and-play game. But I'll wait until I can find it cheap on eBay or at a lower retail price around the holidays unless something really sways me in the next two nights.

With Halo 2, Ghost Recon 2, Men of Valor and Forza coming out in the next four months, those look like more attractive games for which I'll spend the full 50 bones, at least to me.

Take care,
PK

These are great points PK. The game has been very hyped and has gotten huge ratings but is really just a 3rd in a series so it is definitely not revolutionary. I think what people are really enjoying about it is that it is really, really FUN! That's the bottom line. There is a lot to do and it is all really fun, on top of a very polished overall game. You said yourself that it is quite fun.

I was not expecting this title to totally blow me away and be the next best thing since sliced bread, I was just hoping it would be as fun as the other two and then some with the added features (especially the online racing) and it has provided that in spades. Revolutionary, no...really fun and a nice change of pace with cool added features, yes. Worthy of the hype, on some levels, yes, on others no.

For me, it provides a really nice break from a lot of the more sim racing I have been playing. While I can certainly agree it is hard to justify spending $50 on this game right now when there are so many other great games out and coming out, I bet that if you had not been so taken by Nascar right now, this one would be a much easier purchase for you. It seems like it came out at a difficult time for some people. Like I know that Zeppo was holding out since Fable is coming out this week. Basically what I am saying is that I agree and understand that it is not a must have game, but it is sure a hell of a lot of fun and a great step forward in this series and is too bad some of you are not able to enjoy it as much as I am. I still hope to see most of you online for some 6 player races/ road rage topped off with a few rounds of party crash!

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 10:28 am

>>>I bet that if you had not been so taken by Nascar right now, this one would be a much easier purchase for you. It seems like it came out at a difficult time for some people.<<<

No question. But NASCAR 2005 was a freebie for me since the gracious DSP editor sent me a review copy, and trust me, I'm playing that game more than enough to write a thorough review. It's not an exaggeration to say I have close to 20 hours of gameplay in that title in the last 10 days.

Still there's no doubt that if Burnout 3 was released in May, June, January or February -- traditional dead zones for console gaming -- it would be a more probable purchase for me.

But right now I have two new games that are more fun for me -- NASCAR 2005 and ESPN NHL 2K5 -- than Burnout 3, and there are a handful of games on the horizon that are very attractive to me. So my money will stay in the wallet -- imagine that!

I guess NASCAR is providing the break from pure racing sims for me that Burnout 3 is for you. NASCAR is not a sim like a TOCA 2, IndyCar Series or CMR 04. But it has enough sim-like qualities to sustain belief, and it's so damn deep and so damn fun. The Race to the Top career mode also has an immersive, RPG-like quality that Burnout 3 lacks, too.

Take care,
PK

Spooky · Post by **Spooky** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 10:40 am

Well, at least join a few of us for some online racing before you return it. Perhaps tonight for a bit???

Ya know, I was playing this online with a good friend of mine and it was just the two of us. We did a bunch of rounds of Party Crash, then a bunch of races and ended it with some Road Rage. Just him against me. I had some of the most fun I have had on LIVE in a long time last night. The Party Carsh was a nice, mellow game that we just shot the sh*t and ran our crashes, then watched each others replays and chatted. It was really fun. Kind of that 'Amped 2' chill and play feel (even though you are crashig the sh*t out of huge vans and crap). Then during Road Rage, we were laughing so hard during these insanely intense moments of cat & mouse where we were on each others tail for huge streches and trying to knock the sh*t out of each other, only for one of us to get SALMMED by a bus and go flying while the other watched. Too fun!

Let's shoot for some racing/crashing tonight guys! Please!?!?!

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 10:44 am

I can play tonight for an hour or so if we start by 10 or 10:30 EDT.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 10:57 am

Spooky:

I'm definitely up for it. I'm keeping this baby for the full three nights, and I have two nights left.

Who knows? Maybe the online component will make Burnout 3 skyrocket into my "must buy now!" list!

Give me a time after 10 p.m. (EDT), and I'll be there.

Take care,
PK

Spooky · Post by **Spooky** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 11:01 am

Great guys. Let's shoot for 10:30pm EDT. I'll host.

Oh and we have to use a password (goota love EA's beautiful interface) to keep the kiddies out.

The password for my room will be 'dspg'. I will send that to everyone who is online tonight through a text message as well.

See you guys tonight!

(I am assuming all pre-game preparation will be taken care of to help 'enhance' our experience

)

James_E · Post by **James_E** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 11:05 am

I'm hoping to be online and join you guys...

webdanzer · Post by **webdanzer** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 11:06 am

I'd like in on this tonight, as I have not yet tried it online.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 11:10 am

>>>(I am assuming all pre-game preparation will be taken care of to help 'enhance' our experience )<<<

Damn, Nostradamus, how did you guess that would be my plan of action?

Looking forward to it. This game could be like Midtown Madness 3 for me. Did little for me offline but was a f*cking riot online.

Take care,
PK

Spooky · Post by **Spooky** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 11:17 am

pk500 wrote:>>>(I am assuming all pre-game preparation will be taken care of to help 'enhance' our experience )<<<

Damn, Nostradamus, how did you guess that would be my plan of action?

Looking forward to it. This game could be like Midtown Madness 3 for me. Did little for me offline but was a f*cking riot online.

Take care,
PK

Why do I have a feeling that you will be heavily regretting your initial comment/complaint about the lack of traffic after tonights racing...!?!?! Just wait until you are trying to hunt my ass down for 3 miles, only to have me in your sights and get blown into oblivion by a goddam taxi cab !!!

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 12:20 pm

pk500 wrote:The "rental test" always proves to me what's a keeper. If I rent a game and long to play it either the next morning or really yearn to play it after the rental has expired and I've returned it to the store, then it's a keeper.

Cought, Moto GP, Cough...

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 1:07 pm

dbdynsty25 wrote:
pk500 wrote:The "rental test" always proves to me what's a keeper. If I rent a game and long to play it either the next morning or really yearn to play it after the rental has expired and I've returned it to the store, then it's a keeper.
Cought, Moto GP, Cough...

No, different deal, sort of.

I didn't like NASCAR 2005 or Moto GP at all when I first rented them but had a sneaking suspicion I was missing something. So I rented them again quickly and realized my misjudgment after more play or an attitude adjustment, or both.

I like Burnout 3. It's fun. But I don't like it enough to buy it at $50, and I don't think it's as revolutionary as many are saying.

I don't see a hate-love relationship with Burnout 3 because it wasn't hate at first play like NASCAR and Moto GP.

Fact is, I'd probably buy Burnout 3 if the calendar read Sept. 14, 2002 or Sept. 14, 2003 instead of 2004. But I've gotten to the point in my gaming hobby where I'm only buying games -- full price or retail -- that I'm CERTAIN will be great games for me. I used to buy good games and games I thought were decent, knowing I could sell them later and only lose $10 or so.

Now I'm at the point where I don't even bother buying those. I'd rather rent them and discard them like Handi-Wipes, losing only $4 and a 1-mile trip to the village video store.

I only buy games that I'm certain are AAA, great, top-shelf gems for me. So what I'm trying to say is that I don't buy nearly as much sh*t as I used to, and I only keep games if they're being played and are Grade A titles for me.

Take care,
PK

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 1:14 pm

Just wait till you take it online P to the Kizzy (sorry, in Beastie Boys mode still).

Spooky · Post by **Spooky** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 1:16 pm

dbdynsty25 wrote:Just wait till you take it online P to the Kizzy (sorry, in Beastie Boys mode still).

You gonna join us tonight DB?

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 1:17 pm

Yeah...I'm in. 7:30 pst?

Spooky · Post by **Spooky** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 1:24 pm

dbdynsty25 wrote:Yeah...I'm in. 7:30 pst?

Yep. If that's a bit too early, I am sure we'll be on for a while (assuming EA's crap severs don't drive us mad first!!!).

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 1:25 pm

Naw, that's fine...I actually took the day off work cuz I didn't know what was going to go on after the concert last night. So I'm down for 7:30.