Burnout Legends

September 21,2005 -

PSP early adopters have been waiting for a high quality new title like starving chipmunks for an acorn to satisfy their portable needs. PSP owners, to their dismay, have watched the spectacular launch faded to the drought that followed. In the middle of this drought comes Burnout: Legends, one of the first high-profile PSP games to come along in a while. The question is not if Burnout could bring an exciting experience to handhelds, but if the experience could be mimicked with success on the fledgling portable.

The answer is unmistakably yes, and then some. Surprisingly, it's every bit as impressive as it is on consoles, and it manages to be a unique portable experience unmatched by any racing title before it. Burnout, as a console title, has always been equal parts lightning fast gameplay, spectacular crashes and burning metal to deliver a racing experience to separate it from the Gran Turismo's and Ridge Racer's of the world. The PSP version is no different; this is not some chewed up port, but an incredibly fast and fun racing title that manages to exceed all expectations and be one of the best reasons to own a PSP.

First and foremost, the gameplay of console Burnout games is completely intact. Burnout essentially revolves around not only beating your opponents in races, but by performing "Takedowns" in which you smash your opponent into oblivion. The game involves a lot of traffic dodging and high speed runs through heavily populated highways. Burnout truly offers something other racing games do not. The game has several modes in which you play, such as the standard race mode, in which you speed through heavy traffic to be first, taking down opponents to gain more boost to win the race. Other modes that are represented include the famous "Crash" mode in which you speed down a road and cause as much monetary damage as you can by wrecking your car through traffic. It's not as intense as it's console brethren, but it proves to be fun in it's own right. However, the most impressive mode is "Rage", in which your whole goal is to "takedown" as many cars as possible within the time limit. It's a real blast, and something that any PSP owner needs to experience.

Unfortunately, the game has some problems, not the least of which is the difficulty. The rubber band AI is less that fair in that you destroy your enemies often, but they seemingly catch up in record fast times. It's a cheap way to make the game more difficult, but something that doesn't hurt the game's otherwise frantic gameplay much. Another small fault involves traffic occasionally popping up, making it hard to dodge traffic and adding some frustration to the mix. However, these are minor faults in an otherwise solid package.

The paint and gloss of Legends, the graphics, are good. The car models are nicely detailed, and the environments are pretty varied, though none outstanding. Levels are cookie cutter tracks from all the other racing games you've played, and disappointing overall. This doesn't take away the fun from ramming your friends headfirst into a double- decker bus, but is worth noting. Other things like environmental clipping when ramming opponents can get annoying, but overall the graphics are nothing to droll over, but nothing to spit at either. The visuals convey the carnage well.

While the graphics aspect of the gameplay has it's bases covered, the audio section of Legends simply rocked our world. Driving through frantic traffic and dodging opponents is represented extremely well, in terms of audio, in this fast paced game of cat and mouse. While hearing the cars blare by, you certainly won't want to miss "EA Trax", which carries a multitude of great songs to cruise around to, and if they don't fit your style, the game has an option to turn the songs off. From MSI to Yellowcard, EA made sure to cater to a large base of fans by offering a lot of tracks.

But will this game last you a longer than a week? Surely, for the game boasts tons of unlockables to keep you playing for quite a while. Points are exchanged for cars, and racing friends brings about new cars to your garage if you have yet to unlock their vehicle of choice. Speaking of vehicles, there is quite a selection. From Coups to Muscle, Legends brought the works with it to keep you satisfied.

So is this the game to bring the PSP faithful back to their console and the skeptics into a purchase? Hell yes. It's a game that truly must be experienced if you have any interest in a little something commonly referred to as "fun".

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