Burnout 3: Takedown

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Burnout 3: Takedown

Developer(s)	Criterion Games
Publisher(s)	EA Games
Designer(s)	Alex Ward
Engine	RenderWare
Picture format	480p (EDTV) 480i (SDTV)
Release date(s)	September 7, 2004 September 10, 2004 October 14, 2004
Genre(s)	Racing
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer,
Rating(s)	ESRB: Teen CERO: 12+ PEGI: 3+
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2, Xbox
Media	DVD

Burnout 3: Takedown is the third game in the high speed racing series, Burnout. Released on September 7, 2004, developed by Criterion Games and published by Electronic Arts, the game drew critical acclaim and a large fanbase. A GameCube version was planned but was scrapped during development. This game has been followed up by Burnout Revenge.

1 Gameplay
2 Locations
3 Soundtrack
4 Awards
5 External links

[edit] Gameplay

To show the recipient of the takedown crashing, particles and car parts fly all over (this can be disabled by the player). A player who crashes into traffic or obstacles himself or gets taken down by an opponent will have his/her boost meter reduced (but not below the minimum length). However, in the single-player mode, the player can apply "aftertouch" to subtly move his/her car in the direction held by the analog stick. Doing so allows him/her to direct his car into the path of an opponent's car approaching from behind. Successfully doing this results in an Aftertouch Takedown which will allow the player to retain the length of his boost meter.

This Aftertouch concept is even more important in the game's other primary mode, Crash. In this mode, the player is not racing opponents to the finish line. Instead, each Crash race allows the player to race at high speeds towards an intersection. It is the player's aim here to cause as much damage as possible by crashing into cars, trucks, flatbed trailers, etc. and therefore cause a huge pile-up, as approaching traffic crashes into the wrecks. The player is scored based upon the dollar amount of damage caused. High scores award medals which are used to unlock more tracks and cars. The player can attempt to get the highest score possible by steering towards various cash icons on the track, explosion icons, which act like mines, throwing the player's vehicle into the air, and 2x and 4x score multipliers. However, there is also a Heartbreaker icon which will automatically halve the player's score even after getting multipliers.

Burnout 3 features 173 different events in the offline mode, and 67 cars to unlock, including a City Bus, Fire Truck, and Garbage Truck for use in the Crash mode. There is also online play where up to six players can compete in a race, and eight players can compete in a Crash event. In online races, there is less aggression than in single player. Racers must focus on good drifts and avoiding traffic, not just takedowns, in order to win. This gives the online mode a different feel from single player. There is a racing variant known as Road Rage where players are divided into two teams. The blue team receives a three second head start and must drive a certain number of miles without being eliminated by being taken down. The red team attempts to takedown the blue team before they reach the finish line.

[edit] Locations

The game is split over three areas: USA, Europe and Far East. The exact locations of the tracks are just as differing as the tracks of previous Burnout series. A new asset to the race track environments are real-world landmarks and vehicles known famously to these locations: In the Downtown race track, Chicago's famous elevated subways can be seen, In the Waterfront race track, the San Diego Convention Center is seen, and in the Riviera race track, the Monte Carlo Casino is viewed briefly. As for the vehicular aspect, small three-wheeled taxis called tuk-tuks, which are found throughout Bangkok, can be seen in the Golden City track. The real names of these locations are never actually shown in the game, however.

The tracks are:

Location	Track Name	Real-life Equivalent
USA	Silver Lake	Rocky Mountain Nat. Park: a crystal-clear and silent lake surrounded by granite cliff faces and neighbored by a sleepy Main Street town!
USA	Downtown	Chicago: the tight alleyways and congested avenues of a major city and send your opponents into the elevated train track supports. A circuit built for precision thinking and fast reflexes against heavy traffic.
USA	Waterfront	San Diego: a fast-paced track filled with tight coastal turns, busy thoroughfares, and an intriguing tram system through the Gaslamp Quarter.
USA	Kings of the Road	A linear race from Downtown, through the highway section of Waterfront, and into Silverlake.
USA	Lakeside Getaway	Silver Lake - Waterfront
USA	Mountain Parkway	Silver Lake - Downtown
Europe	Alpine	Autobahn: a long, wide highway system past glorious castles, snow-capped peaks and perilously constructed toll booths and gas stations. A long track with a fast glimpse of Europe.
Europe	Vineyard	Avignon: traversing the beautiful winding roads of southern France and zoom by the ancient Papal Palace and the surrounding sidewalk cafes of Avignon.
Europe	Winter City	Vienna: Stephansdom, the U-Bahn and the Hofburg line the snow-covered track.
Europe	Riviera	Monaco: based on the fast based Monte Carlo circuit and filled with twisting roads and tunnels.
Europe	Coastal Dream	Riviera - Vineyards
Europe	Continental Run	Vineyards - Autobahn
Europe	Alpine Expressway	Winter City - Riviera
Far East	Golden City	Bangkok: a fast paced track through ancient and neon-clad marketplaces and modern, sleekly designed monorails and highways.
Far East	Dockside	Hong Kong: a track around the steep roads and winding scenic routes just outside of central Hong Kong, passing a busy docking harbor, a vulnerable ferry terminal, and the Lippo Centre towers.
Far East	Island Paradise	Koh Samui: a wide, scenic track featuring off-road areas through the jungle and packed coach terminals.
Far East	Tropical Drive	Island Paradise - Golden City

[edit] Soundtrack

Main article: Burnout 3 soundtrack

The soundtrack for Burnout 3: Takedown featured near 40 songs and came complete with commentary from DJ Stryker from alternative radio station KROQ-FM in Los Angeles. Alternatively, Burnout 3 supported user created soundtracks with the usage of Xbox harddrives and any stored music the user may have uploaded onto their respective drives.