Burnout 3 - Takedown - wikiroms.com

Burnout 3 – Takedown | Burnout 3: Takedown is a 2004 racing video game developed by Criterion Games and published by Electronic Arts. It is the third instalment in the Burnout series, which is characterised by fast-paced arcade racing. A staple of the series is the use of boost, earned through risky driving, to rapidly increase a car’s speed. The central mechanic introduced in Burnout 3 is Takedowns, which allow players to slam their opponents until they crash. Takedowns work in conjunction with the boost system by filling up and extending the boost meter. Aside from standard circuit races, the game features modes focused on performing Takedowns on rival vehicles and causing monetary damage at a junction occupied with traffic. Each game variant is featured in a single-player campaign mode called World Tour, which serves as the primary method for unlocking new and faster cars. The game supports both online and split-screen multiplayer.

Before the creation of Burnout 3: Takedown, UK-based development studio Criterion had been collaborating with publisher Electronic Arts (EA) on a skating video game. However, disagreements over the game’s creative direction led to its cancellation and falling out between the two companies. EA later approached Criterion about reuniting and partnering on a game, and so Criterion began developing Burnout 3: Takedown in June 2003 on the condition that EA would not interfere in the creative process. Over a year later, EA acquired Criterion and the Burnout series; their high expectations for Burnout 3: Takedown was influential in the acquisition. The game launched in September 2004 on the PlayStation 2 and Xbox video game consoles.

Upon release, Burnout 3: Takedown received critical acclaim, becoming one of the highest-rated racing video games of all time, and is considered by many to be one of the greatest video games of all time. Critics were enthused by the shift to a more aggressive style of racing game and the addition of gameplay mechanics like Takedowns. The addictive gameplay and visuals were widely praised by reviewers, many of whom ranked Burnout 3: Takedown among the best games released on the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. The game went on to win numerous awards including three from the British Academy Games Awards. Retrospective coverage of the game has been highly positive with some publications declaring it as the greatest arcade racer game ever made and the peak of the Burnout series. A successor to Takedown, titled Burnout Revenge, was released in September 2005.

Gameplay

Takedowns are performed by slamming rivals until they crash. A Takedown can fill and extend the boost meter, enabling the player to drive faster.

Burnout 3: Takedown is a racing video game with arcade-style gameplay that emphasises dangerous and fast-paced driving.^[2]^[3] The game features standard circuit races which take place on carriageways and city streets populated with traffic. The Single Race mode pits the player against five AI opponents in a single or multiple lap race.^[2] During a race, boost, which is earned by acts of reckless driving such as drifting around corners, near misses with traffic, and driving in oncoming lanes, can be used to rapidly increase a car’s speed.^[2]^[4] Boost can be used immediately in Burnout 3, unlike previous Burnout games which required the boost meter to be full.^[4] The quickest method for earning boost is a Takedown—a central mechanic introduced in this instalment of the series.^[2]^[5] A Takedown involves shunting opposing vehicles until they crash. Each one fills the boost meter and can provide an additional boost segment, causing the meter to extend up to four times its initial size. Ramming opponents will cause them to behave more aggressively in return; their level of hostility is indicated by a coloured arrow above their vehicle. When the player crashes or is taken out by an opponent, boost is lost and a bonus boost segment is withdrawn. During the crash sequence, a slow-motion mode called Impact Time can be activated. In Impact Time, the Aftertouch mechanic can be used to manoeuvre the wrecked car chassis into an opponent to get a Takedown, which acts as a recovery move by negating the penalty of crashing.^[2]

Road Rage is a new game mode in which the player must achieve a certain number of Takedowns in a preset time limit or before their vehicle is totalled.^[2]^[5] Cars continuously spawn in Road Rage so that there are always vehicles to perform Takedowns on. The Crash mode from Burnout 2: Point of Impact returns but has been enhanced to accommodate the Aftertouch feature.^[2] The goal of Crash mode is to create the largest amount of monetary damage in a multi-vehicle collision at a junction full of traffic.^[2]^[5] The game includes a total of one hundred Crash junctions.^[3] When a set number of vehicles become involved in the pileup, a Crashbreaker is available which allows the player to detonate their vehicle to cause further damage Cash bonuses, score multipliers, a speed boost, or an immediate Crashbreaker can be obtained by driving through power-ups that lie on the junction in Crash mode.^[2] One particular power-up, the Heartbreaker, has a negative effect by reducing the total score.^[6]

World Tour is a single-player career mode that combines Single Races, Road Rage, Crash mode, and several other race variants into a series of 173 events spanning ten locations across the United States, Europe, and Asia.^[2]^[3]^[7] Events are presented on a navigation map and a medal is awarded for every one that is completed successfully.^[2]^[8] World Tour includes Grand Prix events that group several races together into a point-based tournament. Face-Off is a one versus one race event wherein the player is granted with opposing vehicle if they win.^[2] Burning Lap is a single lap time-trial event where the player must beat predetermined lap times.^[2]^[3] Eliminator is a five lap race in which the driver in last place at the end of each lap gets eliminated.^[2] The game features 67 vehicles which are divided into classes based on their speed.^[2]^[3]^[8] New and faster cars are unlocked by earning medals in World Tour mode and achieving milestones such as attaining a certain number of Takedowns or causing a certain amount of damage across Crash mode junctions.^[2]

Burnout 3 supports split-screen multiplayer and online multiplayer.^[2] Five different game modes can be played online in the game.^[9] Impact Time is disabled in multiplayer and the gameplay in some modes is tweaked. Single Race is analogous to the single-player version except AI drivers are replaced with other players. Online Road Rage functions differently from offline mode. The online version is a team-based mode that supports up to six players and the objective is to destroy the rival team’s cars before a certain number of miles have been driven.^[9] The remaining three modes are variations on the Crash mode that can be played online and locally.^[6]^[9] Team Crush and Double Impact are both two-player modes where both players causes pileups on a Crash junction simultaneously. Team Crush is focused cooperative gameplay while Double Impact is about competing with each other.^[9] Party Crash is an eight-player score competition mode where players crash at a junction individually and their scores are compared.^[2]^[9] In April 2010, online services were shut down.^[10]