Burnout Legends review

It's the first handheld version of Burnout, and the best of the many racing games available for the PSP. It's Burnout Legends, and it could be the first game on the PSP that truly justifies the system's high price tag.

GRAPHICS: 9
If you've played the console versions of Burnout, you know what to expect from Burnout Legends. The game mirrors the look of Burnout 3: Takedown, with the same vivid colors and attention to detail. It's not quite up to par with Burnout 3 visually... the vehicles are slightly lacking in detail and the crash mode is disappointingly sterile. However, it looks every bit as impressive as Ridge Racer and Wipeout Pure.

SOUND: 7
Sound effects are more realistic and more plentiful than they were in Burnout 3... for instance, rubbing against a rail or other racers produces a teeth-clenching metallic screech that adds tension to the game. However, Electronic Arts has stubbornly insisted on using a licensed soundtrack full of crummy flash-in-the-pan heavy metal bands. The fact that you can't replace the EA Trax music with your own songs (and on a game system specifically designed to play MP3s!) is Burnout Legends' only serious flaw.

CONTROL: 8
It's a big, big improvement over Ridge Racer. You've got tight, consistent control over your car at all times, unlike Ridge Racer which made your vehicle feel like a tank in straightaways, and a greased ice-skater around corners. You'll have to brake in advance to make it around tight hairpin turns without crashing, but in straightaways and gentle corners, your car handles beautifully, allowing you to plan and execute takedowns with little difficulty.

GAMEPLAY: 8
Burnout Legends actually seems a little tougher than its console counterpart. Takedowns are no longer handed to you on a silver platter... merely rubbing an opponent against a rail will not send him flying off the road. The crash mode is more difficult too, now that the score multipliers are gone. This takes the focus off grabbing brightly colored icons and puts it squarely on actually crashing into cars, forcing the player to play more skillfully. Some of the modes aren't very fun (like Burning Lap, a single lap time trial with little room for error), and the game gets viciously hard later on, but overall, it's a lot of fun racking up medals, unlocking hidden content, and of course, shoving your opponents into concrete walls and towering buildings.

OVERALL: 9
It may not be as legendary as Burnout 3: Takedown, but Burnout Legends is every bit as good as the recently released Burnout Revenge, and has no trouble dethroning Wipeout Pure and Ridge Racer as the best racing game on the PSP. If it weren't for the lame soundtrack and equally annoying load times, it'd be the ultimate portable driving experience!

nice review! the loading times and lame music hurts a bit.. but ill probably pick this one up.

That's the beauty of the iso version - in theory you could replace the music....

Multi-player should also be mentioned - it is excellent, and should get better with more players... Seems faster than in single player...

Cool, I'll definitely be buying this one. I love burnout for the PS2 and I'll love it for the PSP more!

i bought this game and it is amazing

I'm not so keen on it. It feels like it was programmed in a hurry. There are many graphical glitches, such as triangles not touching and textures jumping around. The draw distance is also terrible. On some tracks, the one around the airport for instance, it's impossible to see in advance where to go. Sometimes it feels like being in a pinball game.

I'll stick to Wipeout :)