Burnout Legends main mode is the World Tour mode. At the beginning of this game type players choose a car class and then their vehicles. From here players can then select either a race mode or crash. Once again the objective is to come in the top three in any of these events, and in doing so the player will unlock the next track or race type.
EA have put a large emphasis on multiplayer for the game. Each copy of the game comes with five unlocked cars out of a possible twenty five. The other twenty cars have to be unlocked via a collector’s challenge using the PSP’s wireless multiplayer. Obtaining all these cars is essential in completing the game 100%, so those without friends are going to have trouble fully completing the game, and seeing everything the title has to offer. The game also utilizes a feature called “Game Sharing”. Players with a PSP but without a copy of Burnout Legends can be wirelessly transmitted a track and car, so they can join in the multiplayer fun. The game will stay on their PSP until it is turned off or a new game is inserted. It’s a brilliant feature of the title, and one that we hope is utilized by every developer in the future.
Speed Kills, Ok?
Whilst Criterion have done a good job with the transition from the console to a handheld, the game hasn’t made it over without any problems at all. The first problem is the control, which isn’t even necessarily Criterion’s fault. Players are forced to choose between the chessboard movement directional pad, or the analog nub, which isn’t an easy way to control the vehicles in the game. Personally we chose the inferior directional pad, and it took a long time to get fully used to the controls. With the fast paced nature of Legends those choosing the analog nub may have a bit of a hard time with the sensitivity of the nub.
There were also a few glitches that we came across through our play time. During one of the crash levels we flew straight into an intersection and the PSP hadn’t yet rendered the entire level, so to the right of the crash junction we could just see a few loose polygons. There is also some slowdown at high intensity points of a race, which is a bit of a disappointment. However, this happens very irregularly and didn’t really dampen our overall enjoyability of the game.
It’s also worth mentioning that the loading in the game is surprisingly decent. There is never really a considerable load at the beginning of any race. The loading is very comparable to the console versions. One of the most notable differences between this game and the console versions is that this game only features three opponents on track at one time, the console versions featured five opponents. Whilst this may not seem like a big deal, in events where you only need to finish in the top three to progress they are simply too easy, all you really have to do is beat one car. We assume this was because of the limitations of the PSP hardware, but it’s a little bit of a downgrade in comparison.
Gameplay wise though the game is just as addictive as we’re used to, once you get over some of the niggles of the PSP transition the game is deep and very easy to pick up and play. The opponents have actually been altered, so they are more like in Burnout Revenge and thus they are a lot harder to take out in road rage. Just bumping into a car isn’t necessarily going to take them out this time, in fact they may bump back even harder.
Wonder if this car is road worthy?
Graphically the game is fairly stable. The damage isn’t as detailed as we’re used too, it seemed to us that the AI car’s weren’t getting as smashed up, but this isn’t too much of a trouble. There have been no notable downgrades to the tracks or the cars, but they aren’t as detailed as say Ridge Racer, the cars actually look very similar detail wise to EA’s other racer, Need for Speed Underground Rivals.
One of the best parts about the sound in Burnout Legends is actually an omission. That annoying DJ from Burnout 3 has been taken down himself by the looks of it, and is no longer present in the game. This is a very welcome change, and he was just simply annoying in Burnout 3. The soundtrack itself features a large amount of variety, and features some tracks from the previous titles.
The game itself should last an extremely long time. The World Tour mode itself will take in excess of fifteen hours to complete fully, then there are the takedown targets, as well as the multiplayer and single event modes. The crash mode seems even more addictive on the PSP, and it is very likely players will bust out this game frequently just to indulge in a quick race.
Oh my god, that witches hat is as big as that car!
Whilst the transition for Burnout to the consoles has a few flaws, none of them are huge and all of them seem like they could be rectified in future incarnations. Whilst we will admit we were a little disappointed by Legends once we overcame the initial disappointment we realized just how fun the entire game really is. Thus, there is no doubting the game is the best arcade racer on the PSP and quite simply one of the best PSP games overall, even if you’re not normally a fan of arcade racers there is still something strangely addictive about Burnout, and yes, the PSP version is just as addictive as ever.
It is worth noting that some people have seen this game in stock in specialist game stores. If you have seen this game anywhere then let us know by clicking “view comments” in the header of this review, so other people can pick this game for the weekend.
Man I would get this game but I really want to pick up Nintendogs and Smallville Season 3. Maybe I could forgot Nintendogs and trade something in. BTW Burnout does look bloody awesome, but im tiding myself over by downloading Revenge for Xbox right now.
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