TheBurnoutfranchise was one of the best arcade racers of their time.
From its humble beginnings as your standard arcade racer to its peak with Burnout 3: Takedown and gameplay that actively encouraged you to crash into your enemies,there was nothing quite like Burnout during its heyday.
It’s a travesty that we haven’t seen a proper Burnout game released in nearly twenty years.
2018’s Burnout Paradise Remastered served as a reminder of how magical these games can be, combining slick presentation, great racing, and the thrill of over-the-top takedowns and crashes.
While we still wait for Burnout to return, let’s take a trip down memory lane and rank the Burnout games from worst to best.
8Burnout Crash!
Crashed and Burned
Burnout: Crash!
I love Burnout’s Crash mode. You love Burnout’s Crash mode.That doesn’t mean making a game solely around Crash mode was a good idea.
Yet that’s exactly what 2011’s Burnout Crash! was. The game works as a mobile game best for wasting time while you’re supposed to be working, but as a full-blownXbox Live Arcade game, it pales compared to everything else available on the market.
Introducing a top-down camera angle, again, works super well on mobile devices, but onXbox 360andPlayStation 3, it comes off as a shallow experience lacking the key features we expect in Crash mode on traditional Burnout entries.
If you want to get the most out of causing mayhem, stick with the heavy hitters, which we’ll discuss later.
The One That Started It All
Everyone has to start somewhere, and that’s the case with 2001’s Burnout.
Released onPS2in 2001 and then onGameCubeandXboxthe following year,Burnout is the arcade racer that actively encouraged people to drive dangerously and crash into others.
The issue, as you may expect from a debut entry, is that it lacks many of the hallmark features the franchise would become known for.
Am I the Only One Who Really Misses the Burnout Series?
Aside from a lone remaster, the Burnout series hasn’t been seen in over a decade. It’s time for that to change.
There’s no crash mode, and the gameplay feels more like a tech demo rather than a full fledged game.
Now, I’m not saying that Burnout is a bad game; it was great for its time, but it lacked the “it” factor to help it compete against the racing heavyweights.
Why would we put down Gran Turismo and Mario Kart back then? Well, we got a good reason soon.
6Burnout Dominator
No Crash? No Thank You
Burnout: Dominator
I’m not sure who the main audience ofBurnout Dominatoris.
Its release in 2007 for thePSPand, bizarrely, the PS2 comes two years after Burnout Revenge but lacks several key features we saw in the far superior Burnout game.
What’s even more maddening is the fact thatthis game came out two years after Burnout Legends, a fully-fledged Burnout experience on PSP.
Burnout Dominator was a disappointing step in the wrong direction for the Burnout franchise.
It’s not like the franchise was desperate for a game to keep fans happy; Burnout Paradise was released a year later.
One key factor in Dominator’s disappointing experience is that it isthe only game in the series that was not developed by Criterion, who were hard at work on Paradise. Instead, EA UK developed the game, and their inexperience with the franchise showed.
5Burnout 2: Point of Impact
A Heavy-Hitter
Burnout 2: Point of Impact
While Burnout 3 would bring the franchise mainstream success,Burnout 2 is everything a sequel should be.
Point of Impact introduces Crash mode to the series, reinforcing that Burnout isn’t your typical arcade racer; it’s about crashes and mayhem.
While Crash mode would be greatly expanded in subsequent sequels, I’d argue thatthe combination of Crash mode alongside traditional arcade racing is where Burnout truly began to stand outand gain the attention of gamers across the world.
The game isn’t without flaws, as there were some frame rate drops and other technical issues when playing multiplayer, and the lack of Takedowns (introduced in Burnout 3) can be felt in hindsight. Still, Burnout 2 was an excellent change of pace for racing fans who were looking for something besides Gran Turismo 3.
4Burnout Paradise
Open World
Burnout Paradise
Ready for a hot take? I don’t likeBurnout Paradise.
Technically, the game is incredibly sound and successfully captures the Burnout experience in an open world environment. Here’s the thing, though:I don’t believe that Burnout should ever have been an open world game.
The Burnout series works because there’s complete mayhem in every race. It’s not just about winning; it’s about taking out your opponents.
There were too many times in Paradise when I barely saw the other drivers.
Compare that to the franchise’s peak with Revenge and Takedown, where I’m learning the ins and outs of every course and mentally noting the best places for a timely takedown.
The decision to chase the industry trend at the time of open world gaming results in a lesser experience that looks like a Burnout game if you squint hard enoug, but it doesn’t really feel like one.
3Burnout Legends
An Underrated Gem
Burnout: Legends
Burnout Legends gets a lot of flak for the disaster that was the Nintendo DS version. The game flat out did not work on Nintendo’s handheld.
The PSP version, however, is everything you’ve ever wanted in a handheld Burnout game.
Unlike Dominator, which inexplicably removes the Crash mode,Legends is jam packed with modes, comparing well to the console releases.
10 Fastest Racing Games Of All Time, Ranked
This list breaks down the fastest racing games out there — the ones that push it to the limit.
Everything you know and love is here: Your standard races, Eliminator, Road Rage, Crash, Pursuit, and more.
This is what Sony envisioned when releasing the PSP: the ability to release console games in a portable device.
It’s just a shame so many other games failed to capture the magic like Burnout Legends. If you still have your PSP lying around, give it a go and fall in love.
2Burnout Revenge
Dish best served cold
Burnout Revenge
Burnout Revenge was released on Xbox 360 at the perfect time: two weeks before Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. It was the perfect appetizer to the main entree of the 360’s first must-own game.
Little did I know that Burnout Revenge would become one of my most played games ever for Xbox 360.
Everything that made Takedown such an iconic, innovative game is on full display here, taking advantage of the new Xbox 360 hardware.
It was the perfect racer to play online; no one was mad if you were trading paint because you weresupposedto trade paint.
There is one new mode, Traffic Attack, that allows you to hit civilian cars. Is it a marquee feature? Absolutely not. Is it still tons of fun? You bet, especially when you may hit cars, eventually leading to crashes and takedowns.
Burnout Revenge’s biggest flaw is its lack of innovation; it feels more like the developer is replaying the hits rather than moving the franchise forward.
Then again, if Paradise is anything to go by, maybe that’s a good thing.
1Burnout 3: Takedown
Burnout 3: Takedown
As much as I love Burnout Revenge, there’s something magical about Burnout 3: Takedown that cannot be denied.
It earned its spot as the best Burnout game thanks tothe right combination of gameplay, innovation, and presentation.
As I alluded to earlier, introducing Takedowns was the missing sauce that made Burnout feel like Burnout.
It was no longer trading paint just to be an aggressive driver; you were trading paint with other racers to take them out of the action. It was part of the core gameplay and a vital strategy to success.
Even aside from the Takedowns, improved graphical quality, and addictive gameplay, Burnout 3: Takedown is all about style.
I’m going to wax lyric about the game’s soundtrack because it serves as a reminder thatEA Trax was in a league of its own when it came to choosing songs in the 2000s.
Including My Chemical Romance’s “I’m Not Okay (I Promise)” weeks before the single officially released and took over the world is a stroke of genius, but the entire soundtrack does an excellent job of capturing the essence of Burnout’s gameplay.
Donot’s “Saccharine Smile,” Ash’s “Orpheus,” Ramones' “I Wanna Be Sedated” are all the songs of a generation, and that generation grew up playing Burnout.
