Burnout: Legends Reader Review

My brother in law said to me recently ‘When you’ve played Burnout Legends, you’ll never want to play Ridge Racer again. It’s just so soulless.’

Well, I’ve played Burnout Legends now, and unless you paid me for it, I’d be far happier with Ridge Racer.

There are plenty of modes, tracks and cars – it’s marketed as a greatest hits of Burnouts 1-3! Hurrah!

So what’s wrong with it? I can’t really put my finger on it. It’s by no means a bad game… I think the problem stems from the console versions. Up to those, this game feels so heavily compromised. Thrashing through the traffic is no longer as exciting or satisfying as it has been in the past; in fact, the roads seem fairly devoid of said traffic. The tracks in the game aren’t particularly memorable, especially those ported from Burnout 1 which are full of horrible 90 degree turns. The handling model makes taking these bends a real chore and I’d have been happier to see more tracks ported from Burnout 2, which I feel has been the greatest moment thus far in the franchise – a much purer racer than the take-down orientated sequels. Crash mode, a great diversion in the console versions also feels far less eventful.

I had some fun though. Road rage is great, as is pursuit mode (back from Burnout 2) and there are loads of cars and events to unlock. If it’s your cup of tea you’ll certainly get your money’s worth. The game has its fans too and has received numerous glowing reviews, so maybe it’s me. It’s just that at times it felt as if it was struggling to hold itself together and in the end felt, well, just a little soulless.

/boots up Ridge Racer