By now you should have heard about the new game from our studio, Burnout CRASH! and I am sure some of you are scratching your heads a little wondering what we’ve been up to. Burnout CRASH! is a spin-off from our much-loved Burnout series, but this time focusing solely on the Crash Mode gameplay which you may remember from previous Burnout games.
A lot of games take themselves too seriously, sometimes all you really need is to just kick back, relax, and blow stuff up. With that in mind, we designed Burnout CRASH! with a tongue-in-cheek style, harking back to the arcades we all used to hang around in. Our inspirations were manic pinball gameplay, over-the-top game show-style presentation, all tied up with our favorite music tracks from yesterday.
But I hear you ask, “I loved the original Crash modes, will I like this?” But of course! We have kept the spirit of the original Crash mode alive, with its simple gameplay of drive into a junction and smash as much traffic as you can – layered with deeper puzzle elements to work out the highest scoring strategies. The perfect game to sit on the sofa passing the controller back and forth with your friends, showing action that is as fun to watch as it is to play.
Looking back at previous versions of Crash mode, the single biggest request from our fans was to keep the crash going for longer… so that’s the first thing we did, giving you much more than the single Crashbreaker of old. This, in turn, leads to many more scoring opportunities and craziness — much like a pinball table, it’s easy to play but you need skill to rack up the really big scores. In addition to the standard scoring methods of smashing traffic and multipliers, we have made all of the buildings destroyable, introduced street furniture to add to your smash chains, added lots of different skillshots, explosion combos, and many more crazy new features. Some of these help rack up your score, such as the Lightning Storm, and some get in the way, like the Bulldozer.
Of course, this being Criterion we couldn’t leave out Autolog, as last seen in our previous hit game Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit. Autolog adds that essential element of personalisation to Burnout CRASH!, as your high score tables (Crashwalls) will only be populated with your friends’ scores. We still have the Autolog staples of Recommends based on what your friends have been doing, with Friends Recommendations to help build up your PSN friends list.
We’ve also taken the social competition one step further with the new Autolog Challenges. This is a much more direct mode of play where you can select any of your PSN friends and challenge them to a one-on-one contest. You each get one turn on a level, with the winner taking the cup. Sounds simple, but it works a treat… I have been battling some of the other guys in the studio for some time now, and the trash talking alone is gold (Doug, I am coming for you!). And of course one of the Trophies is for beating a friend three times in a row in Autolog Challenges.
If you like having pure mindless fun, then come and check out Burnout CRASH! when it hits PSN today for $9.99.
Played the demo and deleted it shortly afterward. Not my cup of tea. Looks like a game that would make more sense to have on a cell phone.
I missed crash modes in paradise city. I had burnout takedown, revenge, dominator, legends, & paradise. When i bought this game I saw screenshots, and knew what to expect. It’s about crashing, not racing. The game has a great presentation. I love the music when the special vehicles come out. Autolog and the weather changes are a nice touch.
I do agree with marlyt, don’t make this thing half price next month. Or, eventually I’ll stop buying new releases in the ps store.
This is not the game I was expecting and I mean that in a good way as it is just like old school crash mode which is great. Acting like children over a ten dollar game is kind of ridiculous, and this game would be the quickest way to a new full-on Burnout game for us all to play. That is if the complaints stop and people buy it and have some fun. Only complaint, and this is pretty serious, is the lack of custom soundtracks. I don’t know why it’s not there but that is a serious oversight for a game like this and one more developers need to rectify on their PSN releases. As fun as this game is it would be much more so if I could listen to my own music. Hopefully you folks at Criterion will rectify this problem ASAP.
Oh, and add more local co-op to your games. I have a wife and kids, and we all enjoy some couch competition, especially racing. Criterion makes the most fun racing games that I can’t play with my family in competition which is criminal!
Please go make Burnout Paradise 2, stop messing with the Need for Speed Franchise, it’s GARBAGE!!!!!