Revving Up the Thrills: My Passion for Burnout 3: Takedown

Why I Care is a series of guest editorials on GamesIndustry.biz aimed at highlighting how game creators appreciate each other’s work. This contribution comes from Mladen Bošnjak, creative director at Misfit Village, who is currently developing their SCP-based thriller Run Home Annie for PC and Consoles.

As was typical for many families in Croatia back in 2005, we had a PlayStation 2 situated beneath our CRT television. I was aware that GameCube and Xbox existed, but I had never actually encountered either in person or in stores. For us, it was predominantly PC and PlayStation.

Piracy was so prevalent at that time that PS2 consoles came fitted with a modchip directly from electronics retailers that were authorized to sell the console. I sometimes wonder if Sony was aware of these illegal activities.

I like to believe that the cover of Burnout 3: Takedown captured my 12-year-old imagination with its depiction of a sports car narrowly escaping a massive explosion right in front. Having previously played several Need for Speed titles, the EA Games logo at the bottom further convinced me that I had to experience this game.

This game knows its purpose. You’ll be driving cars. Fast. You’ll also be crashing cars. A lot.

Yet, the reality is that my initial encounter with Burnout 3: Takedown was through a jewel case featuring a plain white cover and a burned DVD inside, with “Burnout 3” scrawled on it in black marker.

As I had already started making mods and small games by that time, I felt a slight pang of guilt when booting up this pirated version. The alternatives were either to not play the game or to play it illegally. And that doesn’t feel like much of a choice when you’re a kid who doesn’t know better.

With its pre-rendered (though utilizing in-game assets) introduction showcasing cars racing and crashing to a backdrop of early 2000s punk music, Burnout 3 quickly and decisively sets the tone for the remainder of the experience. This game knows its purpose. You’ll be driving cars. Fast. You’ll also be crashing cars. A lot.

The first way in which Burnout distinguishes itself from other racing games is that, besides striving to come in first, you also aim to incapacitate your rivals by ramming them into oncoming traffic, guardrails, walls, and so forth, as doing so elevates your boost meter, consequently giving you an advantage over competitors.

Taking down an opponent results in the camera focusing on their destruction for a few moments, while time slows down and sparks, tires, and pieces of metal scatter everywhere. It’s a visually stunning spectacle and a remarkable technical achievement considering the PS2’s rendering limitations.

My favorite feature in the game is the Aftertouch, which allows you to slow down time after crashing your vehicle, giving you the opportunity to aim your wreck toward your opponents, causing them to crash in return.

This offered me a sense of freedom in an unconventional way. Most game designers would have implemented an invisible barrier to prevent your free-flying wreck from drifting too far into an untouched area without any textures. But not Burnout 3. In fact, one of my favorite activities in the game was discovering how far beyond the intended racing environment I could venture. It turns out you can go quite far indeed.

Crash Mode is a unique challenge in itself, where your main goal is to drive recklessly into an intersection packed with traffic and create as much chaos as possible. From that description, you might assume it’s a senseless, chaotic mode designed for flashy explosions, but it quickly becomes apparent that it’s a trial-and-error puzzle game in disguise. Crashing your vehicle into the perfect taxi at just the right angle to make a massive fuel truck collide with it shortly afterward is no simple task. The feeling of accomplishment after orchestrating a spectacular disaster is unforgettable.

Spectacularly designed tracks with expansive vistas, a multitude of detailed vehicles, debris flying in every direction, and the sun’s reflection glimmering on the windshields of incoming traffic. And all at 60 frames per second.

All these engaging gameplay elements operate seamlessly within the intricately designed environments of the various tracks. Pair this with the fantastic soundtrack and the somewhat corny DJ interrupting it, and you have one of the greatest games ever made. Every time I hear The Ramones’ ‘I Wanna Be Sedated’, I’m reminded of moments spent playing this iconic game.