Burnout 3: Takedown

The third installment of the Burnout series of high-octane street racing games introduces online multiplayer, licensed soundtracks, and a revamped car combat system where players can shunt opposing racers into crashes for high-reward "takedowns".

PlayStation 2

Xbox

Xbox 360 Games Store

Overview

Burnout 3: Takedown is a street racing game developed by Criterion Games and published by EA Games for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox in North America on September 7, 2004, in Europe on September 10, 2004, and in Japan (PS2 only) on October 14, 2004.

The third installment of the Burnout series and the first published by EA, Takedown introduces a more combat-oriented approach to the original games' high-octane racing with the introduction of "takedowns", where shunting opposing racers into crashes fully fills up the boost meter (even expanding the meter, up to four times its original size).

Other new features introduced to the series includes a revamped boost meter (where players can boost at any time, at the cost of the removal of "burnouts"), a way to maneuver the player's wrecked car chassis into other racers (for special "Aftertouch" takedowns), a revamped Crash Mode (with "Aftertouch" maneuvering, manual "Crashbreaker" explosions, and power-ups), new game modes (such as elimination races, the takedown-focused "Road Rage" mode, and simultaneous-multiplayer Crash Modes), and online multiplayer for up to six players. It is also the first to include a licensed soundtrack, which can be customized using the "EA Games Trax" feature.

Along with a full-fledged sequel (Burnout Revenge), the game later received handheld ports for the PlayStation Portable and Nintendo DS, both under the title Burnout Legends. While the gameplay is based on Burnout 3: Takedown, these ports feature tracks from the series' first three entries.

The Xbox version was later made backwards-compatible with the Xbox 360, and was the only game in the original Xbox trilogy to be made available for that platform's digital marketplace as an Xbox Originals title (on January 14, 2008). The online services for all versions were later discontinued on April 15, 2010.

Gameplay

Takedown is similar in structure to its predecessor, Burnout 2: Point of Impact. But the game does have several new features that make it more than the "racing game plus big crashes" formula used in the past. New features include Impact Time, which allows players to slow time after a crash in order to direct their mangled frame of a car around the road and, ideally, hit other cars for an Aftertouch Takedown. This adds a new layer to the game, slowing down the normally intensely high-speed feel in order to get some post-crash satisfaction.

Players take on multiple event types over the course of the game, including Race, Road Rage, and Crash Mode. Race is fairly straightforward--first one to the finish line wins. Road Rage sets a target number of "takedowns" for the player to reach. Crash mode pins drivers not against other cars, but rather, against set patterns of parked cars and traffic, making it feel almost like a high-speed puzzle that's solved when you find the precise spot to cause the biggest crash.

Vehicles

There are 64 fictional vehicles in total, each classified into seven categories (which are used for different events). Most of them are unlockable, with only the first three Compact Series cars unlocked from the start.

Compact Series

Compact Type 1
Compact Type 2
Compact Type 3
Tuned Compact
Modified Compact
Custom Compact
Assassin Compact
Compact Prototype
Compact DX
Dominator Compact

Muscle Series

Muscle Type 1
Muscle Type 2
Muscle Type 3
Tuned Muscle
Modified Muscle
Custom Muscle
Assassin Muscle
Muscle Prototype
Muscle DX
Dominator Muscle

Coupe Series

Coupe Type 1
Coupe Type 2
Coupe Type 3
Tuned Coupe
Modified Coupe
Custom Coupe
Assassin Coupe
Coupe Prototype
Coupe DX
Dominator Coupe

Sports Series

Sports Type 1
Sports Type 2
Sports Type 3
Tuned Sports
Modified Sports
Custom Sports
Assassin Sports
Sports Prototype
Sports DX
Dominator Sports

Super Series

Super Type 1
Super Type 2
Super Type 3
Tuned Super
Modified Super
Custom Super
Assassin Super
Super Prototype
Super DX
Dominator Super

Special Series

Oval Racer Special
Custom Coupe Ultimate
Euro Circuit Racer
Classic Hotrod
US Circuit Racer
World Circuit Racer

Heavyweights

Heavy Pick Up
4WD Racer
SUV Deluxe
4WD Heavy Duty
B Team Van
Delivery Truck
Tractor Cab
Longnose Cab
City Bus
Trash Truck
Fire Truck

Tracks

Burnout 3: Takedown features 18 tracks on three continents: USA, Europe and Asia. It's also possible to play each track in the opposite direction, doubling the number of tracks to 36.

USA

Silver Lake
Waterfront
Downtown
Kings of the Road
Lakeside Getaway
Mountain Parkway

Europe

Winter City
Vineyard
Alpine
Riviera
Coastal Dream
Alpine Expressway
Frozen Peak
Continental Run

Far East

Golden City
Dockside
Island Paradise
Tropical Drive

100%

All Burnout games have provided some sort of status page as to how much of the game has been completed. This includes a percentage of the over all game you have done. To get 100% the player must get all 173 gold medals in World tour (races and crash junctions), all signature takedowns, all crash headlines, and all four Burnout trophies.

Signature Takedowns

To unlock the Oval Racer Special under the Special car class, the player must get all 20 signature takedowns. Signature Takedowns are takedowns done at certain points on tracks and the player receives a [stock] photo.

Gone Fishin' - Takedown over the trailer park (Silverlake)
Pillar Driller - Takedown into a Pillar (Downtown)
Tram Ram - Takedown into a Waterfront Tram (Waterfront)
Euro Tram Ram - Takedown into a Winter City Tram (Winter City)
Rumble in the Jungle - Takedown on the Island Paradise Offroad Route (Island Paradise)
Snowed Under - Takedown into a Snow Plough (Winter City)
Paid the Price - Takedown into Alpine Tollbooths (Alpine)
Berth Trauma - Takedown into Riviera Marina (Riviera)
Grapes of Wrath - Takedown into a Wine Truck (Vineyard)
Tuk-Down - Takedown into a Tuk-Tuk (Golden City)
Home Wrecker - Takedown into a Motor Home (Silverlake)
Hit the Split - Takedown into Wall at tunnel entrance in Downtown (Downtown)
Truck Torpedo - Takedown into a Big Rig hauling Speedboats (Silverlake)
Catch the Tour Bus - Takedown into the Parked Tour Busses in Island Paradise (Island Paradise)
Ship Wreck - Takedown into the Dockside Tanker Port (Dockside)
Avalanche! - Takedown over the edge of Alpine Bridges (Alpine)
Riviera Roustabout - Takedown into Riviera's Roundabout Monument (Riviera)
Gate Crasher - Takedown into the town gate (Vineyard)
Market Stalled - Takedown into Golden City Market (Golden City)
Tunnel of Shove - Takedown into a Tunnel Support in Dockside (Dockside)

Crash Headlines

To get the best crash vehicle in the game - The Firetruck - players must get all 10 Crash Headlines. These are newspaper headlines received from getting so much money on the following crash junctions.