Burnout 3

Alright, here are my impressions of the demo --

I wish this demo was for Xbox. Dear God I wish this demo was for Xbox! My only experience with the Burnout series has been Burnout 2 Director's Cut and, well, the control set up for that is a thousand times more natural then this. It's very weird using the X and Square buttons as gas and brake....

But, control grips aside, the game kicks ass. It's pretty much everything Burnout 2 was but fast, prettier, and more agressive. Being able to finally do damage to your rivials kicks ass. There's something really rewarding about nuding the guy in first place into a wall, having them crash and then marveling at the instant slow motion replay of that crash as you sit back and think, "Yep. I did that."
As was mentioned on this thread before, I believe, you can also boost whenever you wish now. I'm not quite sure how this works in with doing burnouts, but if anything else your boost meter doesn't seem to last as long as it did in Burnout 2.

If anything else, I can clearly see that this game is going to be as additive as Burnout 2 and probably even more fun. I can't wait to try this out on Xbox and on Xbox Live...

Two more things I just noticed -- Your boost meter starts off really tiny, but as you force your rivals to crash your boost meter gets a little longer.
When you crash, though, your boost meter goes back to the size it was when you first started the race.
*Foams at mouth*
Need... full... game... now...

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Originally Posted by Geen

I'm not quite sure how this works in with doing burnouts

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I think they eliminated earning Burn during a Burnout.

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but if anything else your boost meter doesn't seem to last as long as it did in Burnout 2.

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Do a couple Takedowns in a row, your meter will get HUGE.

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Originally Posted by MechDeus

I think they eliminated earning Burn during a Burnout.

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Is that how you got a Burnout x 2, or whatever in Burnout 2? I always thought it was for not crashing while using your boost...

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Originally Posted by Geen

Is that how you got a Burnout x 2, or whatever in Burnout 2? I always thought it was for not crashing while using your boost...

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Yeah it is (well, not crashing while continuing to rack up Burn the usual way, it just built up "behind" the meter currently being used), but they changed a lot of things about speed in BO3. You don't slow down after boosting so if you continually gain Burn and keep using it there won't be a need for more after a while, and your meter isn't limited to the same size.

I just got the PS2 demo of Burnout 3, also. Much like Geen, I'm very impressed with it. I'll just add a few comments on things I've noticed with regard to the gameplay, and how they relate to Burnout 2.

The collisions are a little more forgiving than in Burnout 2, probably because the game now encourages you to sideswipe the other cars in an attempt to force them off the road (hopefully into walls and other obstacles). This is a great addition to the series.

Burnout 3 has a wider range for detecting near misses--you don't have to be quite as close to another car for a near miss to register. Personally, I hope they tighten this up a bit before release, as it seems almost too easy to rack up near misses now.

The demo doesn't have any music. The sound effects so far seem passable--nothing bad, but nothing outstanding, either. The addition of music to the final game will probably greatly enhance the experience.

One aspect that I found both amusing and annoying is the way that a "takedown" causes the game to suddenly go into a sort of "slow-motion replay", where the camera spins around to show another angle (usually a side view) of the opposing car meeting its demise, and then thrusts you back into the action afterward. It's kind of fun to watch the first few times, but on the other hand I really hope the final game has this implemented as an option that can be disabled by the user. The shift to slo-mo is jarring, disorienting, and throws off the whole pacing of the game. Maybe they can save the slo-mo effects for the post-race replays, as it would be much more effective there.

By the way, if you end up in a crash, I've noticed that holding the boost button causes the crash sequence to shift into slow-motion. It will do so as long as you continue to hold the button; when you release it, it will resume normal speed.

There are now six cars (including your own) involved in a race (up from four in Burnout 2). For those unfamiliar with the series, note that this isn't the total number of cars on the course, as there's plenty of other traffic to weave through. It's just that there are six cars that are competing to get to the finish line first, and a bunch of other vehicles that just happen to be driving on the roads that you're speeding through. :) The computer-controlled racers seem smarter now, and can use many of the same tactics to ram you off the road. At one point, it even appeared that one computer racer forced another one off the road. If they've truly implemented AI routines that treat each computerized racer as competing with each other (rather than five racers acting together just to prevent you from succeeding), then this will go a long way in making the races more believable.

Overall, the demo left a very good impression on me. There are obviously a few problems that need to be addressed, but for the most part it seems to be coming together nicely. I'm eagerly looking forward to the release of the final game in just a little more than a month.

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Originally Posted by Agent X

The shift to slo-mo is jarring, disorienting, and throws off the whole pacing of the game. Maybe they can save the slo-mo effects for the post-race replays, as it would be much more effective there.

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On the bright side, it can also "rescue" you. During a Takedown you don't have full control of your game and the game recognizes that, and will do things like remove cars directly in your path or allow you to ghost through them during the point when you don't have control. There's no way to count on this or set up a race to utilize it (besides, the traffic layouts are far more random then BO or BO2) but it can help in a tight spot.

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By the way, if you end up in a crash, I've noticed that holding the boost button causes the crash sequence to shift into slow-motion. It will do so as long as you continue to hold the button; when you release it, it will resume normal speed.

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That's for steering purposes. While holding down slo-mo you can steer your wreck left and right to move it into the path of your opponents and get Aftertouch Takedowns, which get you bonus Burn meter when you respawn.

Can someone tell me whether or not the game has severe catch-up AI? I consider BO2's to be severe. Which reminds me, I have an email to write to EA.

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Originally Posted by Agent X

One aspect that I found both amusing and annoying is the way that a "takedown" causes the game to suddenly go into a sort of "slow-motion replay", where the camera spins around to show another angle (usually a side view) of the opposing car meeting its demise, and then thrusts you back into the action afterward. It's kind of fun to watch the first few times, but on the other hand I really hope the final game has this implemented as an option that can be disabled by the user. The shift to slo-mo is jarring, disorienting, and throws off the whole pacing of the game. Maybe they can save the slo-mo effects for the post-race replays, as it would be much more effective there.

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I actually really like the slow motion take downs in Burnout 3. It was a little confussing the first few times it happened, but once I knew what to expect it was great for me. Personally, I find it no more confussing then the slow downs that happen when you crash... if anything, those crashes are the ones that bother me more now, but I still love them anyway. :D

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Originally Posted by Joust Williams

Can someone tell me whether or not the game has severe catch-up AI? I consider BO2's to be severe. Which reminds me, I have an email to write to EA.

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You know what, I don't think it was anywhere near as bad (or as obvious) as BO2 was with the catch-up. However, it's not the issue it was in BO2, because the more you keep your opponents around you, the more opportunities there are to take them down and get your boost up.

Speaking of takedowns, it's possible to chain them, very loosely. If you take out multiple opponents within a short space of time, the game will give you more points each time (500 for the first takedown, 1500 for the fifth), I managed to get about 8 in a chain, but after the 5th you get the same points for each takedown. Also note that each takedown adds a chunk to your bar (with a total of 4 chunks), and every time you are taken down, you lose a chunk.

Takedown avenged is based on how angry the driver was that took you down. I don't think many people have noticed, but the colour of the position (1st, 4th etc) above each car represents how aggressive the driver will be towards your car. They start off as white, kind of a neutral stance. I'm pretty sure I've seen yellow, orange and red, red obviously being the most aggressive stance a driver will take. If they take you down while angry with you, this is when you will get the 'Takedown Avenged' appear.

To get a 100 point bonus for drifting, you need to drift for over 600ft, although I find in the car in the demo, drifting isn't anywhere as easy as it was in BO2, which kinda bugged me to begin with. All the point bonuses for aggressive behaviour have like, upper and lower limits. So you might get 'Brawlin!' appear, and it could be worth anything from 50 to 80 points, say. Not really sure how they judge what is worth what, just hit cars as hard as you can!

There's also a ton of different bonuses you can get, depending on what your crash was like. Caught a big air? You get the 'Fly-boy' bonus, and so on. Each crash is worth something like 20 to 50 points, nothing huge, but a little consolation for the crash.

The boost trick from BO2 is in there again. Hold down gas, tap brake (puts you in 1st gear), then release and hold gas just before the countdown hits 'Go!' and you'll get a decent boost off the start.

There's not much else I can think of that others haven't said. I can't wait until September 10th though. Gonna rock.

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Originally Posted by Adman

Speaking of takedowns, it's possible to chain them, very loosely. If you take out multiple opponents within a short space of time, the game will give you more points each time (500 for the first takedown, 1500 for the fifth), I managed to get about 8 in a chain, but after the 5th you get the same points for each takedown. Also note that each takedown adds a chunk to your bar (with a total of 4 chunks), and every time you are taken down, you lose a chunk.

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You can also get Double Takedowns if you do two people at once which are worth 800 instead of 500 (not sure how much if it's part of a longer chain). I would've posted one in my video but I never got one during the time I was recording. :\