Burnout. The mere name instils a sense of excitement in me for times long gone. If one game series would be the poster boy for my nostalgia of the PlayStation 2 era it would be Burnout, the perfect arcade racer series in my opinion. The series started small with the original and paved the way for the future open world racing games we know today with its final entry, Paradise, but my favourite is and likely always will be the third. For me it was the perfect mix of tightly designed tracks, amazing crashes, and a godly soundtrack that really elavated a good racing game into one of my favourite games of all time. But how does it fare today? Is its trademark sense of speed still intact, and do the tracks still hold up after over 10 years? The answer my friends, is yes.

Having now gone back to game (via both emulator and original ps2) I am very happy to find that my love the game is relatively untarnished. What was once one of the very top arcade racers remains so in my eyes. The speed is still unrivalled in terms of most racers nowadays and the adherence to a high frame rate is striking when comparing it to modern titles. Hell, even comparing it to the most Burnout title, Paradise, the sheer speed during play is incredible. At higher levels of car type it becomes almost too much to handle as you fly down streets full of oncoming traffic at speeds reaching 300 to 400mph.

Driving at those kinds of speeds requires perfect controls and Burnout 3 has them in spades. Whilst it may take a moment to figure out the old controls of Face button to accelerate instead of the trigger it soon becomes second nature and the tightness of the controls and the finesse with which you can move your vehicle makes every corner and every traffic dodge exhilarating and heart racing. The cars are super manoeuvrable and driving is pure simple fun which is really the most important part.

One thing I had forgotten before returning to Burnout 3 was the pure joy of crash mode. There is something so instantly rewarding about smashing your car into a intersection and watching as car after car piles up around you, all the while earning you score. Speaking of crashing cars, it is there that the core selling point of Burnout 3 lies. There was and still is a certain beauty of watching the cars flip and smash in glorious slo-motion, sparks and glass flying everywhere as parts fall off and the chassis deforms. Sure compared to modern destruction in games it is woefully basic but boy does it still bring such great satisfaction to watch your opponent somersault through the air in slo-motion after you slam them into the wall.

If there is one thing I know after going back to Burnout 3 though it is that the current market is sorely missing this series. Quite why it has died out I am unsure, there is nothing quite like it and boy is it fantastic. Burnout 3 is the kind of game I can go back to over and over and sadly it seems I will have to. Racers nowadays are either sims or open world, tightly designed track based racers like Burnout hardly even exist anymore, especially with the trademark speed and focus on crashing. EA and Criterion (or what’s left of it) please, give us Burnout back.

Still, at least I will always have the game I love.

BO3:T is a fantastic game but I would personally love a mix of 3 and Paradise. Everything from Paradise but the crash mode from 3.

I'd like Burnout to come back but without the takedown mechanic. It really slowed down the gameplay that was so good in Burnout 2.

That soundtrack; filled to the brim with post-hardcore bands, yet Funeral for a Friend is oddly nostalgic, and Catalyst by New Found Glory is probably the best CD I own.

Thanks Burnout 3, along with Revenge, Need for Speed Underground 2 and Most Wanted for shaping my interest in music as a teen.

Alex Ward left the downsized Criterion to make a new studio. Rumor has it that they just might be making a spiritual successor to the Burnout games of old. I hope he gets the band back together too. Literally.

Burnout 3 truly was the pinnacle of the series. (That said, i think it had the worst crash mode in the series since it's too overreliant on "Power-Ups". I felt less encouraged to create clever Crash-Chain-Reactions and more encouraged to find the best power-up since it was the easiest, if not only way to get the highest scores)

Burnout 2 might be a better game for those who prefer "pure" racing, but even with that in mind i don't like the feel of the game as much.

Burnout: Revenge was a great continuation, but fiddled with the formula in ways that made it a slightly worse game (namely the overabundance of shortcuts and being encouraged to crash into some of the traffic)

Burnout Paradise....honestly wasn't really Burnout for me. I really enjoyed that game and loved it on it's own terms, but Open World driving just isn't Burnout for me (and honestly, to be a bit more inflammatory OPEN WORLD RACING KINDA SUCKS), and there had been to many concessions to accomondate to the need of such design.