REVIEW

Review: Burnout Crash is a Bad Console Game (But Would be Awesome on iOS)

(PS3, XBOX 360, WIRE, IPHONE)

Criterion's latest hits all the right notes, but it does so on the wrong platform.

By Ryan Winterhalter 09/22/2011

Burnout Crash isn't a very good console game. It's entertaining enough, and I could imagine a smartphone version might monopolize my commute for a few weeks, but I wouldn't have played it on the Xbox 360 or PS3 for more than fifteen minutes if I weren't doing so for work.

Fans of mobile games (myself included) often complain loudly about designers shoehorning hardcore games into touch-control interfaces that don't really suit the gameplay. Burnout Crash is the inverse of that phenomenon: It's a mobile game thrown onto a console, and the experience suffers for it.

Burnout Crash takes the Crash Mode from the retail Burnout games, and changes the viewing angle to a top-down perspective. You'll begin each round in all of the game's three modes by rushing into traffic and crashing. The ensuing pileup charges your "crashbreaker" meter. Once fully charged, a tap of the A button explodes your car and blasts it up in the air. You can then move your car to a limited degree so long as it remains airborne. The game awards points for destroying other objects in the level with collateral damage, though the ultimate goal depends on which mode you choose.

Road Trip tasks you with preventing other cars from escaping the pileup -- if five get away unscathed its game over -- while counting down to various events that range from law enforcement intervention to a fleet of taxis entering the fray. It all culminates in a super event (such as a meteor or tsunami) that destroys everything on the level with a point value determined by how many cars have slipped through your grasp. Rush Hour mode asks you to be as destructive as possible within a 90-second limit. The round ends with your car being destroyed in a massive explosion that sets off a chain reaction in the level. Meanwhile, the Pile Up mode requires you to amass as large pile up without destroying too much of the level. At the end, your car will explode and you'll be able to continue playing so long as other objects on the level stay aflame.

Click the image above to check out all Burnout Crash screens.

You earn stars for achieving various goals in all three modes, which then unlock more levels and vehicles. The game also features Autolog leaderboards that will be familiar to anyone who played Criterion's last game Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit, as well as Kinect functionality. That latter feature is meant to allow the game to serve as a fun party game but is actually rather boring -- despite offering a surprising amount of control fidelity, the lengthy rounds only support one player at a time. There are better Kinect party games out there.

Burnout Crash's ability to underwhelm is actually rather frustrating. The game would fit right at home on an iPhone or iPad, and it can be rather fun. But with all the amazing games available for consoles, it's hard to see why anyone would choose to invest their time in Burnout Crash. I would play Burnout Crash over Angry Birds, Game Dev Story, or even my current obsession, Baseball Superstars '10, but there's no way I'm playing it at home when I could be putting more time into deeper and more rewarding experiences. A touchscreen device isn't the right home for a first-person shooter, and the 360 and PS3 aren't the right fit for Crash.

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Comments (28)

This Review
Posted: userComment.createdDate by Dr_Corndog

Proof enough that mobile games are by and large inherently inferior to console and PC games?

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Terrible Review
Posted: userComment.createdDate by donny_d

i could not disagree more with this review.
this game was pure crack for $10. maybe i'm just an old guy in my opinion because i DESPISE playing games on phones.
i loved the crash in burnout paradise and this just took it another direction. the top-down view was initially bothersome, but i now dig it.

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- Love the idea...
  Posted: 09/28/2011 by Biz_Markee
  
  Dug the execution even more. Love the game at the price point!
  
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This game would be reviewed better
Posted: userComment.createdDate by Drfever

If it was released closer to Paradise. Or, alternatively, what was most likely to happen which was a free inclusion to Paradise (much like Big Surf was supposed to be before EA's purchase of Criterion).
Unfortunately, the design and gameplay just don't cut it 4-5 years later, but I'm happy with my purchase... but I still want a proper Burnout game, dammit.

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Review does not make sense
Posted: userComment.createdDate by Masta_C

First off you are saying this game would be good on a mobile phone, but not on a console. I could understand if you meant that the console controls hurt the experience or if it was a mobile game they ported to consoles and it sucked comparitively, but you are just saying I'd rather have this exact same game on my phone and then it would be cool. Whether or not you are personally going to play it over Deus Ex on your console does not matter. Is it a good game or not? You can't say well it is good, but compared to GTA4 it sucks. I played the demo and was not thrilled, but I bought the game anyway. I have spent a couple hours each day with it since it released. It is a very fun game. It is not as large as some games, it is not as time consuming as some games, but it is a fun game no matter what you play it on. I'd give it a B because it is a very solid pick up and play game which is more than I can say for most mobile games. Speaking of which you say it is better than Angry birds and what not and yet you gave it a lower score just because it is not on the platfom of your choice? I have never called 1up biased, but I can imagine a day when your reviewers start saying things like, well it is an awesome game, but it is on the Nintendo Wii U so I have to give it a D because I would rather play it on my PS4.

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Here is what I don't understand;
Posted: userComment.createdDate by skeleroar

If it isn't fun on a console,why would it be fun on a phone?

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PSP Perhaps?
Posted: userComment.createdDate by Mr.LametoWatch

If they would sell this for $10 or less on PSP, it might be worth checking out.

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Good idea, baaadddd execution
Posted: userComment.createdDate by Gamemasterflex18

The idea of a Live Arcade version of the crash mode from Burnout would be an awesome idea. Sadly this is not that game. All they would have to do is up res and port over, and they would sell like crazy, even if it was the old levels.

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This reviewer: Apple tool?
Posted: userComment.createdDate by cuk

'nuff said.

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- Sigh
  Posted: 09/23/2011 by guch20
  
  Fifty bucks says you're an Apple-hating Android nerd. I swear, people can't even mention Apple stuff nowadays without some geek shooting tears out of his vagina because he wuvs his Andwoid and it's not getting enough attention. Get over it.
  
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- I hate them all
  Posted: 09/25/2011 by Masta_C
  
  I hate Apple, I hate Android, I hate people who think they are special because they own one or the other. No actually you are tools that are being brainwashed by consumerism. I would write a longer post but I'm guessing there is an Apple 5.7 or an Android 4G-something-or-other releasing right this minute. So stop reading and go spend another $400 on a piece of crap machine that is supposed to make and recieve phone calls.
  
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Ridiculous Headline
Posted: userComment.createdDate by bko

Given that the left stick is the most important control input by 10 miles, how would this be better with some lousy virtual joystick on iOS? The whole conceit of this review — that it'd be an "awesome" game on a platform with far worse controls but is merely crappy on a much more suitable platform simply because more elaborate games exist for consoles than iOS — doesn't even make sense. If you think it's overpriced, how about just saying that? Your time is your time, whether you're on a bus or on a couch, and the games you spend that time on are either good or not.

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Hope full Crash comes back someday...
Posted: userComment.createdDate by Luminari

I was non-plussed by the Demo too. Might get around to getting it...but won't log a ton of time. I've been waiting for the visceral thrills and playback camera manipulation of the Original Crash modes with more recent tech and "physics" for awhile. Stunt mode or whatever it was called in Paradise was a throwaway concession for not having Crash mode in an otherwise amazing game. When I heard this was top-down only...I thought I'd give it a try hoping the forced angle would bring something different albeit substantive for a litle downloadable title...but not so much. I imagine the full game will feel about a "C" experience for me as well. Bring back a Full Crash mode someday Burnout...please...

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Have to say
Posted: userComment.createdDate by KPKCBest

from the video I watched of the game it didn't look particularly great. Why downsize a triple A series to THIS? Were sales THAT bad for the last game that they have no money for a true sequel?

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Where is the review again?
Posted: userComment.createdDate by FishBoneFredd

Give me examples of criticism and not just a generic, "I'd rather play another game." I don't know who the writer is, and therefor his opinion without tangible criticism behind it doesn't mean anything to me.
Not to sound harsh, but if I wanted a run down of how the game flows and its modes, I'd visit another site.

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Worst Application of Autolog :(
Posted: userComment.createdDate by shady78

I hope they're taking the piss.

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Totally Disagree
Posted: userComment.createdDate by EKGTrooper

The iPhone is a PERFECT place for a First Person Shooter. I often get more accuracy on the iPhone with many FPS's or third person shooters than I do on consoles. The touch screen is so accurate that moving, aiming and shooting is precise as ever. You need to practice a bit more with them if you find yourself having a hard time.
As it is right now, I absolutey destroy iPhone FPS's like NOVA 2 and Modern Combat 2, even with auto-aim turned off, since the screen is so precise.

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- Try PC
  Posted: 09/23/2011 by just2pale
  
  You'll be a better person for it
  
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- Nope
  Posted: 09/23/2011 by EKGTrooper
  
  I get better accuracy with the iPhone than I do on PC. I have been a console gamer since the Atari 2600, and a PC gamer since Under a Killing Moon. By far, the iPhone offers me better precision and accuracy with FPS's. By FAR.
  I would be happy to prove it as well, as I am currently making some Youtube videos proving how accurate I am with the iPhone touch screen and FPS's with all auto aim and aim assists turned off.
  
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- one thing
  Posted: 09/23/2011 by Ahiru
  
  the iphone/ipo(a)d beats a good old 360's joypad is the gyroscope. how cool is to ACTUALLY turn yourself around to find targets and precisely aim at them?!?
  anyways, i'm just fine with my 360 shooters, as i leave my idevices to run casual stuff (ahem, while sitting in the throne)
  
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- I'm sorry
  Posted: 09/23/2011 by haonetat01
  
  I play A LOT of iOS games, and I'm not saying that you're not some prodigy on the iOS's touchscreen, but the majority of people aren't. The idea that the touchscreen on iOS platforms is better for FPS than a mouse or thumbstick is just crazy. You may be really good at multiplayer FPS games on iOS and dominate other players pretty easily, but you're only as good as your competition.
  
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- @haoneta01
  Posted: 09/23/2011 by EKGTrooper
  
  I am talking about single player and multiplayer. Not one or the other.
  That argument makes no sense. You could say the same exact thing about console gaming and PC gaming. I am not alone here. I watch friends play the same games and absolutely dominate in single player and multiplayer. It is simple. The touch screen offers true 1:1 gaming. Where I move my finger is exactly where the reticule moves.
  Same for moving. You pit me against someone who is playing an FPS on their PC while I am on the iPhone and I will have the advantage. Pit me up against someone on a console and it would be a massacre. They'd have no chance. Not tooting my own horn here, but it is true.
  If you are more comfortable with PC gaming or console gaming than you are with the iPhone, it doesn't mean the iphone isn't better. It just means you prefer one over the other. I am not "crazy" for thinking the iPhone is better. I would be crazy if I had no proof, but since I do on a regular basis...well, there it is.
  
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- Proof?
  Posted: 09/24/2011 by haonetat01
  
  The only way you could prove that a FPS player on iOS could out perform an FPS player on console or PC would be to have players from each platform playing against each other in the same game. Until a game like this is released there is no way to gather data over a period of time and then break down the percentages. A player on console with their sensitivity set to max can aim at a target just as fast as an iOS player can put their finger on it. I'm not exactly sure what you think you have "proof" of, but it's not that FPS aiming in iOS is superior to PC or console, because there really isn't a way to gather that data.
  
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Title of Comment
Posted: userComment.createdDate by roto13

I played the demo last night and it didn't entertain me enough to play past one round, and definitely not enough to buy the full game. That said, this review doesn't seem to be very good. It takes four and a half paragraphs to actually arrive with any criticism, and it's about the Kinect mode. Surely there has to be something more to say about this game than that the Kinect mode sucks and it would probably fit better as an iOS game. (The latter doesn't make a lot of sense to me anyway. A boring time waster is a boring time waster, whether you're playing it at home or on the bus.)

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I don't even think it would be great on iOS
Posted: userComment.createdDate by mik

Even on an iPhone/iPad, the plodding pace of this game would be a total drag. It is so droning and laborious that it nearly puts me to sleep.

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Different viewpoint
Posted: userComment.createdDate by helava

So, I'm a dad, and have a full-time job. I say that only to provide perspective, in that I want fun in minimal *time*. One thing that I really enjoyed about Crash! was that I could hop in, play for three or four minutes, and have a great time. I agree that it's much more like an iOS game, and compared to that, it feels a touch overpriced. If it was 400MSP, it'd be a no-brainer. That said, I'm still having a ton of fun. I wish they'd bring the full-bore Crash Mode back to Burnout, of course, but in the meantime this is a charming and strange way to get my fix.

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Duuuuuhhhhhh
Posted: userComment.createdDate by AfroRyan

Burnout Crash is a downloadable game, not a retail game. Sure, it's for consoles, but it's not meant to be some sort of 'retail' experience. XBLA and PSN games are SUPPOSED to be inexpensive titles that are (generally speaking) meant to be played in short bursts...just like a mobile game. Unlike mobile games, however, they aren't shoehorned into being some sort of touch screen minigame.

Just wanted to point this out. By this reviewer's logic, Peggle shouldn't be on consoles either...or any number of titles that have already found multiple homes on mobiles and consoles.

Burnout Crash is simply a cross between oldschool MicroMachines action and newschool Burnout [Crash Junction Mode], both being console games. So please, don't tell us consoles aren't the "right home" for it.

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- I think
  Posted: 09/23/2011 by Captain_Gonru
  
  the author was saying that, even within the context of a downloadable game, it was a weak offering that would have been more at home on a mobile device. I would also agree that he didn't convey this thought very clearly, though.
  
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