Burnout 5

EA has formally announced what many in the media have suspected all along: a new Burnout game specifically designed for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Here's the latest.

Burnout 5 will slam onto the Xbox 360 and PS3 in 2007 (Burnout: Revenge shown)

Judging by the announcement, EA and developer Criterion Games have made some intriguing twists to the core gameplay experience. In an open-world twist, Burnout 5 will allow players to drive anywhere in Paradise City at any time. But despite Burnout 5's open-world emphasis, GTA it's not.

Though the game will allow players to cruise anywhere and cause massive destruction, the goal is to inflict enough devastation to lure out local champions, who will be eager to dethrone you. A new Driver's License will help players keep track of their biggest, baddest crashes.

"Burnout 5 is a complete reinvention of the series, built from the ground up for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360", says Alex Ward at Criterion Games.

From the sound of it, the destruction element has also earned some attention. EA promises that particularly vicious crashes will "literally rip [players'] cars in half" and that the game features "the most explosive pile-ups in the series' history."Big words. Then again, Burnout 5 is a big series on two big systems.

The Real Burnout

We've all been waiting for the "real" latest-generation installment of Burnout, because Burnout Revenge, which hit the Xbox 360 a few months after the launch of the Xbox 360, was really just a prettier version of the Xbox and PS2 game of the same name. It had all the same content, and was developed for current-gen systems first.

But Burnout 5 will turn the tables. If we are to believe EA and its latest announcement, then racing fans are in for quite a treat when Burnout 5 lands on the Xbox 360 and PS3. We suspected a latest-gen version was in development by the talented folks over at Criterion Games, but in all honesty, we didn't expect to hear about it so soon.

Essential Upgrades

Being huge fans of the Burnout series, we at GamePro know just what we want to see in the newest version of Burnout:

1. New map structure. Previous installments of Burnout have done a good job in keeping things simple, but the old race/crash/takedown organization needs an upgrade.

2. New crash mode. The crash mode from Burnout Revenge was fun, but not as good as it was in Burnout 3: Takedown. Our advice: go back to that of the latter. The system of collecting burst power-ups and double-cash icons was much more intuitive.

3. Better online. The whole "rival" system from Revenge was, unfortunately, not as cool as advertised. We suggest a completely new lobby and matchmaking system similar to Halo 2. The archaic lobby structure just HAS to go. Also, Burnout 5 should have split-screen online support, a much-needed feature.

4. LAN / System Link support. Developers are slowly axing this feature, but unless you have a great online interface, it's sometimes easier to just link up with your roomies for some full-screen linked play.

Burnout 5 is expected on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 sometime in 2007.

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