Criterion is a genius. First they made Burnout, which launched an entirely new sub-genre of racing games. Then they made it better with Burnout 2, and revolutionized the genre once more with Burnout 3: Takedown. Mind-blowing graphics, unprecedented speed, interactive crash sequences that put Hollywood to shame – how can they top this? Where will the series go to next to achieve the next evolutionary step in high-speed, rule-defying racing? To near omnipotence.

Burnout Revenge is the game that asks, "What if forward-moving traffic was weak, and only things like concrete and oncoming traffic could harm your vehicle?" The answer is a racing game where you are the paddle and your opponents are the balls. If a car can be rear-ended it can be damaged, and you will drive away unscathed.

Walls will still get you. Objects will too, preventing those priceless thrills from drifting while empowering the player with a super-human strength so powerful you'll think you were controlling a missile. That's almost what it's like. The sense of speed, the ability to slam into cars and send them flying into other traffic – calling it a missile-on-wheels isn't too far off.

Steering is super-tight for the classics. Fans will feel right at home driving vehicles featured in previous Burnouts. Control refinement has been evenly dispersed over each of the cars, making the new ones just as much of a joy to cruise around in. Cruise - that might be too simple of a word. Crash might do it justice, but we all know the game is about more than that.

The sedans, hotrods, sports and over-priced concept cars are stellar in design. This game can't use real vehicles due to the insane collisions (apparently auto manufacturers don't want to see their real SUVs get banged up. Aw well, that's what Dateline is for). However, many of the vehicles look like ones that are already on the road. They're not blatant rip-offs as other racers have done in the past, but you can tell the developers were inspired by real-world designs.

Burnout 3's tour-based quest continues with well over 100 trials that'll test your ability to speed, crash, slam, and race. The Eliminator mode is a little different in Revenge. For starters the enemies have to be stronger now that you can ram other traffic into them.

Second, they added a time limit that determines who goes and who stays. In Burnout 3 you had until each checkpoint to make it into any slot other than last place; now you have until the time runs out! And believe me it dwindles very quickly. The exhilarating experience of performing consecutive near-misses down a busy, multi-tiered highway is a bit distracting, to say the least. Fail to pay attention to the time limit and you will come up short.

The Crash mode is the only change I wish they hadn't made. Your top speed is based on a charge meter similar to Need For Speed Underground's drag races, limiting your flexibility once the race begins. The track layout is brilliant, giving you hundreds of options in deciding which car to hit first, how to hit it, how many others you'd like to hit with it, and where to hit it from. That's a credit to the whole game since every course is a joy to race.

The act of crashing, unfortunately, isn't my favorite aspect. It's exciting, but now the R1 button has been added as a jam button (where you have to press the button repeatedly) to increase the potency of the explosion. Who has the fingers for that? I hate games that make me "jam" on the X button, and there I get to use my thumb. I'm not about to kill my index finger, nor am I fast enough to pull it off successfully. What to do? Slam on the button with the palm of your hand. It's not a great solution, but it gets you through it.

That one flaw is backed by a series of tiny flaws that are (thankfully) crushed by the fun factor and enormous replay value that Criterion never fails to include in their games. Like Burnout 3 this is an instant classic.

Graphically Burnout Revenge is really something. You might not think so at first due to the similarities between Revenge and Takedown. Same hardware, one year in between releases, it makes sense. Crash a few times and take a look at the subtle enhancements: unbelievably, this game looks better than the last. There are small differences in the lighting, the way the cars are textured, and in the way the backgrounds are laid out that make the game seem more real.

The crashes are somehow more intense. They're not necessarily bigger (except in Crash mode, where they have grown tremendously thanks to multi-tiered roads), but they look more like real cars slamming into each other. It's an incredible game to be able to create that I-can't-believe-I-just-missed-it feeling several dozen times before your body gets used to it. It's a psychological thing since there's no physical contact, no TV-to-gamer force feedback. It's all visual, it's all in your head.

Should you ever feel impervious to some of the game's excitement tricks, stop playing for a while and come back. Regardless of how good of a player you are Burnout Revenge will be able to shock and surprise as if you were playing it for the first time.

Gameplay: 9.1
Intense, extreme, and everything in between, Burnout Revenge is the vengeful sequel to the only arcade-style racer that held gamers’ attention as long as Gran Turismo. The number of different races and increasing difficulty makes for one of the most complete racing experiences a gamer can have. The top-notch controls and “oh-my-gosh!” near-misses will have your heart pumping as if you were doing this for real.

Graphics: 9.5
The best PlayStation 2 can offer? I think we thought that with Burnout 3. Burnout Revenge proves there’s still more power to be unearthed, if only a little. The lighting and texture job is unreal, and the lack of fog in these densely populated worlds is jaw-dropping. It’s possible to see way into the distance and pick out tiny details before you ever reach the location. Games aren’t like that! At least they weren’t until now.

The body damage during crashes, the way the cars smash, crinkle and crumble – it’s not a leap over Burnout 3, but you’ll notice enhancements for certain. It’s impossible to look at a crash, any crash, and say it was exactly like one you already had. That’s how massive and how varied this game is. Unbelievable.

Sound: 8.0
Nowhere near the quality of the first game’s soundtrack, Burnout Revenge has less punk and more…uhh, what genre is that exactly? Somewhere between metal and the dreaded – brace yourselves – alternative rock music. I like all rock music, but the mixture of up-and-coming bands from the last game was much better.

There’s good stuff from Yellowcard, The Bravery, Funeral For a Friend, The Starting Line and, The All-American Rejects, but they only provide five songs out of about three dozen. There are other decent tracks, though none I’m dying to run out and buy (I purchased five CDs after playing Burnout 3).

Difficulty: Medium
A cakewalk for racing veterans if bronze is good enough for you. I mean come ‘on, who doesn’t like settling for third place? That’s sarcasm in case you couldn’t tell. Try to get gold medals in every trial and you’ll go insane. Happily, with hours and hours of replay value, and a sigh of relief after every first-place win.

Concept: 8.0
Burnout 3 revamped for revenge. Pesky traffic getting you down? Now you can ram forward-moving traffic as much as you like. Oncoming traffic is still deadly, and walls are just as stubborn as ever. An interesting change that’s keeping the Burnout series young (as if it’s ever shown signs of aging!), but it’ll be the future Burnout series that determine which is better: being penetrable to all traffic or only to traffic that’s oncoming.

Multiplayer: 9.0
Takedown a friend and smile; get taken down and you’ll have a new rival! With gameplay that’s getting closer to perfection, stellar courses and awesome vehicles designed for solo play, it wasn’t hard for the developers to create a great multiplayer mode. Take everything we love about the game, split the screen, and bring it online.

Overall: 9.1
A little old, a little new, and a lot more of the same, Burnout Revenge isn’t as innovative as its predecessor. The same could be said when Burnout 2 came out – it was not as innovative as the first Burnout. Nonetheless its high level of addictiveness turned us into gaming burnouts. Junkies that wouldn’t quit playing for any reason. Gran Turismo is the only other racing series that has done that to me, and it’s a simulator. Burnout Revenge is arcade action; an adrenaline rush so pure you’ll swear the race is real.