Burnout: Revenge [X360]

For a series that started life as a tech demo, the Burnout games have come a long way in the past few years. With Burnout Revenge for the Xbox 360, Criterion has kept the same basic game as the recent current generation console versions, but tweaked it in response to player feedback and given it the expected visual boost. The result? Burnout Revenge: The Director's Cut.

If you're unfamiliar with the game, the concept behind Burnout Revenge is simple: race fast, race hard, and do whatever you have to do to get across the finish line first, including plowing your way through traffic and knocking other vehicles into your opponent's path. Trying to overtake another car? Grind him into the wall. As they say, all's fair in love and road war.

One of the big changes from Burnout 3 is the addition of the Traffic Attack mode. Here, a timer is continuously counting down. The only way to stay in the game is to keep taking out cars in order to add precious seconds onto the clock. Though colliding with traffic has its benefits -- you'll earn turbo boost by ramming cars from the rear -- it also has its drawbacks. Every collision cuts into your speed and when you're going for the best possible time, it's often better to weave in and out of traffic.

Another item new to the series is the Crashbreaker. This explosive attack is charged up in crash mode, as well as when you are taken out during a race. By properly timing the explosion of your car you can rack up massive points in crash mode, or take out on coming rivals in a race. Either way, it adds depth an extra layer of depth to the game.

Visually, Burnout Revenge on the older consoles was pretty sweet, but after making the jump to the 360, you'll never want to go back to playing in standard definition. The visuals are ultra smooth and sharp in their widescreen glory, and curiously enough, this actually lowers the difficulty as you can now see obstacles further down the track, giving you more time to react.