Working on the project (as a senior tester in the QA department) was a strange mixture of excitement, trepidation, and hubris. Open world driving games were just coming into vogue at the time – Test Drive Unlimited, spurred by an excellent demo and timely release, was leading the way on the new machines – and so it seemed a good idea at the time. Replaying the courses, it becomes obvious what a fatal mistake it was to abandon fixed tracks in favour of a sandbox in Paradise. The sense of speed the game generates is unmatched anywhere else, and is just one part of an interlocking series of features that work together to give the game its tremendous appeal. It is the absolute antithesis of The Real Tedium Simulator, Gran Turismo: whereas that game may accurately simulate driving a small family car to the shops to pick up some biscuits for your nan, Burnout feels like you’re piloting a craft that happens to look like a car yet goes about 700 miles an hour.

Revenge and Paradise followed, but it’s Takedown that still reigns supreme.

The preceding games were excellent in their own ways – Burnout 2 in particular – but it was with Burnout 3 where Criterion perfected the arcade racer with a game so expertly crafted, that even its own creator couldn’t top it with subsequent efforts. Burnout 3 was released in europe on 10th September 2004, and instantly asserted itself as the best racing game of all time and the game that finally broke my ailing PS2.

Burnout 3 takedown ps2