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Many games in the industry take themselves too seriously. The cost to develop games is spiralling out of control and often developers stick to the norm, which often means a game focused on pushing the boundaries of realism, think GT or Forza. Luckily for every gamer that loves their gear ratios and torque is one that loves to jump in a virtual car, hit 200mph and fly into a wall. Thank god for the boys at Criterion. Every single Burnout game is built from the ground up and it shows. Ever edition is different and subsequently improved. It’s the must have game for the video gaming adrenaline junkie. With the appearance of new generation hardware, the Burnout series has been hoping to make the leap to bigger and better things. The release of the demo on Xbox Live and PSN today means that gamers can finally get a chance to see how the game, two years in development is coming along. Hold onto your eyelids because you’re in for a hell of a ride.

There are events, don’t get me wrong, but they’re not as rigid as before. Pull up at an intersection, and you get a start point and finish and then the rest is up to you. You can take any route you wish to get to the end point and there are no rules. The demo offers you three events, a race, a sprint and a stunt. There’re pretty much normal practice in the Burnout world and they great fun. AI drivers shunt and smash you, taking you down and they’re relentlessly aggressive. There is one car on offer and three districts of the city; Motor City, Big Surf Beach and Ocean View. They’re big enough to explore and a selfless helping from the lads at Criterion. There are challenges like crashing into billboards, gates and other debris but that’s nothing what awaits you online.

With a two button simple system, with no menus or loading you’re instantly transported into ’freeburn’ mode with 3 other drivers. It’s an instantaneous passing and it’s brilliant. Once online you can undertake challenges together or just rule the roads. Crash into each other, race each other, and break each other. People generally merge towards each other so you’re never alone and once together, it’s the most fun you'll (Ed - i've) ever have on an Xbox Live title. The laughs, jeers and humour that occur is generally heart warming. The game records who has done the longest drift or most near misses so there’s always something to aim for. Was it mentioned that even when all four drivers are hitting breakneck speeds with every beautiful visual effect occurring that there was never ever any sign or lag or FPS drop. What the developers have achieved technically is stunning. Read this hands on, but go play it now, again and again, because once you have, you’ll understand what we’re on about. This is one of my games of the year, and its only a demo. Watch out 2008, Burnout is back.

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