Line #47 YMMV/Burnout


1	For YMMV tropes relating to ''VideoGame/BurnoutParadise'', click [[YMMV/BurnoutParadise here]].
2	----
3	* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: Really, the entire soundtrack for each game counts - every player has their favourite song. Here are some examples:
4	** ''Burnout 2: Point of Impact'':
5	*** "Destroyer Mix"
6	*** "Panic Attack"
7	*** "The Miracle Mile"
8	*** The credits theme, a medley of three other tracks in the game.
9	** ''Burnout 3: Takedown'':
10	*** "Make A Sound" by Autopilot Off
11	*** "Lazy Generation" by The F-Ups
12	*** "Fall Apart" by 1208
13	*** "Paper Wings" by Music/RiseAgainst
14	*** "I'm Not Okay" by Music/MyChemicalRomance
15	*** "Breathing" by Yellowcard
16	*** "Here I Am" by The Explosion[[note]](And ''Burnout 3: Takedown'' is one of ''three'' games to to have this song featured in them including ''VideoGame/TonyHawksUnderground2'' and the ''WesternAnimation/Cars1'' tie-in game, albeit instrumental for the latter's case)[[/note]].
17	*** "C'mon" by Go Betty Go
18	*** "Saccharine Smile" by The Donots
19	*** "Shake That Bush Again" by The Mooney Suzuki
20	*** "I Wanna Be Sedated" by Music/TheRamones
21	** ''Burnout Revenge'':
22	*** "Beast And The Harlot" (shown in-game as Beast...) by Music/AvengedSevenfold
23	*** "Flyover" by Asian Dub Foundation
24	*** "Today" by Music/JunkieXL
25	*** "Do What You Want" by Music/OKGo
26	*** The Music/{{BT}} remix of "Break On Through" by Music/TheDoors
27	*** "Straight To Video (Music/{{KMFDM}} Remix)" by Music/MindlessSelfIndulgence
28	*** "Shot Down" by Nine Black Alps
29	*** "Daft Punk Is Playing At My House (Soulwax Shibuya Remix)" by Music/LCDSoundsystem
30	*** "Come On" by Andy Hunter
31	*** "Riot Radio" by The Dead 60s
32	*** "Hand of Blood" by Music/BulletForMyValentine
33	*** "Lullaby" by Music/{{Thrice}}
34	*** "Lights and Sounds" by Yellowcard
35	*** "Life Burns!" by Music/{{Apocalyptica}} featuring [[Music/TheRasmus Lauri Ylonen]]
36	** ''Burnout Dominator'':
37	*** "Girlfriend" by Music/AvrilLavigne
38	*** "My Curse" by Music/KillswitchEngage
39	*** "Would?" by Music/AliceInChains
40	*** "Anthem (We Are The Fire)" by Trivium
41	*** "Rockstar (Jason Nevins Remix)" by N.E.R.D
42	*** "Collapse" by Saosin
43	** ''Burnout CRASH!'':
44	*** ''Webcomic/PennyArcade'' at least has a disturbing reverence for Gloria Estefan's "Dr. Beat".
45	* BreatherLevel: The penultimate event in ''Takedown'', a Grand Prix event in which you must use the US Circuit Racer (an [[UsefulNotes/IndyCar IndyCar]]), is probably the most difficult event in the game owing to the US Circuit Racer being [[DifficultButAwesome difficult to drive]] within the racing conditions that ''Burnout'' demands. The actual final event, another Grand Prix series that requires the use of the Euro Circuit Racer (a [[UsefulNotes/TwentyFourHoursOfLeMans Le Mans Prototype]]), is much easier by comparison simply because your car is both heavier and more agile with also all the opponent using Domniator Super, while a very fast car, is inferior to yours.
46	* CameraScrew: Activating Impact Time in ''Burnout 3'' wouldn't move away from the cinematic crash camera, often making it next to impossible to actually aim at oncoming racers to hit (this also affects Crash Mode, where trying to steer yourself towards pickups could be challenging depending on where the camera was placed). This was fixed in ''Burnout Revenge''.
47	* CatharsisFactor: Part of the fun of the series is just wrecking the hell out of anything that moves on the road (haven't you always wanted to do Road Rage when you're feeling road rage?). And then there's the Crash Junctions mode, where you slam into an intersection and try to cause as much damage as possible in one go.
48	* CharacterTiers: With the exception of ''Point of Impact'', vehicles are sorted into various classes that determine how fast they are (with the exception of Crash/Heavyweights, which are intended for the Crash mode). Paradise lacks abject categories for cars, as all are instead classified by manufacturer, but most can be sorted this way based on which license they're unlocked in.
49	** ''Burnout'': Easy, Medium, Hard, Special
50	** ''Takedown''/''Legends'': Compact, Muscle, Coupe, Sports, Super, Special, Heavyweights
51	** ''Revenge'': ST, DX, GT, Special (Race) + Lite, Mid, HVY, Super (Crash)
52	** ''Dominator'': Classic, Factory, Tuned, Hotrod, Super, Race Specials, Dominator
53	** ''Paradise'': Learner's, Class D, Class C, Class B, Class A, Burnout, Burnout Elite
54	* DifficultySpike: In ''Takedown'', ''Revenge'' and ''Dominator'', the player can unlock Special Events, where they must complete a Burning Lap in one of the fastest cars in the game (these events are unlocked as early as the first half-hour of play). [[ThatOneLevel Two particularly famous]] Special Events from ''Takedown'' involve using an F1 car on the longest track in Europe and the longest track ''in the game'' in the Far East, with lap times so stringent you can't get the Gold time if you crash even ''once''.
55	* EvenBetterSequel: ''Burnout 3: Takedown'' is considered to be this by many. ''Burnout 2'' was a great game that featured on dangerous driving, but ''3'' ''emphasized'' it with the Takedown and Aftertouch mechanics, making the racing super tense and exciting, plus a noticeable bump in graphical quality while still maintaining a silky 60fps. No wonder that it's frequently hailed as one of the best racing games of its generation.
56	* FirstInstallmentWins: Mostly averted regarding the original game. When ''Legends'' made an effort to mix the original two games into the third for handhelds, the only part of the first game that made it through was a single track, Twilight Harbour. It is also considered the least favourable game (second only to [[OddballInTheSeries CRASH!]]), with most fans arguing over ''Takedown'', ''Revenge'' or ''Paradise''. However there is a niche that perfers the greater focus on straightforward racing over combat in the first two games.
57	* FollowTheLeader:
58	** The game series itself was one to ''Videogame/ThrillDrive''.
59	** The ''VideoGame/FlatOut'' series, which feels a bit like ShoddyKnockoffProduct due to its name, [[SubvertedTrope but it plays more like the Playstation classic Destruction Derby]], with no cut-off cutscene if a destruction happened. Their distinguishing feature was "windshield cannons" -- that is, if you get in a big crash, you go ''flying through the windshield''. (Wear seatbelts, kids.) There were even {{mini game}}s where you took advantage of this, throwing your hapless driver at giant bowling pins or trying to hit a target.
60	** The ''Videogame/{{Asphalt}}'' series, which combines the game's trademark boost and takedown gameplay mechanic with EA's [[Videogame/NeedForSpeed sister series of ensemble real-life sports cars]]. Once the series hits 3D since the fourth game onwards, the gameplay resemblance became apparent.
61	** The 2004 ''Crash'N'Burn'', another British racing game with an emphasis on dangerous driving and spectacular crashes.
62	** The ''VideoGame/MotorStorm'' games are basically ''Burnout'' but [[JustForFun/RecycledInSpace off-road!]]
63	** ''VideoGame/SplitSecond2010'' is ''Burnout'' meets a Creator/MichaelBay movie.
64	** ''Burnout'' itself is ''Destruction Derby'' with intersections and traffic instead of demolition derbies.
65	** ''VideoGame/NeedForSpeedHotPursuit'' is basically ''Burnout'' with licensed cars and a major emphasis on police chases. Justified, as it was developed by Criterion. Taken a step further with ''[[VideoGame/NeedForSpeedMostWanted2012 Need for Speed: Most Wanted]]'' (2012), which is ''Burnout Paradise'' with licensed cars (including a singular DLC-expanded part of the map!).
66	** ''VideoGame/{{Driver}}: [[VideoGame/DriverSanFrancisco San Francisco]]'' incorporates a near-copy of Burnout's boosting system, event types, and event selection, worked into more standard ''Driver''-style gameplay and missions. (It was also the first well-received ''Driver'' game in years, as they seem to have moved on from unsuccessfully trying to emulate the ''[[VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto GTA]]'' series.)
67	** While Criterion Games abandoned the racing genre until 2020 to aid other EA studios for the ''Franchise/StarWars'' games, the game's creators are still not done with ''Burnout''. Now they were migrated, along with some of the Criterion staff (technically following the leaders) to their own studio named ''Three Fields Entertainment'' and made three games that have a ''Burnout'' influence:
68	*** ''Dangerous Golf'' is ''Burnout''[='=]s Crash mode but creating a giant mess using a golf ball.
69	*** ''Danger Zone'' is a SpiritualSuccessor to ''Burnout 3''[='=]s Crash mode.
70	*** ''Dangerous Driving'' is a SpiritualSuccessor to the pre-''Paradise'' games. A sequel that's in development will be a SpiritualSuccessor to ''Paradise'' itself.
71	* GameBreaker: The Supercar (Saleen S7/[=McLaren=] F1-{{Expy}})in ''Burnout 2''. Nothing save the Custom Roadster could touch it, and it wasn't easy thanks to the Roadster's awful handling.
72	* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: ''Takedown'' has a surprisingly strong following in Japan, which is saying a lot compared to the lackluster Japanese reception to the prequels. A lot of the popularity appears to be centered around the soundtrack, and Crash FM, along with Stryker, received a full dubbing treatment, ''including Japanese versions of the EA Games website promos'' that would occasionally air during races.
73	* GoddamnedBats: Or to be specific, it's "Goddamned Traffic":
74	** [[NintendoHard Especially in the very first game thanks to the cross traffic blocking off entire streets.]]
75	** Any traffic opposite you on a hill or inconvenient intersections.
76	* GrowingTheBeard: The first game is generally regarded as competent but forgettable. The second game is agreed to be better, but ''Takedown'' is usually pointed to as the game where the series found its feet.
77	* MemeticMutation: "Girfriend" by Music/AvrilLavigne being included in ''Dominator'' for ''four'' times in four different languages has been memed to hell and back by the community as the common response of Dominator's questionably sparse music tracks lineup. The fact that there's initially '''eight''' different language versions (including the ones already included in the final release) already pre-recorded for the game only for the other four to be scrapped later due to hardware limitations only further seals the deal.
78	* SugarWiki/MostWonderfulSound:
79	** The sound of the medals being awarded to you in ''3'' and ''Revenge'' made it feel more rewarding. Can double as a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome if the medal is awarded during a takedown or a split-second finish.
80	** The DOOM! that's made when your boost bar is increased. You know you're ready to whoop asses when that happens.
81	** In ''3'', the "DING!" sound that plays when you hit a racer with Aftertouch. Or just take them down in general, really.
82	** In ''Revenge'', the sound of boosting, which literally puts in the sound of a jet aircraft whooshing by.
83	** The backdraft sound effect when you activate Aftertouch Crashbreakers as everything slows to a near-stop, especially when you know you're gonna take down several opponents in the impending blast.
84	** Shunting an opponent off-screen and hearing the sound of their car crunching onto the wall. String it all together, and you get this glorious audio sequence:
85	---> THWOOM, BASH... crunch DING... DOOM! [[note]]Translated: Boost, Shunt, Crash, Takedown confirmed, Boost extended[[/note]]
86	* NightmareFuel: The [[WhatCouldHaveBeen beta version]] of ''Burnout 3: Takedown'' featured [[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DMR8Ml8qp44 horrifying sound effect tracks for Impact Time]] which wouldn't be out of place in ''Franchise/SilentHill'' or ''{{VideoGame/Postal}}'' and might even bring back memories of the menu theme from ''Destruction Derby 2'' for the [=PS1=]. Thankfully the Impact Time themes were massively toned down in the retail version in order to fit the game's LighterAndSofter tone and feel like the time casually slowing down while the player gets Aftertouch Takedowns after crashing, but some, like the one where a woman screams horrifically and [[HeartbeatSoundtrack heart-beating noises]], can still be pretty chilling. Also, the retail versions of the said tracks are no slouch either.
87	* OlderThanTheyThink:
88	** Those who stick to the more famous EA-backed titles might be surprised to learn just how far back the lineage goes. Crash mode originates in the second game, the Stephen Root tracks in ''Paradise'' actually come from the first three games, and some cars date back all the way to the original ''Burnout''. Tracks across Europe and the USA, Face Offs and Championships, and tracks that can be combined into one big track also date back as far as the first title.
89	** ''Paradise''[='s=] Stunt Run mode works very similarly to ''Dominator''[='s=] Maniac Mode a year earlier. Both involve gaining points by drifting, oncoming, near-misses and airtime, and include ways to multiply your current combo (Burnouts in ''Dominator'', Barrel Rolls and Billboards in ''Paradise'').
90	** Similarly, the idea of getting points for your dangerous driving originated from the first two games, but it took until ''Dominator'' and ''Paradise'' to base events around them.
91	* PolishedPort: The Xbox 360 port of ''Revenge''. It has better graphics than the original Xbox version (particularly adding paint chipping effects to the cars), obviously, but it also improves the loading times, has more songs on the soundtrack, and it greatly improved Crash Mode by refining two things: 1) Making it effortless to get a boost start, and 2) If you restart, the camera flying back to the start is ''much'' faster, whereas it was slooooooow in the Xbox and [=PS2=] versions. There are also more Crash Zones to plow through here.
92	* PortingDisaster: While the PSP version of ''Burnout Legends'' is [[PolishedPort a solid game]], the same cannot be said for the DS version. The graphics are muddy and pixelated, the driving physics lack any sense of speed or responsiveness, the sound effects are ear-grating, and the excellent licensed soundtrack has been nixed in favor of generic instrumental heavy metal.
93	* RealSongThemeTune: Somehow, the last two ''Burnout'' games are titled from the game's theme song. ''Paradise'' has the fitting [[Music/GunsNRoses "Paradise]] [[Music/AppetiteForDestruction City"]], while ''CRASH!'' has ''The Primitives''' "Crash", which also names this game's location.
94	* RetroactiveRecognition: For a song in this case; years before featuring as the OP for ''Anime/CyberpunkEdgerunners'', "This Fire" by Music/FranzFerdinand was prominently featured in the soundtrack for ''Takedown''.
95	* TheScrappy: Stryker and DJ Atomika.
96	** The latter's performance in ''VideoGame/BurnoutParadise'' could be considered a let down compared to his previous work in ''[[VideoGame/{{SSX}} SSX 3]]'', but it could also be considered an improvement compared to Stryker's performance in ''Takedown''. Depending on how one feels about Stryker, one could wonder how he could be a real DJ and not some guy in a recording booth playing a character.
97	* ScrappyMechanic: The "Collector" feature of ''Legends''. You unlock one "Collector" car in each class as you play through the World Tour mode but there are five total in each class. To get the other four, you need to race players who have a car you want. This would have been difficult in the best of times (as there are ''25'' total Collector cars and you have to earn ''20'' of them through ad-hoc play) and has only diminished as people moved on from the game. GottaCatchEmAll mechanics that require other players really only work if a game is a KillerApp for a platform.
98	* SongAssociation: Seems to be a theme with games made by EA. Of particular note is the RealSongThemeTune in ''Paradise'', [[Music/GunsNRoses which can be guessed just]] [[Music/AppetiteForDestruction by looking at the name of the game and the city.]]
99	* SequelDisplacement: ''Burnout 3'' is a major example, given that it took the series from "well-received and with a dedicated following" to "Critically acclaimed smash-hit"
100	* {{Sequelitis}}: Although ''Burnout CRASH!'' is only a spinoff, it's pretty much widely hated by everyone due to its gameplay, which shares nothing in common with the main series Crash Mode besides the basic game idea, the DenserAndWackier tone, and the TotallyRadical announcer.
101	* ThatOneAchievement: The Signature Takedowns in ''Takedown'' and ''Revenge'' (as well as Signature Shortcuts in ''Dominator''), which range from easy to unforgivably hard. Of note is 'Grapes of Wrath' and 'Tuk-Down', which require you to hit extremely small moving targets (wine vans and tuk-tuks respectively). 'Truck Torpedo' is also this, as trucks are the least common vehicle in the USA, and even when one does appear it may not even be carrying a speedboat.
102	** Takedown Targets are also worth noting, with some being incredibly unreasonable. It's hard enough getting ''one'' Tram Takedown, but ''two in the same race?!''
103	* ThatOneLevel:
104	** Any [[RaceAgainstTheClock "Burning Lap"]]. While some are fairly generous in their constraints, others demand near perfection from the player. Which is asking a lot given all the random mayhem in the series' pedigree. In worst cases being less about skill or track-knowledge, and more about not getting blind-spotted on a hill or intersection while driving a FragileSpeedster. Fortunately, if you screw up on a Burning Lap and have to start over, the traffic patterns will be the exact same, so patient players can win gold via trial-and-error.
105	** "Face Off" can be this too; with some rather insane rubber-banding for the later cars. It doesn't help that there are no other racers to build easy boost off of if you fall behind.
106	** The Sports Series' Road Rage challenges from ''Takedown'' and ''Legends'' are incredibly difficult to get a gold medal for, without even critically damaging your cars due to their underwhelming Takedown ability, making you get silver or bronze medals when the event is over. It doesn't help that opponents sometimes fail to spawn ahead of you, forcing you to let those left behind catch up to you, wasting several precious seconds of time.
107	** Downtown from ''Legends'' and ''Takedown'' is an absolute nightmare to go through. The true challenge comes from the section that's beneath the L-train tracks, where, aside from dealing with constant traffic, you will also have to mind a whole shitload of pillars which are strewn right across the edges and seemingly at random positions, ensuring you will crash at least once, with or without other racers pushing you into an obstacle. Going nitro in this section is essentially suicidal, especially on Road Rage where the game ends prematurely if you hit the bump too many times.
108	** "Tuscan Hills" from ''Dominator'' is tricky to navigate through because of certain obstacles being obscured with harmless props or otherwise placed in a way you are almost guaranteed to crash into if your car spins out due to entering Burnout mode.
109	** "Paradise Peril", a Crash Mode level from ''Legends'' and ''Takedown'' is incredibly diffcult to win gold on because of tricky congestion and vehicles giving low amount of cash upon being wrecked. Collecting all money pickups is near mandatory for getting anywhere close to the highest milestone, even though the cash tokens are all placed far away from each other.
110	** "Drive Angry" is challenging on its own in ''Takedown'', but ''Legends'' makes it a migraine due to lacking score multiplier power ups; the gold medal milestone is so absurdly high there is only ''one'' plausible way to achieve it, namely by activating boost start ([[GuideDangIt good luck getting to learn about such though]]) and [[LuckBasedMission praying you will be able to amass enough cash to pass the requirement]].
111	** In ''Dominator'' we have Maniac events. The goal requires you to hold the boost while supercharged (which is a new feature to the series and requires the boost to be filled up) and drive dangerously to chain multipliers in order to get more points. Later Maniac events requires you to chain multipliers without any single crash or chances to get gold are gone. This can be a serious problem when it comes to congested traffic so prepare to restart dozens and dozens of times [[RageQuit at the point of breaking your controller by frustration]].
112	* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: Nearly every game after ''Burnout 2'' has this in some way for a portion of the fanbase (special mention to ''Paradise'', more on its page):
113	** Purists of ''Burnout 2'' stick their nose up to the Crash mode in ''Takedown'' and ''Revenge'', which put emphasis on pickups and blowing up your car (in addition to Aftertouch), rather than the purity of the original in ''2''.
114	** ''Takedown'' gets this just for having a licensed soundtrack compared to the unique compositions in the first two games.
115	*** Some also criticize the new boost mechanics which remove the titular "burnouts" and for the first time let you boost with any amount of it as opposed to filling up your bar completely.
116	** ''Revenge'' for being DarkerAndEdgier, in addition to much wider tracks, harder Takedowns and Traffic Checking making same-way traffic a complete joke.
117	*** Said "Traffic Checking" is also sometimes accused of overcomplicating Crash mode. Making it not just a matter of where you crash yourself, but how well you launch other cars.
118	** ''Dominator'' for removing the Crash Mode and otherwise not being made by Criterion Games.

Context YMMV / Burnout