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It is no secret that I am a huge fan of the Burnout Series. I loved the games when they were handled by Acclaim, and now that Criterion has EA's budget to make the games better, the series is all the better for it. When Burnout Legends for the PSP offered a brilliant port of the first three Burnout titles in one shiny package, I was very surprised. To an even bigger surprise, the game has been ported over to the DS, with results that are even a bit more shocking. Even though the DS's power cannot be compared to the PSP's, what does come out of this little card is amazing to say the least. Everything you would want from the series; plenty of tracks - check, plenty of cars - check, crash mode - check, it is all here and much like on any other platform, it is the best racing game on the Nintendo DS. Visually lets put it this way... imagine Burnout if it were offered on the N64 and that is what you get with Burnout on the DS. What surprises me most is how this handheld pulls off 3D so convincingly, especially in first person mode. Sure, the polygon counts on the cars are low, but you still get visible damage after a few crashes that provide obvious differences from the way the car looked when you began the race. Burnout Legends on the DS still brings over some of the best tracks from the Burnout library, and it is all here, just in a lower resolution. Criterion even went out of their way to bring you the slow motion crash effects. The sense of speed is surprisingly fast and will give any gamer a rush, especially in later rounds with better and faster cars. The touch screen unfortunately amounts to nothing more than a map, but I guess you will be too busy keeping your eye on the road to worry about the bottom screen anyway. What you get in the end is easily the best looking racer on the DS, and for any Burnout fan with a DS, you'll be happy with how much of the game is faithfully ported over.
Audio is sickly, I'm not gonna lie. The car sounds and crash effects are good enough to get by, but the music is just plain awful. You are tortured race after race listening to generic MIDI butt rock. Why couldn't't EA spring for some real licenses here? It would have made for a better audio experience, but as is you may want to mute the game. Controls are as good as you can expect with a d-pad. In this age of 3D and analog, it is harder to adjust to the all or nothing effects of a d-pad once again. Thankfully, the roads are wide enough to give off the feeling that the controls are tighter than they really are. Even with this said, the game does play remarkably well, and you will be performing takedowns, revenge tactics, and psyche outs like a champion after just a few laps. The A.I. begins holding your hand and letting you feel like you are a winner, but after you have completed a few objectives, prepare to get your butt handed to you. What is nice to see that like the console versions, there is no sign orubber bandnd A.I. and the CPU will race with all the flaws and imperfections as any human racer. What makes Burnout Legends stand out above all the other DS racers is the sheer amount of depth that it offers. You have all your favorite modes including: Pursuit, Burning Lap, Road Rage, Eliminator, Race, Time Attack, Face Off, Legends GP, and even Crash Mode. What's more, if your friend has a DS and is in range, they can connect to you wirelessly without a card and download races to their DS for multiplayer fun. It would be fair to mention that as faithful as the race modes are, the Crash Mode left a lot to be desired. I don't know if it is the low polygon count that takes away from the effect, or the low amount of traffic that inflicts damage, but the Crash Mode left me unfulfilled. Even with the Crash Mode being a let down, Burnout Legends is easily one of the best racers on the Nintendo DS. The fact that Criterion has put all the little nuances of the Burnout series in one little DS cart is amazing. This is a must buy for racing and even non-racing fans who want a little action on their DS.
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