Cover artwork I generate from the game data. I do not use publisher artwork.
Game profile
Burnout 3: Takedown
Fast arcade racing rewards risky driving, ramming opponents, and spectacular slow-motion crashes. The 2004 classic remains the benchmark for action packed, unrealistic arcade racing and can be played on original hardware or via emulation.
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What kind of game this is
At its core this is Racing, set in the present day. Visually it is leaning into a retro look, and the overall tone stays light and upbeat. The structure is guided rather than open, so you are moved along instead of dropped into a map. It is built around short sessions, which makes it easy to pick up for half an hour.
The difficulty is moderate and fair, demanding attention without punishing you for it. There is no story to speak of, the systems carry everything. Competitive play against other people is part of the package. It runs on 2 platforms. It sits in the budget bracket.
What stands out
- Takedown mechanic
- Slow motion crashes
- Pure arcade speed
This fits you if
- you are after a proper adrenaline rush
- you want your skill measured against other people
- you usually have thirty to sixty minutes and want that to be enough
- cutscenes annoy you and you just want to play
- you enjoy competing against other players
- you are watching your budget
Look elsewhere if
- you play mainly for narrative
- competitive lobbies stress you out
- you want to play it side by side with someone
- you want something with real weight to it
What it costs you in time
About 15 hours in total. At three evenings a week and two hours each, you will be busy for roughly 3 weeks, or 8 sessions.
How the rating ranks
Critics settled on 93 out of 100, which puts it above 95 percent of the 1206 games here and at rank 36 overall. That is a strong score, comfortably above what most releases manage.
For comparison, Racing averages 81 points across the database, so this one sits 12 points above its own genre. The figure rests on 221 collected ratings.
Released in 2004, which makes it 22 years old. A genuine classic, and worth checking how the version you buy holds up today.
The facts
- Release year
- 2004
- Genres
- Racing
- Playtime
- approx. 15 hrs.
- Difficulty
- Moderate, fair
- Story weight
- None, pure gameplay
- Play with
- Solo, Competitive
- Setting
- Present day
- Visual style
- Retro
- Price bracket
- Budget
- Platforms
- PlayStation, Xbox
- Critic rating
- 93 / 100
Direct comparison
| Genres | Release year | Playtime | Critic rating | Price bracket |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burnout 3: Takedown | 2004 | approx. 15 hrs. | 93 | Budget |
| Need for Speed: Most Wanted | 2005 | approx. 15 hrs. | 85 | Budget |
| SSX 3 | 2003 | approx. 10 hrs. | 93 | Budget |
| Trials Rising | 2019 | approx. 15 hrs. | 77 | Budget |
If you liked this, try these
- Need for Speed: Most Wanted Shared: Racing, Present day
- SSX 3 Shared: Racing, Present day, shorter
- Trials Rising Shared: Racing, Present day
- Wreckfest Shared: Racing, Present day, longer
- F1 25 Shared: Racing, Present day, longer
- Screamer Shared: Racing, Present day