What Made Burnout 3: Takedown One Hell of a Game?

Burnout 3: Takedown had a lot going on under the hood, but it was perhaps its presentation - its general vibe - that set it apart at least in an overarching sense. When most racing games were trying to be ultra sophisticated and mature, Burnout 3: Takedown went all in on attitude and style - and it worked.
Everything from the soundtrack to the visual presentation of the menu screens oozed with Burnout attitude, and it was a breath of fresh air for anybody coming from Ridge Racer Type 4 or Gran Turismo 3. While many arcade racing games of today will claim to have Burnout as an inspiration, and that's always a good thing to see as new arcade Racers are always welcome in my book, there's no denying that Burnout 3: Takedown is still the game that did this sort of thing best. The only way to really build on this game is with a remake that stays true to what the game is, and hopefully we’ll see something to that effect one day.

[@theflash828]

This is one of those game that you remember looking like 1080p when you were younger

[@zyphurite]

Absolutely

[@iRavenHD]

IKR

[@silvionardo3514]

Yup

[@LonghornsLegend]

Honestly it holds up pretty well today, there are a lot of racing games that look like dogcrap going back but this is still good looking. Maybe because it was an arcade style visually. I still play this on xbox

[@sunray2818]

@@LonghornsLegend Not to mention it supports 480p on both PS2 and Xbox, and even runs very smoothly on 720p on Xbox 360 with backwards comaptibility.

[@adamdavis1737]

This is probably my favorite racing game ever

[@vegetrunks4558]

And it is back online soon on ps2 !!

[@adamdavis1737]

@@vegetrunks4558 that's interesting. I haven't had a PS2 in ages though. Had this game on the original Xbox actually.

[@vegetrunks4558]

@@adamdavis1737 me also ! I started B3RP in November. Now it is done soon !

[@paytolose4462]

My childhood game

[@proffessorpraxis5743]

What really!?

[@NaqimProductions]

Man loved the soundtrack for this game. Really takes me back

[@marcusanderson4876]

Exactly captured the feel of Racing and smashing in that game. The best vibe

[@smokebig3584]

and don't forger Crash FM

[@mrsuns10]

@Fearful Games we are the lazy generation

[@RockLegend2A]

@@mrsuns10 No more standin' out in liii-ii-iiiine.

[@down2earth485]

The soundtrack of this game easily pulled me into harder rock genres that would have a HUGE impact on the person I am today.

[@blackmanta2527]

Driving at high speed in burnout games is extremely satisfying

[@vegetrunks4558]

True !

[@spartanman5231]

Especially driving on the opposite side of the road and dodging all the oncoming traffic really gets your blood bumping and so satisfying. Loved this game

[@GameAndKirby]

209 mph

[@ryanbrink2755]

Unless it’s paradise than it’s just trash

[@jijiantony290]

@@ryanbrink2755 how dare you!

[@Superbad22]

I listen to the soundtrack of this game religiously lmao. My favorite racing game of all time

[@ALLYB1983]

My favourite racing game ever. Nothing has compared since.

[@springwoodslasher79]

Wow... That is probably the most ignorant statement iv ever herd. BURNOUT WAS SHIT

[@ALLYB1983]

@@springwoodslasher79😘

[@SE7ENSIX]

@@springwoodslasher79 you need a life

[@vegetrunks4558]

It is back online soon on ps2 man !!

[@DaP84]

@@springwoodslasher79 Funny how you call someone ignorant and then say that Burnout is shit. Oh the irony!

[@Remioxen]

The best thing of it all is hands down the soundtrack. The concept of racing at high speed, taking down rivals and listening to awesome music was simply genius. The feature that you could even skip tracks to the ones you wanted was so clever.

[@d.n5287]

When Animal comes on, you go for take downs no matter what

[@minenhledlamini4206]

True

[@chessgains8075]

@@d.n5287 Animal is such a good song period hoenstly. As is many of the others from this game.

[@HousePlant_Ambient]

I remember playing Burnout on Xbox. Never was into racing games, but when I first played it, it honestly blew my mind. So much fun.

[@Ladiesman217-was-taken]

Same dude!

[@ryanking6811]

Yeah, I’ve always been a huge car and racing guy and literally none of my friends growing up were ever interested in cars and therefore I had no one to play racing games with. Until this game came along, all my friends loved it and look back on it fondly. I still listen to the soundtrack at some point throughout the year

[@zZiL341yRj736]

Burn Out 3 and Revenge has some of the best soundtrack for a fast paced racing game. There's no satisfying feeling than drifting thru a high speed hairpin and the rock music picks up!

[@Elihger_7]

Yes you right man, I still play it on my PS2 sometimes 🚗

[@current3109]

Dominator is good as well

[@FH4Player6397]

I'm playing Burnout 3: Takedown on my Xbox 360 and the game is so good! BUT my all time favourite Burnout is: BPR (Burnout Paradise Remastered)!

[@dmarsh2k9]

they HAVE to remaster this, it's amazing!!! The sound track was incredible as well

[@nathankopisch2335]

100% the best racing game I’ve ever played. Spent sooooo many hours playing this game!! We need more Burnout man

[@vegetrunks4558]

B3 is back online soon on ps2 man !!

[@cadronagaming]

@@vegetrunks4558 uh no?

[@dkisbeast]

Burnout 3 was a great racing game but we were all there for the wrecking simulator lol

[@zZiL341yRj736]

I'm there for the drifting and the rock music, nothing is more satisfying than that.

[@trashbank6148]

Lmao facts

[@dkisbeast]

@@zZiL341yRj736 remember when it was mostly rock music in games? Crazy

[@DUDULALALALALALA]

BURNOUT 2: POINT OF IMPACT HAS THE BEST SOUNDTRACK

[@vintagemonte]

Deadass😂

[@eugenekear4391]

I've been waiting 20 years for game like that, I cant believe they haven't made a remake it would make a mint

[@redactedscripts7411]

well, some of the original developers from Criterion did make a new game that was directly inspired by Burnout 3. It's called Dangerous Driving kzbin.info/www/bejne/raOQh6B-dr2bmrc

[@eugenekear4391]

@@redactedscripts7411 Thanks for the info I will take a look, you are a gem

[@redactedscripts7411]

@@eugenekear4391 thanks for saying that :) Always happy to help out a fellow Burnout player.

[@redactedscripts7411]

@o2 fair point :/

[@eugenekear4391]

@Clau007 Thanks I will give it look

[@RickyUltra]

The gamplay, the soundtrack, it just gives you that early 2000's feel. I love this game and its my favorite racing game of all time.

[@devincotten2026]

I remember playing this as a kid and this was one of the hardest games I ever played. Recently dug my ps2 out and made one last attempt at beating the game, and got it, man that felt good. That circuit racer can be a pain to drive at times

[@Muzikrazy213]

At times??😂 I never actually finished the entire World tour because of those damn circuit racers. And now almost a decade later, without an Xbox let alone the game to play it, I suspect my absolute favorite game of all time may just stay that way.

[@danielgomez7236]

I get 100% gold with races after a lot of time playing but crash events are too hard

[@yani4349]

How many hours did that take you?

[@mrbrookah4117]

Don't forget about how awesome Split Second was too!

[@KamiKazeD]

basically one of the first burnout clone and was quite underrated

[@cobaltboost9900]

It's nice to know I'm not the only one that LOVES Arcade Racers & doesn't care if their avatar has licensed cloths/shoes, realistic environments, life like looking/handling cars! FUN is the most important part, which usually means AIR & VISERAL crashes! I've owned & loved the entire series. Great vid, thx!

[@mukeshkumar-ey1ge]

Arcade racers were the best

[@danielgomez7236]

I would say Burnout is realistic in some aspects

[@randyrrs7028]

This game had the best soundtrack!

[@joshuajefferson3504]

Crash mode was my jam. 😂😂😂

[@zstevie249]

DJ Atomica CRASH FM 📻 really made it even more fun I love how every time a song would start or end as your racing Atomica would barge in and say a few words damn bruh this needs to comeback 😍🏎🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@okami1290]

DJ Atomika is from SSX 3, Stryker is the DJ host of Crash FM.

[@raveenbikha]

Burnout 3 and revenge are the best for me. Still don’t understand why ea remastered paradise

[@oscardog8495]

remaster remaster we need it...the closest was NFS hot pursuit...no brainer if they did this n burnout revenge it would sell..on the ps5 / Xbox x

[@mohamedabdelfatah7297]

Because EA sucks , that's why .

[@FH4Player6397]

@@mohamedabdelfatah7297 Unfunny

[@FH4Player6397]

Burnout Paradise Remastered is the best Burnout in my opinon. Burnout 3: Takedown is my second favourite, while Burnout Revenge is my third favourite Burnout.

[@barmyneddy1789]

The soundtrack and radio station announcements, the crash junctions, an almost perfect game

[@vegetrunks4558]

It is back online soon on ps2 man !!

[@SweetsourGamer]

This will likely continue to be my favorite racing game of all-time. I still remember being so incredibly exciting coming home from school to play it for the first time.

[@jasontakhtadjian]

There needs to be another video on this, the more we talk about burnout and push it, the closer we actually get to a remake/remastered version. I think I speak for everyone when I saw we NEED that!

[@GameAndKirby]

It had awesome cars, awesome levels, awesome OST, and a DEFINITELY AWESOME mechanic, that's what make it one heck of a game.

[@frantianeira5475]

I remember playing this so much. Was among some of my favourite games, along with speed kings. I managed to complete the game, but I remember my brother not saving the game properly, so we ended up losing all our save data. So we just played through it all again. Was one of those games you'd never get bored of.

[@Infernus25]

The soundtrack on this game was what made it so damn special. I often play burnout paradise and chuck the Burnout 3 takedown soundtrack in the background (highly recommend)

[@daniel_najar]

If any game deserves a remaster it's Burnout 3.

[@vegetrunks4558]

It is back online soon on ps2 man !!!

[@evan1994]

Just get pcsx2

[@leomozsik9765]

Still to this day listen to the soundtrack on shuffle like once a month thank you for reminding me of the visual aspect of this, the best racing game ever

[@nat2nathan2005]

I sunk so many hours into this game as a kid. So much fun to just have a quick blast through a track and crash into everything you possibly could.

[@sirbenedict2519]

soundtrack: perfect. gameplay: perfect. nostalgia: perfect. that feeling when you hit someone into the median and the crash into the skyscraper: perfect. my favorite game ever.

[@andresrosa6313]

One of the best racing games I've ever play, I still got the original ps2 and still waiting for a remake that game was amazing Great video, thank you

[@ryebread4781]

One of my favorite racing games ever. So much fun! Especially when you did well in crash mode on the later courses!

[@endellion2066]

Damn, this video brought back awesome childhood memories. I'm really hoping for a remake/comeback of the series

[@MiyaTakamura]

Loved the Alpine and Winter City tracks. Perfect places to give everyone a cold shoulder and homes to some of my fave Signature Takedowns: Snowed Under, Euro Tram Ram, Avalanche! and Paid The Price!

[@DaP84]

Yes we will see something like it! Waiting for the second installment of the Burnout clone "Dangerous Driving 2", made by a studio with several people who worked on the original games. I love the first one despite some flaws and I thing the second one will be a fantastic game!

[@DoctorCyrax]

We 100000000000000% need a Burnout 3 takedown remake!! Imagine it with the tech of Today!

[@guilhermecaiado5384]

Stop asking for remakes! Ask for the ability to play the original on nowadays systems.

[@DoctorCyrax]

@@guilhermecaiado5384 I dont think I will GenZ citizen.

[@PatriaPrimum]

Man the early and Mid 2000’s really had some of the best games. Revenge Of The Sith, Rachet&Clank Up Your Arsenal, Mortal Kombat Deception & Armageddon, Jak&Daxter, Harry Potter and the Prisoner Of Azkaban and Chamber Of Secrets, Burnout Takedown, Star Wars Battlefront 1 & 2, Star Wars Bounty Hunter and Spider-Man 2. These are just some games that I remember from my childhood

[@badhrih5124]

I played this game when I was 8 in ps2, I am 19 now. I don't know what made me comeback and listen to this game's sound track... still my favorite racing game.

[@theJLM_Music]

This game was my childhood, and I still have the disk for the PS2. It sucks that they might never give us a remake for this game. I would never stop playing it

[@spacecat409]

Wait, Burnout has a racing mode?

[@danashumway7090]

Truly amazing game! I had so much fun with this game. It's a shame they don't make them like this anymore. I'm so sick of the constant current day releasing of broken games that may or may not be patched to a playable state.

[@Epic_Kingdom]

This is one of my favorite childhood games!

[@TrantaLocked]

Every other series getting remakes and remasters while Burnout 3 and Tony Hawk sitting here like a skeleton in a rocking chair.

[@mrclickclickboom69]

Sick video 🔥

[@princeCustos324]

Grinding enemies into the rails while Blasting early 2000 pop rock was so tricking Awsome

[@joshwillcox7141]

This and Need for Speed 2012 are my favorite racing games to exist.

[@metl_play]

I still play Burnout 3 Takedown Platinum Edition on my PS2 and i love it.

[@its_sphinx8311]

One of the first ever games I played with my aunt as a kid, great memories

[@daltoncook3037]

This is what introduced me to video games

[@walteremmons95]

This was one of my childhood favorites

[@kanetidus]

Still is, I think. Why EA never remastered this game, I never understood!

[@mrsuns10]

You would think with how EA loves money they would remake it knowing they would make a shotlaod of money

[@Dwayne971]

My favorite arcade racing game with Split second velocity😍

[@Kalinbuggs]

The best part about this game is that me my brother and cousin would play this and NOBODY would ever win 3 in a row it was RARE but we would beat each other race after race after race which made it so fun competitive and entertaining. VERY underrated racing game

[@funsterkeyven]

It was probably the first racing game I became obsessed with. And I was already 20+ by then.

[@iRavenHD]

I recently used FreeDVDBoot, obviously my original burnout 3 disc is long gone, but my ps2 still works, I burned a copy of the game onto a fresh disc. And NOSTALGIAAA, THE MUSIC

[@Jerome-nx2ww]

Found an old copy of this game today and I thought I had lost it almost a decade ago lol happy asf!!

[@josephsetaro]

This was the few games my dad likes, tons of memories with this game

[@stocksyere]

what a game, childhood fave up there

[@cliffordsmith428]

I lost my mind, playing this game while “Shake That Bush Again” played. EPIC! 🔥❤️

[@angelserrano9049]

It released 18 years ago. I wonder if it still holds up in my series X.

[@jakehunter3434]

I seriously don't see how this game hasn't had a remaster, especially on new consoles that can handle 60+ fps. If only 😭

[@fosko7494]

Like Farcry Burnout hit it’s peek with the third installment. Burnout 3 is definitely one of the greatest racing games ever made.

[@codystevenswolf]

First game I got on the ps2... I miss those times

[@craigg8574]

The soundtrack while going at insane speeds felt so dangerous and that’s what made this one of my favorite racing games ever. Also introduced me to some new artists.

[@zaktheghost3289]

I really hope this one gets a remaster soon

[@mindsplosion7198]

Also those signature takedowns were something else, the camera flash, the time stop..it all felt good when you got them Also yeah, soundtrack slaps hard

[@thegsk]

Never forget playin this and getting a deja vu feeling then we saw the hillsburough ave signs and were like holy shit we drive this route every day in florida I-4 mixed with tampa and sunshine skyway. great track our minds was blown.

[@ReaperessRogue]

Greatest and most fun racing game ever! Im so glad I got my copy on og XBOX. Playing it atm and Im a kid again! This game needs a remaster! Still holds up in 2022!

[@cjenug5071]

I remember playing this and one of the muscle cars (black and white but can't remember which) was actually so OP you could glitch enemies into the sky by pressing them against the walls.

[@stxfxn]

What is the game at 1:03 ?

[@jovonheron6388]

Miss this game

[@ScentSense]

I played this as a kid, got Paradise for the PS3 and didn't really like it. Takedown is the only Burnout game I ever really got into, and maybe the only driving game period

[@RockTuner]

We need a remaster NOW

[@achillesputong5344]

you guys must be lucky you were able to experience one hell of a racing game, must be extremely fun, I was (unfortunately) born in early 2009 and was not able to experience what everyone says the "best racing game ever made" not that I never got to play burnout, I was able to play burnout legends on the PSP through an old PSP from a relative of mine which still works fine along with other racing games and other games on the PSP, though I wish I was able to experience burnout 3 though, even if I had already played burnout legends, its still not on that same level as 3. Should I play the game through emulation? i feel like it is not the best option but one of the only options I can go for, sadly I don't have a controller so I might have to play it using a keyboard, should I emulate the game or should I try to play it legitimately through a real ps2 I might eventually find?

[@L4WMAN]

Only thing I want is for EA to open up their servers again so I can play Burnout 3 online again.

[@aciddrive]

this is the game that took 6 year old me's music taste, threw that shit in the dumpster, and changed my goddamn LIFE. even ignoring how absolutely fun this game was (which, why would you? this is still a phenomenal racing game almost 20 years later) this soundtrack aged AMAZINGLY. literally a "who's who" of post-hardcore and metalcore TITANS from back in the day, and some of their greatest songs both back then and in hindsight. eighteen visions, atreyu, motion city soundtrack, yellowcard, from first to last, jimmy eat world, fall out boy, my chemical romance...i know people who, even now, say that if it wasnt black parade that got them into mcr, it was I'm Not Okay being in this game. if any studio ever makes a spiritual successor to this game thats the one element i hope they keep faithful to this game; seeing a new generation of kids experience this type of hectic racing while listening to bands bringing that sound back like seeyouspacecowboy, static dress, or kaonashi would probably be the one thing that gives me hope in such a dark world

[@ninjaboyx3m287]

I used to play this game all the time when i was like 3 or 4. This was my favorite game ever. Still is actually. I just wish Criterion would remaster it

[@djarcas]

Should probably note that Acclaim didn't own Criterion. In fact we were owned by Canon (hence the font. and yes. That Canon). As a side note - it's bizarre to see games I worked on as a younger man now appearing to be... Retro. Hardest and best 9 months of my life. AMA.

[@caffina5882]

Just downloaded xemu on my PC to play this again and it's still amazing just like it was when I was a kid.

[@lurkerrekrul]

Ironically, I was performing takedowns before I had ever even heard of the Burnout games. When I played Need for Speed II: Special Edition, I would often slam into the computer racers, forcing them to crash.

[@ANDCFC95]

DJ Stryker was like the coolest guy on the planet to me at the time!

[@goliathyeti1669]

I would do anything to play burnout three. I grew up a tony hawk kid. No other games were interesting. But when I would visit my cousins house i would play burnout 3 nonstop on his xbox. Our 5 year old selves had a blast just playing the crash mode

[@westydiddly737]

Played it on my kettle back in the day

[@brodycarlin1200]

Nothing else like smashing cars and listening to I’m not Okay. Wish I could go back.

[@surroundscent0001]

Played this on a madden NFL game as a demo and was hooked

[@aydinmoganlue8924]

I miss this game so much

[@tomallica420]

This was my favorite burnout

[@imperialwolf7872]

The soundtrack for this game pretty much defined my entire music taste

[@sophiacollins3055]

Such a good game I remember playing when I was younger

[@Tokaisho1]

I only ever played Burnout 1 and 2, sad I missed this as a kid

[@joenobody571]

I remember when we found this game 😅 crash was everything and next wast the takedown races good times 👌

[@user-vf1zw3wn3m]

Honestly, I never enjoyed crashmode that much. I would do it every now and then just to cause some mayhem. But my favorite mode was road rage, I just loved taking down other the other cars and seeing all the cars deteriorate instead of being completely fixed was awesome. In addition we actually get to listen to the awesome soundtrack of the game

[@Independent365]

We need a Burnout 3 Remaster!

[@vegetrunks4558]

online mode is back on ps2 soon !!

[@justindunn9233]

It still amazes me how those 2000’s games were so fun to play with the technology and graphics being what they were, I cannot think of the last good racing game

[@AVDONE]

wchich one is better, this or revenge?

[@lurkerrekrul]

1:27 - How do you end up in second place so quickly? As many times as I've played this game, no matter what car I choose, all the computer racers leave me in the dust and it takes me at least an entire lap just to catch up to the third place car!

[@DaOrr]

This game, Underground 2 and Midnight club 3, the peak of arcade racing games, it was glorious

[@callinater6133]

Don’t forget F-Zero GX!

[@ermonski]

This game deserves a remaster for every console generation

[@MrRyanwojcik]

I remember loving this series so much, a couple years ago I went and played Burnout Paradise though and hated it, so boring, would love a new one though with engaging gameplay this time!

[@pyrofloki]

How can I play this again? My original Xbox broke along time ago

[@ANDCFC95]

Yeah, wish they’d remaster it. Can your Xbox be fixed?

[@sunray2818]

Xbox 360 is backwards comaptible with Burnout 3.