Burnout Crash! for iOS: Game Review

For those that missed out on the guilty pleasures of Burnout Crash! on PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360, fret not, for you can now cause carnage on the go with the new mobile version of the game on iOS (iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch).

If you haven't figured it out from the title, your goal in Burnout Crash! is to do burnouts and, well, crash. Yep, exercise the crumple zones of as many vehicles as possible during a predetermined time limit and you'll be well on your way to success.

Destruction is the aim of the game and even on the small screens of Apple's devices, the damage is spectacular. If you want eye candy, you can't go past this game - it's very pretty.

Unlike the Xbox and Playstation versions of the game, this title is viewed from above, from a birds-eye perspective, to suit the nature of the casual gaming genre, and is centred one of six multilane intersections.

But this is no remake of the classic Frogger game where traffic is to be avoided... Not at all. The idea here is to guide one of seven vehicles deep into the thick of rush hour to cause the biggest pile-ups you've ever seen. The more carnage, the higher the score.
?Each intersection has three slightly different modes:

- Rush Hour simply asks you to create destructive mayhem
?- Pile-up increases the mayhem with lots of flames ?
- Road Block tasks your inner demon with the responsibility of ensuring no innocent vehicles escape the intersection... Difficult but fun

Every level also throws in star challenges (destroy a certain amount of vehicles etc) and enough whacky variety to make certain no two experiences play out the same.  There are also catastrophic super features that up the destructive ante by triggering road-shattering disasters like tornados, tidal waves, asteroids, jumbo jets and even UFOs.

You control your car with a flick of your finger across the touch screen, enabling your vehicle to go about on its one-car destruction derby with ease.  And just to clear something up, your car seems to be very strong compared to other road users... You can smash your way through a lot of other vehicles before coming to a halt.

The game is best suited to the bigger screen of the iPad, with the action being just a little too small for the iPhone or iPod Touch devices, but it's certainly not unplayable on the hand held devices.

One of the smaller touches I really liked about Burnout Crash was the suitable mash-up of background music that accompanies the onscreen chaos: Spandau Ballet, Miami Sound Machine and The Weather Girls are a few of the featured artists that provide appropriate audio amongst the explosions and screeching of breaking glass and twisting metal.

There's also a bit of online interactivity with the Autolog feature. Gamers can double the disaster with 1-on-1 smash-ups, destroy friend’s scores, engage in turn-based battles and see who can wreck the leaderboards. It's oddly addictive gaming.

All in all this game from racing masters Criterion is well suited to the swipe and tap interface of today’s smartphones and tablets.  At times it can feel as though the action is playing out by itself, out of your control, but in a way that is the underlying theme.

Total mayhem and out of control destruction linked to big scoring is all part of the fun.

You can find Burnout Crash for iPhone and iPad in the iTunes store.