So addictive it should be regulated by the FDA.
User Rating: 9.7 | Burnout 3: Takedown (Platinum Hits) XBOX
First of all, EA should be forced to put a warning label on this game. "Caution do not start playing this game if you have any responsibilities within the next week!" This isn't just a good game, it is ADDICTIVE. No I don't mean it's fun to play and it will make a good addition to your game library. What I mean is that you will have to go to a support group because it has taken over your life. Of course the support group wouldn't be much help seeing that it's a thinly veiled means to get away from people telling you that you play Burnout 3 too much. You want to know how good this game is? Burnout 3 is one of only three games my wife has played since we've been together and I had to beg her to try two of them before she even played once. When I loaded Burnout 3 the first time, she rolled her eyes and started surfing the net. My first stop was crash mode to see what it was like. After watching me run through the course a few times, she said "I bet I could beat your score." and took the controller...without me asking if she wanted to try. It took a lot of self-control and patience to let her have a few turns with the game...I had been bitten by the bug. After what seemed like hours (it was actually ten minutes) of letting her get a chance, I finally got the controller back and entered the world tour mode at 11PM thinking, "I'll play until 1 and go to sleep." The next thing I knew, my wife was telling me that I had better try to get at least four hours of sleep at 4am. Most racing games are about clean racing, getting the best lines and executing the fastest laps. This game is about two things: speed and dirty driving. Criterion made it a point to ensure that you experience both aspects of the game. What's the quickest way to go fast? Make your opponent crash. This game taps into our basest desires to go fast and to cause destruction; and then rewards us for doing both. Cause enough destruction, you can get an upgraded car and go faster. The sense of speed breathtaking; when you get a super series car and use a full bar of boost to get to top speed, the game responds appropriately. First it uses the motion blur effect that NFSU made popular. Then it drops into a tunnel vision mode, the camera goes to a lower angle and all you can really perceive is what's directly in front. As the boost wears out and you slow down the camera angle raises and you can see better. It's a good effect and it works very well. Of course online play makes the game that much more fun. Making your opponent crash and listening to the subsequent swear fest is exhilirating. Of course the subsequent speed boost makes it all the more worthwhile. If zipping past traffic on the wrong side of the road at 250+ mphs, making powerslides on 90 degree turns at full speed, and barely avoiding cross traffic as you zip through a busy intersection doesn't get your heart pounding then you should check if you have a pulse. In addition to the standard race mode, there are several other events to participate in. With road rage, your goal is to Takedown as many opponents as possible (of course taking down an opponent is similar to wearing a bullseye costume at an archery contest they will be out for revenge). Crash mode sends you barrelling full speed into a busy intersection to see how much damage you can cause (after you've destroyed a certain number of cars in your crash you can flourish it with a crashbreaker, exploding your car and directing it into other vehicles). And online there is team takedown where the red team chases the blue trying to score takedowns on each blue member before any of them can reach the goal. Reading this you might think I'm over-exagerrating; but I kid you not, once you play burnout and experience the thrill of the super series cars, you will eat, sleep, and breathe this game. It will consume your every waking thought. And I wouldn't have it any other way 
