The career mode has fortunately been given a radical overhaul since Burnout 2 and at any one time you'll have a myriad of options available to you. There's the standard GP's, Time Trials and Face-Off's as you'd expect. Add to that the Road mode where you're tasked with taking as many racers out as you can within the time limit (or before you yourself get destroyed) and the infamous Crash Junctions that now number 100 in total. These now place more emphasis on the capture of bonus icons such as cash bonuses and score multipliers adding an interesting tactical edge. Trigger enough smashes and you'll now activate the Crashbreaker, a feature that allows you to explode your car at the height of the carnage, both spreading the already wrecked vehicles out so as to take out more traffic and also allowing you to direct your burning chassis towards a vital multiplier.

As if all of this isn't enough, take Burnout 3 and you'll discover a whole new world of life-sapping fun to be had. Smashing AI cars up is fun, but smashing up other players is a whole new experience. Standard alone is enough to warrant the immediate purchase of Live, but other modes are also on offer. Party crash allows up to 8 players to race their own crash junction simultaneously in an effort to grab the highest score. If you're playing 2 players then you can battle on the same junction adding an interesting tactical element to the fray. Also available is Road Rage mode where the red team of racers is tasked with taking out the blue team before they reach the finish line. Though many players will simply drive hell-for-leather to the finish, the more cunning players will engage in an enthralling game of cat and mouse, each waiting for the other to make the crucial move.

Perhaps the most ingenious feature of the game is that whilst you'll notice yourself improving the more that you play, luck is a factor that always plays a part to some extent. Even the greatest (like current world number 1 Cyrax66 who really does have Jedi-like reflexes as well as being a top bloke) will occasionally drift round a corner and face an inescapable gathering of lorries and SUV's. This may appear detrimental at first, but what it achieves is that even if you have a shocking race you'll always believe that next time you'll still have as good a chance as anyone else. It's part of what makes it all so compelling. Of course, the rock solid frame rate, gloriously detailed visuals, tremendous damage models and blisteringly quick pace certainly don't hurt either. Racing in the style cars really is the equal of F Zero GX.

A game without fault? Of course not. The light-rock soundtrack sucks, though not as much as the DJ of "Crash FM" that chips in between races - fortunately he can be turned off. Some may argue that the driving itself can sometimes lack a little precision though the "throttle-down and drift" mechanic is perfectly suited to the arcade ethos of the title. Thanks to the publishing deal secured by EA, you'll now find numerous billboards pushing the latest titles scattered throughout the courses. It's something that may not bother you, I certainly found it a little tetchy. Also, throughout the week the EA network that you need to sign into to race on Live has slowly deteriorated to the point that you're normally kicked after each race. It would have been far simpler to run the whole thing on the network, but EA want a bigger cut of the cash and as a result we're all hoping that EA sort out the problems within the coming weeks.

I would go on but as you'll probably realise by now, as each moment passes the need to boot up Burnout 3 is growing inside me once again. I'll make it very simple - if you have the means you need to buy this game now, whether you're online or not. Even if you hate racers, as long as you like good games you're bound to get something from the sheer manic exhilaration on offer here. The best racer ever? Mmm, that's a tough one. The most intense online racing experience? You'd better believe it.

91%

By Ben Parfitt