Burnout Crash is a colorful, top-down arcade game that looks nothing like any other game in the series. You begin each level by steering the car at an intersection and crashing into traffic. So yes, technically, it is Crash Mode because cars blow up and you earn points. But by stripping away the standard Burnout perspective it's really a shell of the mode, with just a hint of its former glory.
The gameplay is simple. After initially crashing the car, you explode with one button and can steer midair. After enough cars collide with your wreck, you explode again causing even more chaos. The colorful world is full of things to blow up. From a top-down perspective, this is an odd sensation -- it doesn't hold the weight of slinging a 2,000-pound automobile through the air in three dimensions.
On Xbox 360, Kinect comes into play to control the simplicity. Each level starts by mimicking driving until you hit the first crash, then you jump to explode, and lean to control the car's aerial movement. It's tough to get used to -- the controller's easier, to be honest -- yet it's an interesting use of the motion technology. Regardless, it's one more step away from what you may expect from Burnout.
What is different and unique in this top-down Burnout is the complete destructibility of the game world. Buildings crumble left and right. Hitting special vehicles along the way opens bonuses, and icy storms make wrecks slide around the playing field. After the initial acceleration, the game is locked to a single intersection screen. Progressing through the campaign mode opens up new areas, but the game doesn't really add anything to the gameplay. Instead, like a pinball table, each level's secrets are only revealed to the players who have practiced, know its ins and outs, and have honed their craft.
On paper, describing the actual gameplay of Burnout Crash does make it sound like an authentic call back to its proud heritage. I do believe Criterion's heart is in the right place, but having waited so long for another game bearing the Burnout name, I must say I wasn't expecting what Burnout Crash delivers. You'll hear comparisons to the original Grand Theft Auto with an explode button and Micro Machines with dynamite, but I hesitate to call this game Burnout.