Burnout: Dominator Interview

[JCalCGM]

While we wait for Criterion Software to finish developing the first next-gen Burnout game for Electronic Arts, EA's UK dev studio has been busy with Burnout Dominator, a kind of look back at previous games in the successful arcade racing series for the PS2 and PSP. FiringSquad got a chance to chat with the game's executive producer Nick Channon (http://www.firingsquad.com/news/newsarticle.asp?searchid=14306) to find out more about Burnout Dominator. Here is a snip:

FiringSquad: Burnout Dominator seems to be a bit of a throwback in terms of game features to the earlier games in the series. Why was this decision made?

Nick Channon: Burnout’s last featured in Burnout 2, they were an incredibly popular part of that game, and we have always looked at ways we could bring them back. Burnout Dominator provided us with that opportunity, however we didn’t just want them to be just a feature within the game, so decided to build the whole game around them.

[Kamalot]

Wow!

They really sound like they are taking the series back to its roots of driving dangerously and NOT CRASHING! That used to be my favorite part of Burnout; getting into the zone of driving like a reckless maniac but NOT touching anything. Ever since Burnout 3, the game has become more about the crashing and the takedowns and much less about the actual driving.

To be successful in Dominator it’s all about proving your dangerous driving skills, and avoiding the crash. It’s about that on the edge racing where you take as many risks as you can and are rewarded for them. We felt that this was a good opportunity to give crash mode a rest, and allow the Burnout 5 team the time to totally re-invent them for next-gen.

Perhaps there is some life left in my PS2 after all! :D

[Gorvi]

That sounds like a hell of a lot of fun. My only worry would be with driving in oncoming traffic. As long as when you're driving in oncoming traffic the cars don't actually swerve to try to hit you (I've seen some games that do this, it makes no sense), I'll love it.

[Kamalot]

That sounds like a hell of a lot of fun. My only worry would be with driving in oncoming traffic. As long as when you're driving in oncoming traffic the cars don't actually swerve to try to hit you (I've seen some games that do this, it makes no sense), I'll love it.
In Burnout 1 and 2, the oncoming cars would swerve, but not to hit you, more like the driver of the other car noticed something and was like, "WTF!!! :O"

Driving into oncoming traffic is sweet in the earlier games. It really puts you on edge as you hug the center line and nearly hit every car. When you drift through the oncoming traffic, nearly hitting every car, while boosting, and live to tell about it, it is a remarkable feeling. One that the whole room can enjoy as they hold their breath waiting for the inevitable crash.

I'm psyched for this! It has been YEARS since Burnout has been a good game.

[Sandman]

I'll probably still buy it, but I'll miss the crash mode.

[EternalGamer]

This sounds like "we recognized an opportunity to make more money with our current engine by making the gameplay like the older games less people have played." Recycled engine + recycled gameplay = Free money.

[Metal Jesus]

I'm glad to see this is coming to the PSP. Burnout Legends was awesome on that handheld!

[sprankton]

I am still waiting to see the crashes in this new game as they are suppoer to "scare" the user. And the crash mode was fun :(

[EGO]

Love Burnout! Too bad this is on a machine I don't care to dust off... :(