Burnout 3: Takedown (2004-06-08 build)

Burnout 3: Takedown (2004-06-08)
Build Info
Platform: PlayStation 2 Compilation date: June 8th, 2004 Also known as: "June Preview" Released publically: Yes

This preview build of Burnout 3 was compiled and sent out to various gaming outlets to give a brief cover of the game's current state. As with B3's earlier April 2004 demo, this build has plenty of inaccessible content and missing files. It features multiple .ELF maps, as well as debug symbols and some dev/debug functions for the game's networking possibly dated from the E3 demo the month before.

Notable Differences

While not as early as April, a bunch of changes remain hidden under the surface with June. Many of these options are still not quite easily accessible due to the build being locked up as it was a preview for gaming outlets, however, efforts are plugging away at making the menus function as intended.

Menu UI

While not vastly different from retail, there are still some changes to be seen. Its UI is very similar to that of the Standalone demo, even including leftovers hidden away. The crash nav is much more complete, and the loading screen differs lightly from the demo's, but still employing the same concepts. The car select menu is much different, with the concept of the cars being on a CCTV being much stronger exemplified. The camera swing has a gradual zoom in and out, and much more camera effects are seen. The Single Event menu features multiple options later scrapped including Difficulty settings and Lap counts for reasons unknown.

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  The loading screen that dates back to about E3 and sometime into later June.

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  The Crash Nav, with an early crash marker icon.

HUD

This HUD is seen sometime after the demo up until around the middle of June. It still features a color palette with elements from the original demo HUD, but now it's mostly finalized with a lot more blue and gold/yellow. Some text is italicized and/or in slightly different positions but nothing major. The only major differences are shared with various icons and signs that appear on the screen when driving. The wrecked HUD differs slightly still, with a much more finalized look rather than the cinematic style previously used.

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  The HUD seen during Race events.

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  The HUD seen during Burning Lap events.

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  The HUD seen during Road Rage events.

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  The HUD seen during Crash junctions before wrecking.

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  The HUD seen during Crash junctions after wrecking.

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  The HUD seen when the player crashes in normal events.

Physics Differences

Vehicles in the preview likewise to the demo tend to react much stronger to the environment. They bounce and move more, and when thrown into the environments they have a strange tendency to clip through objects such as walls and posts. Combat much like the demo as well is more balanced and vehicles may require multiple high speed slams or shunts to finally put them out of their misery.

Earlier Vehicle Designs

Some vehicles that were featured in the Japanese Standalone Demo are also present in the same models here, although this time with more color variations added. The cars that post-date the supposed "backlog" of the demo vehicles (Most Likely May 04, demo compiled in June 04) are different in some way all besides Compact Prototype only featuring new colors. A couple compacts go unused but otherwise, a full vehicles folder is not presented.

Map Changes

The maps presented in this build do not feature EA-sponsored billboards besides Kings Of The Road, also featuring higher traffic densities. The "killspots" that are seen in the Standalone Demo are also present here, still acting the same as a likely replacement to wall riding penalty until they were inevitably removed.

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  More traffic seen in Kings Of The Road during the Super GP.

Mode Changes

Being close to July, modes are now mostly up to speed with the final product, only now with minor differences. Standing grid starts are still present in this build in all modes, and the race text giving precise numerical values of distance is now removed in favor of just saying "over" or "under" to compensate.

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  The prompt received upon getting a boost start.

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  The pre-race pan around of the player vehicle and the rivals.

Tournaments are entirely the same besides the opponents being called "Com" instead of "Driver" on the after-race leaderboard.

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  The screen seen after a race in a tournament.

Road Rage is virtually the same as the final game, but with one unique defining feature that was gutted. When the player falls below speeds of 50MPH, a penalty will slowly destroy their vehicle until it is finally totaled. Instead of the critical damage text reading "Damage Critical!" it now reads "One More Crash Left!"

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  The first warning, telling the player to get a move on.

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  One of the final warnings, of which the player vehicle is now almost wrecked.

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  The last straw of which the game detonates the player vehicle.

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  Make no mistake; You can't afford to anymore!

Crash mode also differs slightly. Some vehicles upon using the crashbreaker will only lose wheels upon detonation, seen in the Trailer Trash junction. During this development period, the monetary goals for the junction and the camera pan of the crash area are joined together, with reason of their separation remaining unknown.

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  The screen seen when you load into a crash junction.

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  The Assassin Compact remaining intact when blowing up.

Camera Changes

Likewise to the demo this build features after-race cameras that follow the player vehicle, except now it is defined by only two angles as opposed to many that did various things such as pan around or spin.

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  The screen that appears upon finishing a race.

Known Issues

• The entire World Tour besides 10 events are locked up and completely inaccessible.
• All the other menus are completely locked off, with the only option selectable being Crash Nav.
• Vehicles are not able to be selected per-event. The player is only limited to what is given.