The gameplay, however, sees the most improvement. Along with the earned Crashbreakers, you can also take part in attacking same-way traffic. What would have been a potential obstacle that stopped you to a grinding halt in Takedown is now a heightened advantage, as you can shove traffic out of the way and leave them as obstacles or threats to your opponents. You can even perform "trick shots", bank-shooting a truck off the wall and into a fleet of cars just sitting in front of you. Dangers still lurk, however. Oncoming traffic can still ruin your ride, as can big rigs and, of course, walls and other roadside objects. It's just a reminder that the ride you have is godly, but the powers you obtain are a little less so.

The game's modes are plenty stacked. Along with the return of Road Rage and Crash (which must be earned, but are worth the effort), you can also take part in Traffic Attack, where the goal is to build up an impressive stack of cash as you rampage through rush hour debris. This is kinda like Crash but at a much higher speed, and a higher dollar count as well. The addition of Crashbreaker is a nice touch also, giving you a better idea of the item's use and having an explosive effect as well.

But the new modes don't get all the attention. Crash mode, in my eyes, is the best thing about this game, as it's no longer just "shut up and drive into things". There's some logic implied into Crash. First, there's a new start-up system that works kind of like a meter in a golf game. You hit it once to start, once for your power build-up, and finally a third time for your start point. Hit it wrong in a certain spot and you'll blow your engine or have a slow start, which could cause you to miss your intended targets entirely. EA's also thrown in little bonuses if you have Madden NFL 06 or Takedown saves, giving you bonus cars such as the EA Madden Challenge truck. Hey, it's not his tour bus, but you can't have everything, right? Criterion's also wisely removed the multipliers and bonus goodies, instead leaving you plenty of cars to crash, and offering a bonus if you take out a potential Target car, which is easier said than done. They place this sucker way out on the course, but there are still ways to take them out as well. Nice job.

The game was made for multiplayer suffering. And I mean the good kind of suffering, not the kind you endure trying to sit with your folks while playing a licensed South Park game. You've got Team Road Rage, one of the finest team sports this side of football, which allows you and some friends to stay on the same destructive team, trashing cars all over the road. Team Crash allows you to ramp up the damage in a huge Crash scenario. And there's other offline goodies as well. The best part, however, is Criterion's continued support of online play, as you can take all of these different modes with you via Xbox Live or PS2 servers and let 'em rip for hours on end, putting your broadband connection through wear and tear. The online play seemed to have very little lag, and comes across as simply wonderful for those who can't have friends over right away (or those who wonder why you haven't showered for the last three days as you try to move out of "dangerous" level).

Burnout Revenge's progressive earning style probably won't be for everyone. At times, the game sits atop a hill on Ninja Gaiden-style difficulty, especially the later challenges that pop up around the 11th or 12th tier. This may frustrate those who want to just jump in and destroy things like last time, but, trust me, this was tweaked for a reason. Takedown, as awesome as it was, was a bit too easy, and this game alleviates that problem by making you work at it. Impossible, it isn't. But get yourself a stress pillow and save your controller the anguish. As a matter of fact, get three or four. Maybe twelve.

And then we come to the flaw that once again kills the perfect score- and that's the EA Trax. It seems that with every new gaggle of song selections, EA strives to showcase some new bands, and it's a good idea. The problem is, not much thought is really put into the selections that they make. What we have here are some selections that are listen-worthy, but feel slightly out of place for a game built on excitement. The addition of the Chemical Brothers is a nice touch, but they're lost in a sea of today's alternative rock, and it's just a little hard to swallow. Xbox fans will be elated to play their own custom soundtracks in the game, but PS2 fans are stuck just turning down the volume and blaring their CD. Sigh.

Otherwise, the sound effects included in the game are fantastic, and the game even has a female announcer this time around, who's easier to take than last year's "extreme" dude who walked you through things. Revenge contains helpful tutorials where the lovely Ms. Burnout (since I don't know her real name) walks you through things. This might help some of you amateur players who just don't get the idea of a vertical takedown. But it's a beautiful thing to learn. I've actually grown more accustomed to landing on top of cars instead of bashing them from the side.

Sigh. So NOW here I sit again, with a dilemma as to why I'm giving Burnout Revenge a 4.5 out of 5. But I've just learned to really accept it, there's a couple of things that prevent this from being an all-out dreamy ride. However, that shouldn't stop you from taking it. The illustrious track design, the demanding skills that you'll need to outpour into the game, and the true essence of speed are more than worth the price of admission. And that's not even getting into the multiplayer stuff. Revenge is, once again, the ride of your life. And just wait till we get a taste of Burnout 360 next year. Whoa, baby.