Get ready to wreak havoc and unleash automotive anarchy against your opponents in Dangerous Driving. Available for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, Dangerous Driving is considered by many to be the spiritual successor to the Burnout series. Developed by Three Fields Entertainment, these former Burnout devs have set out to recapture the essence of what made Burnout great and take it to all new levels.
With 9 different game modes, 6 classes of vehicles with 4 variations of each, 7 locations, and 30 unique courses—there is no shortage of heart-pounding mayhem and carnage.
Dangerous Driving Details
Platform:Â PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Reviewed on:Â PlayStation 4 Pro
Developer:Â Three Fields Entertainment
Publisher:Â Three Fields Entertainment
Genre:Â Racing
Modes:Â Single-player, multiplayer (coming soon)
ESRB Rating:Â E10+ (Everyone 10+)
9 different game modes
Dangerous Driving features a whopping 9 different game modes. With such a wide variety of game modes, it helps keep you on your toes and you’ll never be bored. Starting out with the simplest is Race. In this mode, you race against 5 computer-controlled opponents to see who can make it to the finish line first.
Additionally, the more aggressive and dangerous you drive, the faster you will go with the added earned boost. Next up is one of my favourite modes, Heatwave. This mode is focused on pure speed and allows you to chain boosts for a truly wicked sense of speed.
Thirdly, we have Face Off. This is a 1v1 mode where you must slow down your opponent with takedowns. Shakedown is a push to finish a lap as fast as you can. My personal favourite mode of Dangerous Driving is Eliminator. The race consists of 5 laps, and each lap someone gets eliminated. To stay ahead and avoid elimination you must takedown your rivals. Another mode that I really enjoyed is GP. In this mode you compete across 3 takedown race events and whoever has the most combined points at the end of all 3 events wins.
If you are up for a real challenge, then Survival is right up your alley. This is a solo event where you race to see how long you can make it without crashing or the time running out. Next to Eliminator, I had a lot of fun with Pursuit. You play as the police, with lights and sirens blaring, and must take down your targets before they escape. Finally, and certainly not least is Road Rage. The premise in this mode is simple, get as many takedowns as possible in a certain amount of time.
High octane and fast-paced gameplay
If there is one thing that Dangerous Driving excels at, it is creating an incredible sense of speed. However, what I was really impressed with was vehicle handling—for the most part. While I must admit it did take me a little while to get the handle of it, controlling your car is pretty much spot on. Dodging traffic and weaving in and out between cars is all done with ease.
Drifting around corners will earn you points to refill your boost bar. Although, there were times where it felt like the slightest touch of the controller would send me veering off the road. As gruesome as it might sound, the crashes in Dangerous Driving are spectacular. The physics involved here are a sight to behold as parts go flying off your car in all directions.
Though I did find some inconsistencies while playing. For example, sometimes I just barley clipped an oncoming car and was sent flying. Other times, I went right through oncoming traffic head on—as if it was a ghost. And, no matter how fast I was going, the computer-controlled opponents are never far behind you. And, just like in Mario Kart when you are at the head of the pack and the blue shell hits you, there were times where I would suddenly crash just to see them whiz by me.
Classic arcade racing visualsÂ
Visually, Dangerous Driving is gorgeous in motion. The snowy mountains, deserts, lakes, and canyons are beautiful and whiz by at incredible speeds. It’s only when you slow down, do you notice that any other vehicles aside from your car or your opponents are very basic models. Additionally, some asphalt textures are blocky and blurry.
Furthermore, the game does not feature any type of a soundtrack at all. Instead, it offers support for Spotify Premium users to stream their music. If you do not have a premium account you are out of luck. And, yes, its true I could just play my own music through my headphones from another device, it’s just not the same.
Considering the small development team and the limited budget Three Fields Entertainment had to work with, they did a pretty good job.
Dangerous Driving is a fun arcade racing game that offers great value for its price
All things considered; Dangerous Driving is a fun game to play—just don’t expect a full on AAA experience. If you are looking for a game that is as polished as Burnout, then you might want to hold off to see how future updates for Dangerous Driving pan out. I was really impressed with the sense of speed in the game and the thrill of taking down your opponent is hair raising. I found that the amount of gameplay modes included really adds value to the game and keeps things fresh.
Although the game did not ship with multiplayer, a 6-player multiplayer mode is scheduled to be released near the end of May as a free update. With the next three updates outlined, it looks as if Three Fields Entertainment is dedicated to updating and making Dangerous Driving an even better game.
Did you pickup Dangerous Driving, or are thinking about picking it up? Let me know in the comments section below.
+ Looks great in motion
+ Fun to play
+ Over 30 unique tracks in 7 different locations
+ Sense of speed is amazing
+ Persistent wrecks
+ More content and modes coming via free updates
– Multiplayer mode not included at launch
– No soundtrack included with game
– Physics sometimes can be wonky and not consistent
OVERALL ASSESSMENT OF DANGEROUS DRIVING
Gameplay:Â 3.5/5
Graphics:Â 4/5
Sound:Â 2/5
Lasting Appeal/Replayability:Â 4/5
Overall Rating 3.4/5 (68%)
Get Dangerous Driving for PlayStation 4
Buy Dangerous Driving for Xbox One
Click here to see the full line of video game software available at Bestbuy.ca
Click here to see digital video game downloads offered at BestBuy.ca