The influence of EA can almost immediately be seen in Burnout 3: Takedown as players are presented with a brash, loud racer just bursting at the seams with the large numbers EA seems to favour. The number of cars to unlock has grown to 67; the number of events to compete in is now at 173, as well as a host of other trophies, postcards and rewards to unlock. Couple this with the ever-present Crash Radio so reminiscent of SSX3 and we are left wondering what the game would have been like had Criterion been left to their own devices.

Burnout 3: Takedown breaks away from the former games, eschewing the straight arcade racing for something that could only be called combat. While winning the race is still everything, forcing opponents to crash in 'takedowns' becomes an important way to earn boost. This changes the approach to each new race, and makes Burnout 3 feel quite different to its predecessors. As well as worrying about the vehicles in front, the locations of the other racers also need to be considered, and finding the balance between combat and speed is constantly necessary.

Performing takedowns fills the burnout meter, which can then be used to give the vehicle a boost. These takedowns can take various forms, most often involving ramming opponents into other traffic or the scenery. Psyche-out takedowns can be quite enjoyable, where players literally scare their opponents into crashing themselves just by threatening to run into them. Even more enjoyable are the set of signature takedowns to be discovered within the game. These involve performing a takedown while fulfilling certain conditions. The Gone Fishin' Takedown, for instance, is achieved after performing a takedown that sends a rival into the water alongside certain tracks.

The nature of the takedowns does virtually render the first-person bumper camera useless in the game though, with that view not providing players with the necessary scope to be able to take out vehicles on either side very well. While the third-person camera that follows the vehicle works well, the potentially more thrilling cockpit view could have been tweaked, possibly with side views, to make it more of an option.

As with the previous Burnout games there are other ways to fill the burnout meter. Driving in a lane with oncoming traffic, drifting round corners, jumping and narrowly missing other traffic can all still add boost and provide important ways to help maintain a sustained burnout for longer. Impacts on other racers also help to fill the meter, even when just harmlessly rubbing up against them. With takedowns completely filling the burnout meter, as well as making the overall meter grow larger, the balance of the game is altered and it will be a rare race that can be won without any takedowns.

The AI in Burnout 3 is a mixed bag. Rival racers follow divergent lines and are generally very good at avoiding traffic and making good speed. There does seem to be a catch-up feature involved with the AI, though. It can be quite disheartening sometimes to race out into the lead, with 20 or 30 seconds of solid burnout only to find that the lead is still only one second. This does keep races very tight and exciting though, not allowing players to rest in any part of the race. Also of concern is the relative lack of takedowns performed by the AI racers, either between themselves or against the player. Shifting to a multiplayer game shows this up immediately when races can become a frantic tit-for-tat race for survival of the kind that just isn't seen in the single player mode.