Time to dust off the Jaws of Life... Electronic Arts today announced that the sequel to Burnout 3: Takedown, GameSpot's Best Driving Game of 2004, is in the works and on schedule for a September 2005 release. Burnout Revenge is being developed by UK game studio Criterion Games for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. No mention was made of a rumored version of the game for next-generation consoles.

This is the fourth Burnout title in the series, and it's the second under EA. EA acquired the Burnout license from Acclaim in the early part of 2004, and in September, it published Burnout 3: Takedown, easily the most acclaimed and successful Burnout offering to date. Just before Takedown hit store shelves, EA bought Criterion games and its coveted Renderware middleware from Canon Europe...to the tune of $48 million.

The Burnout series has always focused on the innate macabre attraction to the highway's Hiroshima--the twisted metal of a multicar pileup--and Revenge will be no different. The game will feature new race, crash, and road rage modes, as well as an all-new revenge mode. Burnout Revenge looks to be every Los Angeles commuter's dream. As a release from EA describes the game: "Burnout Revenge lets gamers rip through rush hour traffic and lay waste to scores of rubbernecking roadhogs."

EA will debut the game at the E3 expo in May. Be sure to check back, as GameSpot will have more on Burnout Revenge soon.

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