We've checked out Burnout Crash two times now and it's taken a while to settle on exactly what this new vision of Burnout is. At first the new perspective was a shock, and then we called it an arcade, pinball-like experience. So as our vision of the game evolves, we step closer to seeing all that Burnout: Crash has to offer. Our latest experience showed off Kinect Party Play, a fun new mode where teams act like idiots (in that good way) while destroying everything on the map for points.

Party Play mode attempts to mix up the standard high-score gameplay of Burnout Crash by adding in the random roll of a slot machine and bringing teams into the mix. Based on where the slot machine wheels land, you discover which level you're crashing and what Kinect-centric motion you need to use to launch your Crashbreaker. The randomness is a good kicker to starting each match and helps sustain a feeling of unpredictability – something a party game needs.

For anyone not familiar with the Burnout franchise, Crashbreaker is a meter that builds up as you cause damage and allows you to blow up your car to unleash additional destruction to the surrounding world. As chaos ensues, the meter fills up and once it's full you can blow-up and move your vehicle into additional traffic. But the appeal of Kinect Party Play is discovering which motions you'll make to launch the Crashbreaker explosion. During my demo I had to lay an egg, which involved squatting and flapping my arms, all while the announcer shouted "squeeze it out!" In another round I made a Hadouken! motion to detonate the surrounding vehicles. When you're playing with a large group, these motions, no matter how silly, bring a smile to your face.


While fun, the Kinect-only party mode reveals a glaring gap in the flow of gameplay. It's enjoyable to make a karate-kicking motion while your friends laugh at your jackassery, but the time it takes for the Crashbreaker to replenish kills the momentum of the match.

The Crashbreaker is a necessary mechanic to keep cars from infinitely exploding (and setting ridiculous high scores), but the forced patience rears its head most prominently amidst the chaos and fun of partying. Party Play adds a new angle to this downloadable title and ought to please anyone looking for a short and silly time. Criterion knows the game is a play-in-small-bursts type of experience, so the game will launch for the price of 800 Microsoft Points ($9.99) on September 20.

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