Burnout Dominator - hands-on

Despite the sinking feeling we got when we heard our beloved Crash mode was cut, Dominator will feature nearly all of the events that made the last couple Burnouts awesome - you'll just have to rely more on finesse than brute strength.

Not that you won't get to flex your Takedown muscle, of course. During a Road Rage match, we were able to use a combination of extreme speed and bellowing idiocy to smash through one opponent after another, scoring enough time extensions to prolong our run to a ridiculous degree. We even rammed one through a barrier, revealing another of Dominator's new features: open up a secret shortcut by slamming an enemy into it, and you'll be able to use it if you ever revisit the track.

We only got a glimpse of the PS2 version during the event, sadly, but we were able to get details on the differences between in and the PSP edition. Apparently, Dominator will be more or less the same across both platforms, except that the PS2's multiplayer will be limited to pathetic split-screen matches. The PSP, meanwhile, will support six players over an ad-hoc connection, and will feature temporary local leaderboards so you can compare your scores and achievements with those of your buddies. Downloadable content is also planned. We've been promised a crack at the handheld version very soon, so watch this space.