Genre: Racing
Developer: Crystal Dynamics
Publisher: Crystal Dynamics

For being the very first 3DO game on the market, Crash 'n Burn makes excellent use of 3DO's "cell engine". Tracks are fully quad-based, and include not just the surfaces, but interior sections such as tunnels. In some places the tracks will wind around, whereupon the player can see the opposite portion of the track, way off in the distance. Some tracks even use transparent roads, which looks incredible, and with no performance penalty. Cars use a level of detail system, where they are sprites at a distance, and quads up close. The player's car is a massive sprite, centered along the bottom of the screen. Super high resolution FMV clips of the game's various drivers are watchable from the menus, which use static pre-rendered visuals.

Most 3DO games use digital sound files for their sound tracks. There are a small handful of games however, such as "Road Rash", which use the 3DO's superb DSP for music. Crash 'n Burn might be the very best showcase of the latter: track compositions are musically interesting, and use a variety of instrument samples such as electric guitars. The sampling rate is phenomenal, as is typical of the 3DO's audio output. The in-race sound effects are nothing to write home about, but the campy acting during the FMV sequences is pitch-perfect, and absolutely hilarious.

Crash 'n Burn plays a lot like the later 3DO "Road Rash" title: like that game, the player is mostly "directed" around the track, so that he can focus on the combat. That said, braking and taking the correct lines is still important, as banging off of walls slows the player vehicle down greatly. Road surfaces are constantly changing, from concrete to water, dirt, or even ice. Similarly, weapon firing is automatically directed towards the nearest car. A really lovely nice balance is struck between these elements, making the core racing very satisfying. The vehicle can be upgraded with cash between races, sort of like a "One Must Fall: 2097" but with cars. The player's game is automatically saved after each race.

This release is a Mark Cerny title from his brief time at Crystal Dynamics, which may be part of why the game excels technically in spite of it being a 1993 launch title. Going up a hill, seeing the undersides of transparent tracking all the way across the stage, all alpha blended properly, while about to enter a fully-quad tunnel is amazing. The core gameplay is very satisfying, and there are multiple strategies which can be employed. The only downside is that the game only feels three-quarters finished: the menus are as bare bones as they come. Some in-track banter, ala "Wing Commander", would have added a lot too. That said, Crash 'n Burn is a highly competent combat racer, with campy FMV, a fun chip soundtrack, and cool tournament-style upgrade mechanics.