Without a Swedish man called Nils Bohlin who died in 2002, there is very little chance we'd ever have got to play Burnout 3: Takedown. He was a man of many talents, but nothing he did was as vital to the art of smashing your car to smithereens and surviving than his invention of the humble seat belt. Mr Bohlin kindly invented it so we could abuse it. And boy oh boy, if you're looking for seat belt abuse, Burnout 3 is a cane-waving headmaster with a nasty glint in his eye.

Burnout 3, for starters, is four times bigger than Burnout 2. If you consider nothing else but that, the third instalment is already leaps ahead of version two, a game we hold in high regard anyway. We would have been happy with that; we would have been lured in by the promise of four times the action alone, but Burnout 3 is so, so much more than just a pumped-up sequel. It doesn't take too much effort to see that, visually, Takedown has undergone a little under-the-bonnet nip and tuck.

Environments are hugely detailed, subtle lighting effects are dazzling, and the range and spectacle of collisions make Burnout 2's pileups look like a couple of matchbox cars being bumped together. But not only has the initial awe factor been cranked up a notch, the game model is sublime. Burnout 3 is the closest thing you'll find to pure gameplay.

The emphasis on destroying your opponents has been increased (after all, that's what we all loved about Burnout 2), so new race modes actually encourage violence. The Road Rage mode demands that you knock out a certain number of rivals before you become a wreck yourself or the time runs out. The standard race modes also encourage it. If you're shunted you can chase your enemy off the track and have their final, mangled moment captured in slo-mo. If they do they same to you (the AI is blistering so you'll be in for a fight), you too will be sent into a slo-mo whirling dervish of metal and glass.

Even during these smashes while old Bohlin's invention is cutting into your chest, you can exact revenge. By pressing A you fire up the Impact mode, allowing you to steer your wreck into the path of oncoming rivals. Take a few out with this aftertouch and the cash comes rolling in. Earn enough cash by proving your mettle and you'll then be invited to different events spanning the globe, where the game simply gets bigger, better, faster and more brutal.

You'll unlock special Crash events where, like Evel Knievel's less fortuitous backwater cousin, you'll have to pile into streams of traffic to cause as much mayhem as you can. The greater the blackened pile of scrap when you're done, the greater the reward. And boy, are there rewards aplenty.

There are seemingly endless combinations of cars to be won, some of which come after you've attained a certain goal such as gold medals or a cash limit, while others are yours following the most taxing of missions. The fire engine, for example, is only available when you've made ten newspaper headlines in Crash mode. To make each headline you've got to earn close to the $1 million mark, and the average earning during Crash mode is $190k. There are also 4x4 trucks, F1 cars, classic Burnout vehicles, sports cars, custom cars, prototypes and dragsters to be earned, plus locked race modes, galleries and a few shiny trophies to boot. We played this for two days solid and only ever reached the bronze cup, such is the scope and opened-ended spectacle under the hood.

The cars” handling is gorgeously responsive and they react to your touch exactly as you'd hope. You can still veer through lanes of oncoming traffic, and weave through them with almost balletic grace. The physics are second to none, and while this doesn't mean it's gone all PGR2 on us, Burnout 3 handles as if it were constructed from nothing more than pure essence of fun.

As if this weren't enough, the Live compatibility is just as explosive as the offline game. Up to eight players can take part in Race mode, and you can duel head to head on the Crash modes, tallying up the destruction to become king of the Burnout 3 leaderboards. You will never - and we'll repeat that for effect - never tire of it. That's a promise.

It feels as you always hoped a racing arcade game would feel. It has the breadth and depth you always hoped an arcade racer would have. It looks as sumptuous and candy-coloured as you ever hoped an arcade racer would, and it rewards you bountifully for doing the one thing that you're encouraged to do: have fun. Burnout 3 is, without doubt, one of the finest, most enjoyable and crazy games to exist on Xbox; a barrage of twisted metal, laced with the kind of speed, handling and gameplay few other racers could ever hope to achieve. Nils Bohlin would be proud.

1. Amazing emphasis on collision means that every bone-snapping crash will be felt in all its brutal glory.
2. Looks astounding. Everything from the lighting effects and lens flare to the car damage and scenery are utterly breathtaking.
3. Cars handle exactly as you'd hope, and when you kick in the Impact mode, they'll soar through the air like flying metal deathtraps.
4. Oodles of extra features and bonuses, plus an insane Live option mean Burnout 3 is more than just four times bigger than before.
5. Bigger, better, faster and more dazzling than both Burnouts before it, this is the finest arcade racer you'll come across on Xbox.

An essential arcade racer, brimming with every kind of invention and deliciousness. It positively beats you into having fun.