Electronic Arts' Need for Speed racing franchise has been on a downward spiral in the past few years, and even EA admits it. They're now taking steps to recapture the franchise's glory days, and among their gambits is tapping Burnout devs Criterion Games for a new Need for Speed title set for release in 2010.

The Burnout Team is doing Speed. Need for Speed, that is. Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello clarified that the NFS and Burnout franchise will NOT be merging into one, although the Burnout Team, frontlined by Alex Ward of Criterion Games, will be taking care of the next NFS iteration.

It's time recognise those developers that really helped make this year something special for all of us gamers. A lot of hard work, sweat, dedication and long hours go into making the games we play, so here are a few words from us at QJ to say thanks, and keep up the good work.

So who made the list? Who makes your list? Let us know after the jump.

Here's a small tinge of hope for those who wanted a better Need For Speed title instead of no new NFS game at all: Black Box is not totally shutting down. Also, Criterion is being rumored to be helping with the next NFS title. More after the jump.

Weaving our way through the nether of the Interwebs, we've compiled a list of about two dozen games for the PlayStation Portable that came, saw, and conquered the hearts of PSP gamers worldwide. The best part is, their price tags are near-irresistible. A Greek historian once said, "Nothing is cheap which is superfluous, for what one does not need, is dear at a penny." Too bad ol' Plutarch isn't here to check these bargains for Sony's portable console, because he'd probably make an exception. Find out why after the jump.

Burnout Dominator is coming out next week. It's crashing into retail right on time, too. For now though, here's a little something for you speed demons. This PSP trailer for the game shows us even more gameplay and the other cars that you can choose from. Dayum. You just gotta love that on-coming traffic! Notice how, at one point of the vid, the player goes right between two on-coming trucks at high speed. Jeezus, is that possible in real life? Check out the craziness below:

Quite a lot of people have been eagerly anticipating the next titles in the Burnout series. While some of you are wishing Burnout Dominator (to paraphrase a previous comment) "wasn't as much of a joke as Legends," let's take a look at the future. With the new PSP installment set to be released on March 6, there's still a couple of things we want to clear out about Burnout 5.

Senior Producer Nick Channon had a quick sit-down with WorthPlaying for a bit of a Q&A. Much to say, there are a lot of interesting details to (hopefully) squash out all the doubts some of you might be having. He talks about how the PSP title has become the in-betweener of Burnout Revenge and Burnout 5, some insight of where Burnout 5 is going (and where it's coming from), the idea of going back to the franchise's "Burnout" concept, and a whole lot of info about how each game affects the entire franchise in general as well.

Here's an interesting excerpt though:

Q: On that same note, will elements of the core Dominator experience make their way to Burnout 5? If players adjust their style of play for Dominator, might they have to do so again when Burnout 5 hits later in the year?

NC: You'll have to wait and see. Burnout 5 is an all-new game with a completely different design.

Check out the rest of the Q&A behind the "Full Article" link.

 

Boosting its way right on time to hit retail shelves, Burnout Dominator has finally gone gold - that's both the PS2 and PSP versions. The game will come out as scheduled in North America on March 6. Now to celebrate its gold status, the folks up at EA have posted a new trailer for you to enjoy.

Now you've got ample reason to throw care out the window and drive like the maniac that you are. We know everyone's got a bit of road rage pent up and repressed inside, so before that explodes into big proportions, might as well take it out on this game. Boost up, and burn it all out in one go. The Maniac Mode will have you de-stressing the road rage in no time.

Reckless driving was never this cool. Just make sure you keep it in the game and not outside. Click the Read link below for the trailer.

The Maniac mode in Burnout: Dominator doesn't exactly go against the logic behind this "dangerous driving" game from Criterion Games. There are still game modes where you can't crash too much (like Time Attack). But, a game mode where the majority of points come from not hitting anything? That might have you crash junkies hitting restart at every crash-'n'-burn.

IGN talked to Electonic Arts' senior producer Nick Channon about Burnout: Dominator's Maniac mode, and IGN likened it to a backwards Traffic Attack. Burnout: Revenge had you sending the daily commute straight to heck; Dominator Maniac has you BARELY sending them to heck. Only half an inch between a traffic citation and an insurance deductible, but a world of difference.

The concept for Dominator was to create a game that tested the user's dangerous driving skills, and was about driving as dangerously as you can whilst avoiding the crash. We wanted to create a mode that tested the user in all the dangerous driving skills, and hence Maniac mode was born.

Anyway, the other fine points of Maniac mode have been repeated before: max speed with Burnouts, chain Burnouts, drifts, airs, stunts, near-misses, chicken, and the occasional shortcut to max points. Not to mention give your DMV instructor a heart attack. Hey, at least the point is to NOT trade paint or bumpers anymore.

Although there doesn't seem to be any official announcement yet (nor do we have any screenshots or whatnot) of another Burnout installment, what we do have now is a quasi-confirmation of possible title in the franchise for the PSP and PS2. While we do know that Electronic Arts is publishing Burnout 5 with Criterion Games as developer for the PS3 and Xbox 360, EBGames seems to have gotten a little tip off.

They've listed a supposed "Burnout Dominator" for the PSP and PS2 on their site, and we're not sure what to make of it. We're chalking it in as a rumor for now, but one can't help but hope, yes? EA was successful with Burnout Legends. Some of you guys can even attest to how much that game owned. Now, it's up to you if you want to take this bit of news as legit or otherwise.

Considering that (well, according to EBGames' site, at least) shipping date for the game is set on March 26, isn't it kind of strange that even up to now, we haven't heard of anything official yet? For a strong franchise like this, it would be nigh impossible that EA or Criterion would sneak it onto retail shelves from behind. Here's to hoping for more info soon!