Burnout

"Please bring your skills and attention - you'll need them. Unlike most racers out there..."

Burnout is a throwback to the days of challenging, quarter-munching arcade days of yesteryear. A throwback to the era of checkpoints, continues, and actual skill, yes skill. When you couldn't learn the game the first time you played it; instead you had to put many hours behind the wheel to learn the various nuances to the tracks, cars, and whatever obstacles are presented in your way.

Developed by UK based Criterion Games and published in the US by Acclaim, Burnout takes this oft forgotten sub-genre of arcade racing to the 21st century - and instead of the arcade, the game comes to the PlayStation 2 game console. What results a fully enjoyable old-school feeling racer; and a fine one at that.

Gameplay

First off, Burnout is very deep for an arcade game. There's many different modes of play for your enjoyment; from a single time trial race against the clock, to a full-on Championship mode against 3 other computer controlled opponents. Along with that, there's a prerequisite split-screen 2 player racing mode, and the ''face off'' challenge against one single car. Beat that car in a race, and you unlock it for use whenever you choose. And because the game is designed so well, it's loaded with replay value, because there's many different things to master.

There's about 8 different cars to choose from, each with their own attributes and quirks. From a little hatchback to super-fast muscle cars to a tow truck (?!), there's enough different cars to learn once you unlock them. And for an arcade game, this is a LOT of cars to pick from and learn. Sure, it's not as many as Gran Turismo or whatever (nor are any of them real, but who really cares?), but plenty for this kind of racing game.

For those cars, there's plenty of tracks as well, all unlocked by completing Championship mode. Most are extensions of other tracks, but for the 3 main tracks there's a lot of branching paths to encounter, and none are really repetitive. All have some major turns and great track designs (for instance, the ''Rush Hour'' track has you on the freeway, going head on against a massive amount of computer controlled cars, which you cannot avoid due to how the track works out), making for an enjoyable race. A racing game is no fun without interesting tracks to race on.

The major hook to Burnout is the traffic & crashes. This is not an open-road racer - instead you're going through tons of traffic, all of whom can cause you some major damage. If you happen to crash into a few, you can cause a major pileup and do some severe damage to your car (which disappears once the crash replay is gone, for some reason), the bigger the crash, the more money it costs to repair it, and if you really suck at driving and crash a lot, you'll earn a spot among the ''worst drivers'' list. Thus, you'll need to learn the traffic and the pattern it takes, and learn how to swerve without hitting anything. Crashes are not, I repeat NOT a benefit, no matter how cool they look. You're encouraged to NOT get into a crash. Once you learn the patterns and your own car, it's easy to get past a track without hitting anything.

And if you want to complete the difficult Championship mode, that's exactly what you'll have to do. You're severely penalized for bad driving; not only because you're running out of time for the delays, but because the computer drivers will catch and pass you if you flub up too many times. The AI is tough and makes you earn your wins, period. If you're no good at racing the cars, you're not going to win. You'll get a few breaks here and there because the computer will crash a handful of times also, but for the most part the CPU is merciless. As it should be. Practice makes perfect, and Burnout is no exception. If you're not interested in learning the game, then please don't buy this game, because it's not for you. For those who have the patience, you'll learn that Time Trial is essential as well, and a mini-game in itself. You'll not only learn the tracks and traffic patterns, but you can turn it into a game where you're not competing against other racing cars, but competing against the traffic-packed streets.

Burnout excels in the speed department too; the sense of speed is absolutely incredible. You'll be picking up speed watching the cars and buildings whiz by in a flash. And if you're able to not get into a lot of crashes, your Burnout meter will turn red, allowing a super-speed burst for a limited period of time, until it runs out and you have a burnout (hence the name of the game). This too can be essential to completing the Championship and unlocking all the tracks.

No, Burnout isn't as deep as Gran Turismo 3. It doesn't try to be. This is a pure arcade racer, intended for those who remember the wealth of outstanding games of this genre. And for those people will be extremely happy with Burnout - it hasn't been done this well in so long, it feels as fresh as can be.

Graphics

On the graphical side, Burnout excels, with only a few nags. The game was built of Criterion's own Renderware, the same middleware tool that DMA Design used for Grand Theft Auto III, as did Neversoft with Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3, and Airblade, another Criterion game being released in the US by Namco. The game does look very good, with really nice lighting effects, car designs, and overall solid feel. The only problem is the bad shimmering and jaggies, due to the lack of AA whatsoever. It can indeed be a pain with the shimmering, because a car will come out of nowhere. However, when you think about it, when you're going 120 miles in an hour, cars kinda come out of nowhere then too. Thus, this seems to be a realistic effect of the game. It can be frustrating, though.

Besides that, the game looks very, very nice. The lighting effects in places are amazing, as well as the vast detail in the buildings and terrain. Draw-in and pop-up is kept at a complete minimum, rounding out a mostly solid visual experience. It doesn't look as good as GT3, but it's a looker in its own right.

Sounds

The sounds are minimal, and really rather average. The music is in some places really cool and catchy, and in others really lame. See the first track, ''Interstate'' for an example of bad, as well as good. Why? Because when your clock gets a little closer to running out, the music changes into something more heart-pounding and immediate compared to the more laid-back theme when you begin. Each track has this, and it's quite a cool effect.

The sound effects are really only limited to engine sounds and crash sounds. The crashes sound really great, with metal & steel crushing precision, and a cringing feel as you connect with another vehicle. The engine noises however are more pedestrian and nothing to write home about.

Replay

As I mentioned, there's a ton of depth and replay to Burnout. You'll make use of the modes to learn each track, and learn how the cars respond, as well as learn the traffic. This is called practice, practice heeds skills, skills leads you to playing the game well. If skills aren't your thing, you'll need these modes even more to learn how the games play. But hey, if you want to play a game without the need for much skill, there's always Ridge Racer. I've had this game for a while now and still play it a lot, to master each and every track. Burnout is a decptively deep game.

Rent/Buy - Buy this sucker!

Burnout is, without a doubt, a great arcade racer. It's not for everyone - it's not targeted at those with a low level of patience and a bizarre need to unlock everything before even playing the game, but those who actually can appreciate it will get much enjoyment out of the game. Criterion has successfully brought an old-school gameplay style into the 21st century, and PS2 owners who are interested will be pleasantly surprised by how great this game plays. Don't bother renting it unless you're not sure; just run out and buy this game pronto.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/24/02, Updated 01/24/02