Burnout

"Burnout - Intense racing action"

Arcade racers provide us with the sort of cheap thrills that we can never experience in real life behind the wheel of real cars. In arcade racers the laws of physics are thrown out the window, as you race through circuits at break-neck speeds.
‘Burnout’ is an arcade racer that takes the concept one step further, by adding in traffic, and lots of it! Crashing your car results in an amazing crash replay, complete with panel damage. Besides the gimmicks, is ‘Burnout’ the arcade racer we have all been hoping for?

Graphically, ‘Burnout’ is a very impressive game and amongst some of the best yet seen on the PlayStation2.
The game engine allows for a huge number of non-opponent cars to be displayed on each level. Driving into oncoming traffic at 220 kilometres an hour has never been more fun or looked any better! Each car is realistically detailed, although no-where near the quality of those seen in Gran Turismo 3. Realistic panel damage has been implemented into the game, however this has no real effect on your cars performance.
Probably the most impressive aspect of ‘Burnout’ is its spectacular crashes. When you happen to crash into another car (which is a regular occurrence) you are rewarded to a short replay of your crash, shown from a third person perspective. Coupled with the realistic panel damage, these replays allow you to see every bone crunching second of your crash, complete with realistic damage. Windscreens shatter and body panels bend not only on your vehicle, but also on that which you crashed into. You can even watch a full replay of these crashes at the end of each race, and save your favourites onto memory card. Very nice touch!
The tracks are set in a number of different environments, from peak hour traffic, to crowded country roads and sprawling metropolises. Every track is packed with traffic, making for very few dull moments.
‘Burnout’ offers a two player mode, and luckily even when replicated on two screens the speed is kept at a constant without even a hint of slowdown. This is extremely impressive considering the huge number of AI cars on screen, and the size of the maps.
Graphics: 9

‘Burnout’ features some excellent sound effects and good music.
The music consists of an assortment of techno and ‘soft metal’ beats, and they fit well with the frantic speed of the game. It does psyche you up in many ways, certainly a good thing for any arcade racer.
The sound effects are truly the highlight of the audio though, with some bone shattering crash effects. When you smash into the side of a bus at high speeds, it really will sound like you just did! All the sounds are crisp and clear, and it really does sound great crashing into oncoming traffic at 220 kilometres an hour, as you can just feel the impact.
The car engines aren’t quite as good, but this is an arcade racer after all, so it’s hardly like the developers were aiming for realism here. There is some good variety though, as the small ‘mini’ car sounds like it has a lot less grunt then the sports cars.
Sound: 8

So what does ‘Burnout’ offer that other arcade racers do not? Besides the spectacular crashes; very little. The game is let down by an extremely steep learning curve and over exaggerated difficulty. All put the most patient need apply.
While at first you may laugh at the sight of your car ploughing into the side of a semi-trailer, it soon becomes frustrating and repetitive. The problem with ‘Burnout’ is the cheap AI opponents, as they have automatic catch-up. What this means is that when you get to a certain point on the track, your opponents will appear behind you no matter what kind of lead you had over them. This becomes frustrating as you crash into traffic yet again only to see the AI racers speed past you across the finish line.
The games highlight is easily its spectacular crashes, which is in many ways a contradiction, as you don’t want to be crashing at all, because if anything you are penalised for it.
Possibly the worst part of ‘Burnout’ is the intersections, which rely more on blind luck then skill. For some reason the developers thought it a good idea to have trucks and buses passing through the intersection straight in-front of you, offering you no chance to dodge them. You may as well drive with your eyes closed through these sections as you’ll probably have less chance of crashing!
It’s not all bad however; if you don’t play to win ‘Burnout’ can be a very enjoyable game. Forget about winning, and just think about the adrenaline rush gained from dodging in and out of peak hour traffic. Laugh at the sight of your car as it’s literally ripped in half from the impact of hitting another car head on. And no-one can deny the sadistic chuckles of pleasure as you nudge an opponent into oncoming traffic.
A total of five cars are available at the start, each offering different top speeds, acceleration and handling. More cars and tracks can be unlocked by winning in the championship mode. In this mode you must race a certain number of tracks consecutively and come out the overall winner. You are allowed a certain number of restarts, which eases the difficulty somewhat.
One of the bigger features of ‘Burnout’ is the ‘Burnout Metre.’ This allows you to engage a considerable speed boost at the tap of a shoulder button. The metre is charged by getting near misses with oncoming vehicles, getting air, skidding and driving in the opposite direction of traffic. Getting the metre fully charged is hard enough, but it does encourage you to drive even more recklessly (as if you need to be rewarded for that!).
The tracks on offer are great, and extraordinarily challenging. From peak hour traffic on the highway to packed country roads, each track provides a new challenge and has plenty of tight corners sure to test even those veteran arcade racers amongst us.
One of the best parts of ‘Burnout’ is the two-player mode, which provides plenty of laughs, and is great to pull out when friends come over. Laughing at each others mistakes is great fun, but a certain degree of patience is also needed as ‘Burnout’ is still a hard game, even in this mode. Best find a patient friend or two if you want to gain any real enjoyment from this mode.
The handling is great, not quite as good as games such as ‘Ridge Racer’ and ‘Need For Speed’ but still responsive, and you are able to power-slide!
Still, it is hard to overlook ‘Burnouts’ many flaws. The difficulty is sure to put off even but the most patient of players, and often you come away feeling cheated by the game, which is never a good thing.
Game Play: 6
Life Span: 7

Pros
+ Amazing graphics
+ Crash replays
+ Two-player mode
+ Sound
+ Plenty to unlock

Cons
- Extremely hard!
- Steep learning curve
- Cheap game play
- The intersections!

‘Burnout’ is a competent arcade racer despite its many flaws. This is a game that is best rented when a few friends come over, as it is frustrating and no-where near as good as games such as ‘Need For Speed.’ However there is fun to be had with ‘Burnout,’ and it offers a somewhat unique experience. If you just want a quick arcade racer, then this is the ticket, but if you are expecting anything like ‘NFS’ then look elsewhere.
Overall: 7

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 05/27/02, Updated 04/18/03