Burnout 2: Point of Impact

"Everything I've ever wanted... almost."

There are two main types of auto racing games. You've got your simulation style with customizable cars, and then you've got your arcade type, which take artistic license with the driving experience. Burnout 2 definitely falls into the latter category. It's a game developed with priorities of fun first, and realism last.

Graphics
It's simply the best looking racing game available for the PlayStation 2. It's also one of the best looking games overall. Graphics are extremely important in a racing game. A smooth framerate is an important criteria when it comes to racing games, and Burnout 2 runs at a full 60 frames per second without missing a beat.

Despite the full 60 frames per second, the game doesn't skimp on detail when it comes to graphics. Since you'll be seeing the road wherever you drive, it's nice that this game has such a nice texture for it's roads. The lighting effects are great as well with sunshine reflecting off the road, buildings, and cars. When you use your turbo, there's a neat effect that briefly warps the graphics to give the illusion that you've really kicked the car into high gear.

The cars look okay, but they're not going to impress many people. What IS impressive is the way the cars get destroyed when they wreck. A crash in this game will destroy your car, and send it ricocheting off other cars, and litter the roadside with body parts. These crashes are so amazingly dynamic, that you'll never see the same crash twice. Also, the replays in this game use a very subtle blur effect, which makes the graphics a little more true to life.

Control/Gameplay
Realism is thrown out the door in this category. The cars go nice and straight, and are responsive when cutting through traffic. The cars will oversteer if you push them too far. This oversteer is very helpful when you want take long corners at the highest speed possible. You can simply tap your brake to send your car into oversteer. Realistic? No. Fun? Most definitely!

To give your car some extra speed, you can press R1 to use nitro. You aren't simply given this however. You have to earn it by crazy, but skillful driving to fill up your ''Burnout'' meter. You can fill this meter by powersliding through corners, narrowly avoiding cars, and driving on the wrong side of the road. You have a decision to make. Risk driving on the wrong side of the road in order to earn boost, or taking it safe, and slow. As I mentioned earlier, a crash will completely destroy your car. After the crash, the game automatically fixes your car, and you'll be good as new already rolling at about a speed of 50 mph or so.

A negative point about this game is the computer AI. If you drive safe, and slow, you can probably keep ahead of the computer as long as you don't crash. If you crash, the computer is likely to pass you right by, only to let you easily catch back up. You might think that you can use your nitro, and pull ahead of the CPU, but they'll never be too far behind. I know this type of rubberband AI is normal, and necessary in a lot of games, but in Burnout 2 it's too blatant, and ruins the sense of competition. It's frustrating to have the race of your life, only to lose it by crashing a block before the finish. On a more positive note, the CPU will cause many wrecks itself, and this is refreshing to see in a game.

Options
There are a few different types of modes. You have your typical arcade, time trial, and championship modes. These are pretty self-explanatory. The championship mode has you going through a series of races against other drivers, and you get points depending on how well you finish. Finish first in points after the series is over, and you unlock a car, the tracks you raced on, and the next championship series.

You may have heard of the crash mode. This mode is a first as far as I know. The objective is to drive your car really fast into a busy intersection, and cause as much damage as possible. You get points based on the damage you caused, multiplied by the number of vehicles involved in the ''accident''. There is a little bit of strategy you can use here, like which car to hit, but it involves quite a bit of luck as well. The chaos that results from these crashes is what makes it fun. Just like in the regular game, you'll probably never see the same accident twice. It's a very addicting to try and beat your high scores. It's also a great party game, since four people can take turns using one controller. The luck factor can make anyone a threat to win, so you can even play it with your Mom!

There is also a cop chase mode. The idea here is to try to destroy your opponent by ramming into him. That's basically it. You can only be the cop when you're chasing the CPU. It doesn't even touch the great cop chases in games like Need for Speed, or Driver.

The cop chase, and regular racing modes can be played by two players in a split screen. The framerate still keeps steady at around 30 frames per second, so it's still perfectly playable.

There are six environments to race in. They consist of wide open freeways, twisting snowy mountains, one way roads, busy downtown areas, and so on. There are 30 courses to race on, but this is misleading since many of them intersect with one another, and 15 of them are simply reversed versions of the originals.

There are no options to customize your car in anyway. This doesn't ruin the game by any means, but it's a fair warning to those who like to tinker around with their car.

The cars may not be licensed by any manufacturers, but they sort of look like some cars you know. There is a car which looks like a Viper, Mustang, Civic Coupe, Supra, and so on. These are your typical sports racing cars, but they've also added many cars which don't usually appear in racing games. These cars include a Geo Metro, Pickup truck, Sport Utility, a NASCAR, and cars from the 1930's, 1940's, and 1950's era. These cars all vary nicely in acceleration, top speed, and handling. You're going to have your favourites for sure.

Sound/Music
I'm disappointed with the sound in this game. The music sounds very generic, and artificial. With other racing games, I tend to play my own music once I get tired of their soundtracks, so this particular soundtrack really didn't affect my enjoyment much, but it's still worth noting. The sound effects are good, and the game supports Dolby Pro Logic II, which is a plus. The engines however, sound very weak, and tend to get annoying if you're driving at top speed for a while. It was a neat idea for the music volume to increase while you're using your boost, but it still didn't convince me to leave the music on.

Overall
Overall Burnout 2 is shallow, but incredibly fun, and addictive. Besides the AI, I wouldn't change anything else about it. Some additions would've been nice, but it doesn't stop the game from being a thrill ride.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 04/23/03, Updated 04/23/03