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| Fast cars! |
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| More fast cars! |
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| | Burnout 2: Point of Impact |
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| Number Of Players: | 2 |
| I-link/Internet: | No |
| Publisher: | Acclaim |
| Developer: | Criterion Games |
| Genre: | Arcade Racing |
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| | Full Review: |
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Faster than a rabbit being pursued by a three headed Tyrannosaur, Burnout 2 is the arcade racer designed to destroy your eyes with its blinding speed. If you thought Burnout was fast, then wait until you see this - the sequel is bigger, better and a whole lot faster.
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| | Gameplay |
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Being an arcade racer, Burnout 2 could simply be described as going round and round a track as fast as possible, which it is, except that is manages to be much more. The first, and most obvious difference, is the crash system. You can brush against another vehicle and keep on racing with perhaps a slight and temporary loss of speed, but hit a vehicle more violently, and you become a passenger as your car smashes into other vehicles, flips, spins and flies away leaving broken glass and pieces of bodywork littered over the streets.
It may not seem much fun to end up that way (though of course you return to the track soon afterwards) but when this is combined with the Burnout system, it makes a much more tactical experience. By performing crazy stunts such as skids and near misses against other cars you build up a boost meter. Once full, you can use this to send your car to even greater speeds... but increase your risk of crashing. Getting the balance just right is what makes the game so enjoyable.
To ease you into the game, there is a basic driving school that takes you through the manoeuvers and teaches you how to race. After this, you can take part in either single races and time attacks or go for the heart of the game - the championships where you race several courses, gaining points, and aiming to win trophies. On doing so, new cars, courses and tournaments become available. In between the races, there are also head to head challenges and pursuit modes (where you take the place of a police car chasing a criminal) which also allow you to unlock new cars.
Another mode that becomes available is "Crash", which asks you to speed into busy junctions and roads aiming to cause as much damage as possible. You are awarded medals for the championship races, the learning exercises and each of the crashes, meaning that to complete the game you need an impressive 64 gold medals - a tough challenge for a mere "arcade racer"!
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| | Graphics |
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The speed of the game is incredible, moving at a collosal 60 frames per second. Its quite likely that if you blink or become even slightly distracted you'll look back to see yourself a mile further down the road, but buried in the back of a stopped vehicle. Whilst this might not be great for the race itself, it does look very nice. Your vehicle as well as the cars that drive around the streets where you race are all of a high standard rivalling Gran Turismo 3. Its like a high resolution cousin of the original Burnout, making other racing games look extremely old.
As you fly around the huge courses, there isn't much time to look around, but if you end up in a crash sequence, you often get to see exactly how good the tracks look. Lovingly created cities, sublime forests and other exotic locations are all part of the scenery. Even subtle things like traffic lights are crafted in detail, and can often make the difference in a race, as you may get a warning when a car is about to pull out in front of you.
How Criterion managed to get the game looking this good and running this fast I do not know, but amazingly, this is recreated almost as well in two player. It doesn't have quite the same polished look, but it beats almost every other multiplayer arcade racing experience before it. You can take part in all the single player modes except for the championships, and even get more than two players going when you take it in turns to enter crash mode.
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| | Sound |
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As always though, great visuals and gameplay don't complete the package, and the key to feeling cool about your racing in Burnout 2 is the music and sound effects. After building up your boost meter whilst listening to a pleasant tune in the background, you engage the boost, and hear that familiar thrust noise kick in, the whoosh as you go forwards, the screen pull back slightly from the car, and then the music... Its quite incredible, the music comes to life, with an excellent beat and a tune that gets your adrenaline pumping, there's no game like it!
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| | Overall |
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Overall, its an arcade racer, and may only take 10-15 hours to complete, but it makes up for that by being a stupidly addictive game, with brilliant effects and cracking speed, not to mention the multiplayer mode which easily doubles the lifespan. It would be silly to miss a game as good as this, even when there are so many other games out this Christmas.
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| Score |
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| | Gameplay
Fast and exciting for every single second you play.
| 9.2 | |
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Graphics
Shiny cars and sharp graphics, all at 60 fps.
| 9.5 |
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Lastability
Plenty of courses, and things to unlock, but shorter than Gran Turismo.
| 9.1 |
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Sound
Thumping tunes and nice engines all build the adrenaline.
| 9.2 |
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Overall
Grab hold of something and just enjoy the pace.
| 9.4 |
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| | Alternatively: |
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You could also check out Gran Turismo 3, for a more realistic experience. Whilst Gran Turismo leaves out the damage and crashing, it revolves around simulation driving rather than arcade racing. There is a lot more to think about on top of how fast the car is going.
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