Gaming Target - Xbox: Burnout 2: Point of Impact

Written by Leigh Culpin on June 19, 2003

Full Review: A game where crashing is actually as cool as winning a race...

The first Burnout was a game that presented us with a mediocre arcade racer wrapped with the best crashes seen on any platform. The AI was mediocre, the graphics were good but are now looking their age, and the gameplay needed a tad bit of polish. Luckily, Burnout 2's out and hotter than the first by a long shot.

Burnout 2 is an absolute joy to play Ц it's not completely free of its own little quirks and issues, but it's hella fun and a must own for anyone who likes racing, be it in movies or games, since playing this game is quite often like being in a movie. I have yet to see a crash engine that can even come anywhere near touching Burnout 2's, and though you see some untapped potential in the odd place, watching a 5 bus, 16-car pileup is ridiculously entertaining. The crash mode alone is worth the price of admission, and good luck getting tired of the damned thing before Burnout 3's released; it's more addicting than crack (well, I wouldn't know personally, but that's what I'm told).

The objective of crash mode is eloquently simple Ц cause as much damage as is humanly possible in one crash. The damage done to each vehicle is added up and then a multiplier is applied (this increases by one for every extra car involved, so x16 for a 16 car crash versus x4 for a four car crash) and your grand total typically ends up in the millions Ц even as high as 40 or 50. There's even an online scoreboard thanks to some simple Xbox Live support so you can compare your bests with those of others across the globe. While this is unfortunately the extent of Live support for this release, it's still a nice touch.

Other game modes include pursuit and of course your typical championship mode. Pursuit finds you in the role of a cop who has to bash his (or her) opponent into submission, a game mode introduced to the masses in NFS: Hot Pursuit way back when. It's nothing terribly special, but it can be pretty fun. The bulk of the gameplay, however, is in Championship mode (go figure) where you compete in a wide variety of races and tournaments to unlock new cars, tracks and game modes (Pursuit mode has to be unlocked, as well as the Custom Car Championship). There are a respectable amount of both cars and tracks, though nothing comparable to Gotham or other similar car simulations. Truth be told Burnout's more of a mix between simulation and arcade racers than either one or the other, since the traffic and physics are pretty realistic, despite the boosts and fact that generally you'll never get to far ahead or behind the pack of computer racers.

Championship mode pits you against only 3 other opponent, somewhat disappointing when compared with the impressive numbers found in other games, but all things considered even this is a feat of it's own Ц the game runs at a constant and smooth 60 fps, despite racing 3 opponents and having traffic absolutely everywhere. The opposition does occasionally crash on it's own, though the must fun by far is to be had pushing them into oncoming traffic to see them clog up the main path, causing the other competitors to smash into the mess as well. This isn't exactly the cleanest or easiest way to win a race, but it's certainly one of the most satisfying.

The racing itself is somewhat average on it's own, but include the traffic factor and it's one of the better experiences out there. While the traffic patterns are pretty predictable after a few times through a track since they're more or less preset, it's not nearly as constant as the first Burnout and certainly provides a challenge nonetheless. And while you still can direct your opponents into oncoming traffic to cause some pretty terrific crashes, it's not nearly as easy to do as it was in the first, which bodes well for the improved AI Ц no longer do your fellow racers follow obvious predetermined paths, and in fact seem to follow no path at all but rather actually have some respectable driving AI built in.

While crashes aren't the objective of Championship mode and will certainly slow you down, coming close to causing them is. By driving dangerously into oncoming traffic, getting air off of bumps in the road, sliding, and nearly missing other vehicles, you're rewarded with an increase in your boost meter; once it's full, you can slam the A button to get rocketed forward (accompanied by a cool blurring effect and the music volume increasing) at around 200 mph, which greatly increases the probability of crashing, but then again also increases your lead (assuming you have one). It's also way to much fun, as the sense of speed is unparalleled in any racing game that actually has cars involved (and is still better than many that don't).

The multiplayer lets you clash with one of your friends on a regular track, and while it does keep the framerate up throughout the crashes and whatnot, it's slightly slim pickings. Crash mode, on the other hand, lets you go one at a time and see who can cause the most damage. Unfortunately everyone has to share a controller and go one at a time, but it's still the best multiplayer option the game has.

Aesthetically, this game has it all Ц the graphics rock, the sense of speed is downright sexy, the audio is spot on and the music is pretty damn good. It can get tiring after a few hours of playing, so the designers took the liberty of including a custom soundtrack option. The crash sounds are top notch and they look absolutely extraordinary Ц tires roll, parts fly, glass shatters and wheels skid like nothing else. Some of the third person car reflections look a bit off but after watching the crashes you won't care, and you really should be driving in first person anyways for that supreme sense of speed.