Burnout is a high-speed racing game developed by Criterion and published by
Acclaim. It focuses on dangerous driving, narrow misses an insane speed. It was released
on November 2001 for PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube and Xbox. So here is
the Top 5 Reasons Why I Enjoyed Burnout.
Gameplay
Burnout is a street racing game where you're put in the driver's seat of 9
everyday vehicles with the option of racing 14 circuits. Vehicles like Mini
Coups, Saloon GT, Pick Up, Muscle, Roadster, Tow Truck and even a Bus. You're offered
6 different modes of play. Championship, Single Race, Head-to-Head, Time Attack, Face Off
and Survival. When you're playing the game, you need to compete against other
opponents and reach checkpoints in the alloted time. Fail to do that and it's race over.
You get bonus points for 'Near Missing' other vehicles, 'driving in
the oncoming lane' and 'drifting.' This in turn gives you access to the Boost, which
gives you a significant advantage that makes it incredibly risky in certain
situations. When you progress with championship mode, you get to do face off with another vehicle.
If you beat that vehicle, you get to unlock it for yourself.
Things get nail-biting in the face offs, but with a cool head you'll win them
and then you fill like a king afterwards.
Time Attack is just that. Racing for your best lap time and survival is a race to complete
the track without crashing once.
Levels. Taking place in the US and Europe, you'll race across realistic streets and roads in 14
courses packed with dense rush hour traffic.
The streets have been sectioned off though meaning absolutely no deviations
or detours. While some parts open up later on you'll still come across invisible walls, so there's
really no sense of free roam. The levels have been detailed really well
Europe looks very similar to a French countryside with a Harbour Town, a Dam and even a City.
Where the US levels are packed with traffic in the downtown streets and
interstates. Despite the fact that there are only 2 locations, the game cleverly
makes different tracks available in the big areas of each location and they
also add different times of day with different traffic patterns thrown into
the mix
Crashes. Burnout's gimmick is all about the crashes. It was very impressive for it's time and still holds up
quite well today. Crashes can be spectacular
loud, with several cars flying end over end causing glorious pile ups. You usually get something like this
happen be it losing concentration, not being able to see a blind bend or even a
sudden change in traffic pattern. Crashes in the game isn't really what the game is about
It's more about just racing to the finish line, and having to see a crash replay three times is rather annoying
as it takes the second off the timer. But nevertheless, the crashes in this game are very good to see.
Speed
Burnout rewards risky driving by giving you a Turbo Boost Meter. Drive in the oncoming
traffic lane, narrow escape collisions and utilize long drifting powerslides
to add boost to your meter. Initiate the boost and see the world stretch out in front of you
and see the car propel forward in such a rush of speed. The music stops all you
hear is a heartbeat, and the engine whines really high. The sense of speed in Burnout is
fantastic and the frame rate holds up really well. Burnout is one of those
rare games that make you feel like anything could happen at any minute, with the
unpredictable traffic patterns and obstacles.
Your hands are glued to the controller and your breath becomes short, and your looking for the slightest
hazard as you careen your way to the finishing line.
Replays. One of the best features of Burnout is it's replays. I still think
that Burnout has the best replays, even over the other Burnout Titles. Something
about it makes the action feel more realistic. Whether it's the motion blur,
the impressive camera angles, the shaky camera feeling, it all adds up and makes
the immersion factor that much better
making you believe it's real, or a TV show. Another great factor of this is crashes
and other fender-bender moments are captured perfectly in the replays. It doesn't
switch cameras like it does in other Burnout titles, like Point of Impact, Takedown and Revenge. If Criterion stuck with
with this formula, I think more people would have loved to be able to save their race
replays as well as their crash replays. Burnout is one of those games that may not quite
pull in the crowds but it will reward anyone who does decide the play it with an
expertly blended mix of speed, control and stunts. Burnout still is, my favorite
Burnout title to date.