Burnout is an awesome arcade-themed white-knucle racer in a league all its own. The object of Burnout is simple: you must complete a series of street races which will earn you bonuses like new tracks for multi-player and (eventually) new cars. Originally a PS2 game, this GC port offers no additional extras, but that’s ok, because it’s so freakin’ fun just the way it is. Burnout set the bar for all to come as the slickest arcade styled racer available. The adrenaline inducing gameplay is only one of the game’s many strong points.
You start off with five vehicles divided into three different skill levels. One hatchback in the ‘easy’ level, two sedans, a sportscar and a souped-up luxury cruiser in ‘medium’ and finally an even faster sports racer and a customized pickup in ‘hard’. The vehicles’ maximum speeds are what really set these categories apart, though handling also plays a role. It’s less likely you’ll crash when driving an easy car simply because of its slower speed. On the other hand, since you’re given a limited amount of time to get from one checkpoint to the next, a slower car can also be a great disadvantage. None of the vehicles are licensed, in this version, or in the 2 sequels, but they do all look very realistic.
The main single player attraction is a series of tournaments against 3 other varying opponents. There are usually three races per event. For each one you’re given one to four tries to beat (depending on the race). You can only save your progress (with the exception of high scores) at the end of every Tournament. This can be frustrating, but also adds welcome length, since one of the problems Burnout is that it is far too short.
Beating a tournament will unlock the next one (there’s a total of six in all) as well as single "Face Off" races, one-on-one races that will earn you new vehicles upon completion. The vehicles you can win in the unlockable Face Off races are usually faster and flashier, with the exception of a tow truck and bus, both of which are sorted into their own category, "Special".
Victory in "Face Off" will also grant you access to all the tracks from the next three races for one and two player Single Race modes so you can practice for your upcoming tournament. Another unlockable is a separate race mode usable in single and multi-player races called "Survival" in which the last person to crash is the winner.
The controls are very standard and intuitive: A is acceleration; B is brake; the main top shoulder buttons are horn and burnout; Z is look back and the D-Pad is used for scrolling through views (first person or third person). When driving your vehicle in Manual mode, X and Y are used to scroll through the gears. Unfortunately, a handbrake is nowhere to be found. All the controls can be altered at your own will. The controls should serve you well, but I suggest hooking up a steering wheel and pedals for the ultimate arcade experience.
The handling is very much arcade-styled, though you can skid out of control if you’re going fast enough. With the right speed and technique, you can drift around corners too. Burnout places less emphasis on driving technique, and instead focuses more on using good hand-eye coordination to avoiding oncoming traffic and obstacles. Because of this arcade-inspired gameplay, Burnout is good fun for everyone, not just gearheads.
The Burnout races generally consist of 3 lap races. You won't be driving any long stretch type races, just finish the course the required number of times, staying ahead of the checkpoints. When turns aren't obvious from terrain, they are marked by huge green arrows. These arrows get a tad annoying for a couple reasons. First, they limit the actual track space. Also, instead of sliding through or gently bouncing off of the flashing icons, you ram into an invisible wall and crash. Finally, the most disturbing problem with the arrows is that they limit your view of traffic coming from blocked off sections of the roads immediately behind the arrows. Another little nitpick, you can’t turn around and drive the opposite way to ram your opponents head on (always fun in two-player if you’re too far ahead), instead you’ll run into an endless red wall.
Smashing into traffic, or anything else (including thin air if marked by flashing green arrows), will momentarily stop the gameplay altogether for the culprit. They will watch the smash up in spectacular replays until they are set back on the road. The damage done to your car is usually very realistic, but don't worry, you will reappear again (usually a bit ahead of where the accident occurred) and your car is good as new again, both visually and in terms of performance. I think it was a good move by the developers to make the cars not sustain permanent damage, as it adds to the pseudo-arcade experience.
A classic feature in arcade racers is the turbo boost, and developers at Criterion Games weren’t about to leave it out of Burnout. The "Burnout" meter is a small bar on the bottom left hand corner of your screen. You collect points that fill up the bar from having near misses, drifting, or driving on the wrong side of the road. When the meter is full, press R, and send the needle on your speedometer soaring. You’ll continue to fly at breakneck speeds until the bar runs out, or you crash.
Despite often having four vehicles racing on the screen at one time, Burnout almost always maintains a constant framerate, which would not be surprising if it weren’t for how much traffic there is. Dozens and dozens of cars, trucks, vans, 18-wheelers, buses and other vehicles crowd the busy city streets and suburban sprawls that comprise Burnout's tracks. All the vehicles will go out of their way to avoid you, but if you stop and block the road, they’ll keep on driving and hit you rather than stop. The computer racers are much smarter, but unlike the traffic vehicles, which stay on the road no matter what, you can often force them into oncoming traffic or off the road by blocking or ramming them. It’s hard to explain the rush you get from dodging car after car, swerving from lane to lane at breakneck speeds, it's something you're just going to have to experience. The rush you get is the difference between a game with a realistic amount of traffic, and one that just has you driving laps.
Unfortunately you won’t find any four human player races here. The multiplayer can only handle two people split-screen, though you have the option of racing with two other computer generated competitors at the same time as your friend, so there’s still four cars on the track. With the exception of the often irritating time-limit issue, multiplayer is a blast. You won’t find any cops in Burnout, but I’m not really sure they would improve the formula anyway.
Burnout’s visuals are excellent. The vehicles are well rendered and they vary enough not to be repetitive. Lighting effects are minimal, but when evident, very good. The background environments are great, and you can see far into the distance. The smash ups are the most spectacular aspect of Burnout’s visuals. The crashes are not always realistic, but always fantastic. Both the visual damage and the physics are great. Glass splinters and metal twists and bends. Sometimes cars will even fly off bridges or cliffs. Fire is never involved in the crashes, but who’s complaining?
Great crashing sound effects accompany Burnout’s smashes. Otherwise, the SFX are nothing special, although clear and not too repetitive. One little quibble: honking and tire screeching sounds are often too quiet.
The music sounds as if it was ripped straight from a car chase in a big Hollywood blockbuster. The soundtrack is simple, and suitable. The only technical flaw with the soundtrack is that very occasionally when one song ends, the next one fails to start.
While in Burnout mode, the music fades away completely as the scenery flashes by. The fade out is simple, but effective. It’s the kind of effect vastly underused in video games.
Unfortunately, and despite all the unlockables Burnout is fairly short. Most dedicated gamers will probably beat it in a few days or less. The good news is, the two player split-screen mode alone makes this a worthy purchase, and the single races remain fun for ages. So you most likely won’t be satisfied with just renting. You’ll want to go back to Burnout a number of times after completion to enjoy the excitement all over again.
Burnout is not flawless, but its few drawbacks (the short time limits, strict boundaries and lack of length) matter little in the end. Its wicked gameplay dominates the experience making Burnout a must play, even if you’re not a fan of the genre. One of the best racing games on the GC, and in my opinion, one of the best arcade-inspired racers period.
