Burnout 2 retains all of the features that made the original a good game, and manages to improve on them, as well as introducing a plethora of new features to the mix. The basic gameplay style is exactly the same - driving on the wrong side of the road, catching air, narrowly overtaking cars, doing burnouts etc. will gradually fill up a turbo meter. Engage your turbo and the camera will pan back, the music will crank up, and you will practically fly up the road. Take care, as crashing into other cars and other objects can be very spectacular. The replays on crashes have been toned down for Burnout 2, which will please a few of those who did not enjoy seeing a replay every single time they crashed.
When you start the game up, you will be asked to complete Offensive Driving 101. Offensive Driving 101 is a tutorial which will introduce you to six different techniques that you must know off by heart if you wish to survive in the big bad world of Burnout. These six disciplines include driving on the wrong side of the road, burnouts, turbo, jumping and narrowly missing cars while you overtake them. Once you’ve completed the training, you can access the championship mode, where the brunt of the game takes place. As you win races, you unlock various different modes, and tracks to use in them, as well as a lot of extra cars.
There are a few types of game modes in Burnout 2. These include the aforementioned Offensive Driving 101 and Championship modes, as well as Crash mode, Pursuit mode and your stock standard single race modes. In Crash mode, your mission is to cause as much damage as you possibly can by causing major traffic accidents. There are about 16 tracks in all to cause mayhem in, and although the mode is a little short, it is a lot of fun and can also become very competitive between friends (nobody beat my top score of $33 Million). Pursuit mode is very similar to Taito’s late 80’s arcade hit Chase H.Q.. You start off at one end of the track, in a police car, whilst your assailant burns away up the highway. Your goal is to catch the criminal by any means possible, which usually involved ramming him until he crashes. Pursuit, Single race and Crash are all available in multiplayer, for a bit of extra action.
Fans of serious racing games such as Gran Turismo, Sega GT and V8 Supercars might want to look for their kicks somewhere else, as Burnout 2 handles a lot like an arcade racer (such as Ridge Racer). This arcade nature leads to a little bit of a problem with difficulty – there isn’t really much difficulty. The lack of difficulty doesn’t help much to the fact that the championship mode is rather short either. The Crash mode can be completed easily in about 2 hours, and the Pursuit mode is limited to the number of races you unlock in the championship. Multiplayer may be a saving grace, if your friends can handle the split screen.
One of the original Burnout’s weaknesses was its graphics, mainly due to a lot of problems with the aliasing. Criterion has done a fantastic job of improving the visuals in the game. The game runs at a constantly smooth 60 frames per second, while producing a lot of chrome and reflections on the cars, as well as bump mapping on the roads. There are next to no jagged edges to be found. The only problem that can be seen with the environment is the low texture quality during times you are traveling at low speeds (which shouldn’t be often). There are 6 different locations for racing, each with their own style, as well as some impressive weather effects which affect each area in a different way.
A lot of effort has gone into the crash mechanics of the game when it comes to the damage to the cars. Car frames will bend and buckle, glass will smash, bonnets, boots, and doors will fall off, and sparks will fly everywhere. Thanks to competent replay camera angles, the destruction of the cars looks very good indeed.
Audiophiles will be happy to know that Burnout 2 fully supports Dolby Pro Logic II, so you can hear the sounds of your cars being ripped to shreds in beautiful surround sound (provided your receiver handles DPL2). The soundtrack of the game consists mainly of generic hard rock, but once you hit your turbo button, the tempo, bass and volume of the music shoots up in an attempt to boost your adrenaline. Sound is generally pleasing, with your usual combination of engine roaring, crash sounds, and so on.
Burnout 2 is everything that you would want a sequel to be. Not only does it improve on every aspect of the original game, it also adds a bevy of new, and thankfully good features to the mix. Add in the fact that the game is very easy to get into (especially for those who missed the first), and hard to put down, and you can see that Acclaim and Criterion have a success on their hands. Hopefully Burnout 3 will work out some of those issues with longevity.
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