At
first I thought this was a game about a webmaster
who agreed to host a website 365 days a year without
a break, but then I saw the car on the front of the
cover. I get it now....burnout....as in squealling
your tires. Well, smoking your tires is one thing,
but ramming into the back of a semi at 80MPH is quite
another and Burnout (the game) is filled with wild
moments like that. In fact, it's what the game is
based on. Kind of.
Burnout
is like Ridge Racer V on crack (minus the prissy announcer)
and is exactly the kind of racing game I was in the
mood for. After the perfection needed to race in Gran
Turismo 3 A-Spec and the precision required in Project
Gotham Racing, I was more than ready for a game where
the control was tight, and I could just concentrate
on cool powerslides. The insane crashes were just
a bonus really. So what is all this talk of spectacular
bangups? Well, Burnout is just a little different
than your regular run of the mill racing game.
Your
driving is judged on three parameters: The distance
of your powerslide, how long you can drive on the
wrong side of the road and near misses. By playing
the Championship mode (14 courses based in the US
and Europe) you'll start with three courses and unlock
courses, cars and other gameplay modes from this part
of the game. Right off the bat you have to realize
that the laws of physics don't apply here; this is
strictly an arcade racing game.
The
pacing of the game is well balanced, allowing beginning
players to slide in to the second or third place near
the start of the game to qualify and move on. As the
game progresses (and subsequently, your skills too)
you'll be required to finish the race in first place
to continue.
Games
like this have failed horribly due to crappy control
and I'm happy to report that Burnout feels as good
as Ridge Racer in this department. There is nothing
worse than tearing up a track and sliding all over
the road (Driving Emotion Type -S anyone?). The graphics
are extremely detailed as well. You might not confuse
this with Gran Turismo 3 but the visuals certainly
approach the quality found in that series. The cars
are unidentified "replicas" of certain realworld
vehicles and anyone who has spent some time behind
the wheel will recognize their favorites.
Musically
the game is chockfilled with pumping techno tunes
which I found to be rather enjoyable. I'm glad that
Acclaim decided to forego the "alternative"
soundtrack as my ears have been assaulted by numerous
indie bands as of late. Sometimes I just want to play
my little game without being pestered by some powerchord
slinging, effects pedal abusing, drug-addicted tattooed
dimwit and his ****ed up views on life, you know?
I'll take the repetitive thumping of a sequenced kick
drum any day of the week. I can understand that and
even sympathize with it. Sure I sound old, and I should;
I am old.
My
only complaint with the game lie in the NPC AI (how
is that for an anagram?) That's Non-Player Characters
Artificial Intelligence to those of you who weren't
sure. I'm referring to the traffic beetling around
the courses. If you drive in the opposite direction,
more often than not, the other cars swerve to miss
you. This makes getting points a real breeze on some
courses. Other than that little hiccup, there is little
to complaint about. This game is fun and you should
play it.
Anyway
you slice it, the game is great fun and will keep
you entertained for hours, whether it's just crashing,
racing or going head to head with a friend. If you've
been burned on racing games lately, you might want
to rent it first. However, I think Burnout is a great
title that could be bought sight unseen and enjoyed
for a long time to come.
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