| Burnout |
| April 29, 2002 - Acclaim continues to reign king of racing on GameCube with the release of Burnout, a visually improved and control-tweaked port of the PlayStation 2 version that released November 2001. It's an arcade racer through and through, and is a markedly different experience for Nintendo's still growing next-generation system. As opposed to the fantasy titles Extreme G III and Smashing Drive, the Criterion-developed racer pits you in vehicles and environments reminiscent of the real world. Burnout brings gamers on the edges of their seats, and sends them rocketing down four-lane highways into oncoming traffic at 60 frames per second. Featuring an unprecedented sense of speed, tight control, and addictive gameplay mechanics Burnout is more than worth a look for racing fans. Only its longevity, lack of extra polish, and arcade influence may turn would-be buyers away. Features Drive dangerously -- force traffic into your opponent's path and risk a head-on collision to secure a win Slide, cut close and drive into oncoming traffic and you'll be rewarded for your risk-taking Impressive crash replays, based on realistic damage physics Blaze a trail through 14 US and European themed courses Tracks are massive, featuring traffic at every turn and diverse territory Advanced artificial intelligence makes Burnout fun to play even alone After the race, check out your best crashes in instant replay mode where you can control the camera, add motion blur, and zoom in Tight analog control works brillianty with the GameCube controller Intense two-player mode Dolby Surround support True 16:9 widescreen mode, so videophiles with compatible TVs can see more of the courses Progressive scan HDTV support lets you play Burnout in 480p for a sharp, vibrant display Gameplay Burnout is an arcade racer developed by Criterion, the same company responsible for the widely used RenderWare game engine. The company, thanks to its work on the multiplatform RenderWare and ties with Nintendo, has been in possession of GameCube development kits since roughly around Space World 2000. Believe it or not, Burnout was running on GameCube even before PlayStation 2, but thanks to Sony's early market lead and successful PS2 sales Criterion released Burnout for Sony's system first. As it turns out, this was a good thing for GameCube owners, who will now see an improved version of Burnout thanks to a little more spit and polish from Criterion. Burnout's basic formula is simple: risk equals reward. And, to that same accord, the more risks you take, the more exponential your rewards will be. The risks include driving head-on into oncoming traffic, glancing by other autos for near misses, and drifting for extended periods of times around corners. By performing and combining these risky driving methods you can gain boost, which fills a yellow bar located in the lower-left corner of your screen. You won't have access to this turbo boost until it's completely full. Crashing depletes some of the amount you've earned, creating for a suspenseful driving environment. If you successfully manage to fill the boost meter you will be able to draw upon a nitris-type effect and turbo past the competition. |
| Presentation 7.0 Graphics 8.0 Sound 7.0 Gameplay 7.0 Lasting Appeal 6.0 OVERALL SCORE 7.8 |
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| The sense of speed is incredible, but the chance of crashing becomes all the more likely -- something you don't want to do after you've built up all that turbo. Lose it and you can kiss that boost goodbye. Successfully use all the turbo without crashing and you'll have performed a "burnout," the very core of the gameplay design. That said, crashes play a very big part in Burnout. There are lavish replay sequences that force you to watch your crash take place from numerous angles. In the meantime, you may see the opposition pass you during the replay. There's no way to skip through these, and the point of that is due to the fact that since the crash takes time to take place your opponents will catch-up. There's no way avoiding it. |
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