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Criterion and Acclaim knew what they were doing when they made this. They weren’t out to dethrone any simulation racers. They didn’t intend to make the game a sim. Burnout 2 is meant to be an arcade racer with two things in mind, speed and crashes. With that in mind, and keeping it in mind during the game, you’ll find Burnout 2 to be nearly perfect at what it does. You begin your crash-a-ton with 14 cars and trucks. None of the cars are licensed though, which may turn some people off. Each of the cars handles slightly differently, a nice touch even though the game is an arcade racer. You’ll notice the differences as you play.
When you boot the game and see crash mode, you’ll most likely laugh. What were the folks at Criterion thinking? You’ll ask yourself. The basic premise of to take as much damage possible in a single crash. It sounds simple, but you’ll soon learn it isn’t. Each crash course was designed with a special spot in mind. If you find this spot, you’ll be able to get the top possible damage, but you’ll have some trouble in finding that spot. You’ll need to keep in mind your car, speed, and timing in order to obtain your desired score. You need to keep the ‘domino effect’ in mind when you play. You’ll lose many hours trying to figure out how to make a perfect crash, the perfect crash.
The game revolves around winning races on city streets. You and four other racers will find themselves in courses such as, Miami, New Mexico, and LA. You’ll also find yourself at the Rocky Mountains and an Airport complex, which is simply huge. You’ll find other drivers on the streets since Criterion wanted to make the city feel as alive as it could be. The AI that the other drivers have is very effective and humorous at times. They will brake and attempt to dodge you or just panic when they see you. Their behavior is different every time though, so you can’t really anticipate what they’re going to do. That’s half the fun, watching what the other non-racers do. Crash something too hard and you’ll witness your car be blown to itty pieces. Having quick reflexes is vital here. If you work your environment right, you can make sure your enemies have a nice crash.
Speed demons won’t feel left out here, as Burnout 2 has things for them as well. Speed points come in when you do some power slides, or jumps. Racing right through traffic or going in between two cars without being hit will earn you incredible points as well. If you fill your meter, you’ll really have fun. When you are using the boost, the car goes at insane speeds; it’s like being shot from a giant slingshot. If you don’t use your boost, you can earn a Burnout, hang on to that and you’ll earn multipliers. You’ll amuse yourself as you try to get as many multipliers as you can.
The sense of speed provided here is surreal. Burnout 2 keeps the game at a full 60FPS and keeps it that way for the remainder of the game. The game doesn’t suffer from “jaggies” as it is fully anti-aliased. The whole game looks and feels smooth. If you have a High-Definition TV, you can play in Progressive Scan mode. Experiencing a burnout while in HD is purely awesome, a feeling I personally haven’t experienced from a game before. When playing, you don’t really notice the textures or lighting effects available. Everything moves too fast for you to be able to tell. If you take a race out to go (gasp) slow, and look at everything you’ll notice rich textures and excellent lighting effects.
The music fits with the rest of the game with its larger-than-life and over the top feel. The music is made up hard rock mixed with some techno for good mix. Your eyes will be thrown out of loop as much as your eyes. Have Dolby Pro Logic II? Experience the over-the-top music more than you’d want to. Look out for the sound effect that goes with the boosts and burnouts. It’s just as insane as the visual presentation.
How can a game that relies on split second moves and marginal error percents work with a non-responsive control system? It can’t. Criterion seems to of known this and the controls work wonderfully. They are simple and feel like second nature after playing with them for just a few minutes. You really can’t complain everything handles wonderfully.
People looking for Gran Turismo IV will find very little to their liking here. This isn’t GT IV; it’s very far from it. If you’re looking to what is quite possibly the best arcade racer available, pick this one up. This is the game you have been waiting for since you bought a PS2. Prepare to be hooked for weeks on end, Burnout 2: Point Of Impact is what arcade racers to come will have to top, and they’ll have an incredibly hard job in front of them. -- Jose Liz, PGNx Media
---- Nov 4, 2002
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