Burnout 2: Point Of Impact Review

By Kristan Reed Published 8 October, 2002

Review - third racer of the day for Kristan, but this one's a beauty...

Version tested: PlayStation 2

Forget everything you know. Whether you liked Burnout or not, it matters not. The simple fact of the matter is that its sequel will change your perceptions of the driving game genre, and the capabilities of the PlayStation 2.

From the minute you first boot up Burnout 2 it has you smiling. As you progress through the 'anti GT' Offensive Driving 101 tutorial (where you learn how best to drive badly…) the smile extends to a full-on cheesy grin as you realise just how stupendously fast the game engine is, and by the time you're charging into streams of head on traffic you're screaming like a cheerleader having her first orgasm.

'Burnout 2: Point Of Impact' Screenshot sep028b

Parking was never my strong point

But let's calm down for a minute and actually work out what's working us up into such an excitable lather. Well, first of all, every single one of the game's modes is superb. Starting with the tutorial mode, you're taught step by step how to get to grips with the beautifully intuitive control system: simply tap X to accelerate, square to brake or drift, and R1 to boost. Powering up your Burnout boost bar also couldn't be easier: either drive head on into oncoming traffic, drift around corners, survive near misses or grab some phat air. Once you've mastered these fundamentals it's onto the real deal.

Just champion

'Burnout 2: Point Of Impact' Screenshot sep021b

The car in front is now behind

Championship mode is, inevitably, where you'll head if you want to unlock new modes, tracks and cars, but right from the off the game makes initial progression a formality. The early Grand Prixs feel rather like an extension of the tutorial mode, and coming first against the three crash prone CPU cars is pretty much a given, but you're probably having far too much fun admiring the incredible visuals, nippy frame rate, and sickeningly realistic crashes to care too much about the lack of challenge at this point.

The early impressions are clear: Burnout 2 is simply the fastest, best looking racing game on the PlayStation 2 bar none; this fact just screams out at you almost immediately. Whereas its predecessor had a rather bland, flat look about it, Mk.2 shines in every area, and it's almost unbelievable how far the Renderware engine has come in such a short space of time. The sheer pace of the game is almost wince-inducingly fast, and, as a result, when you crash you find yourself physically ducking out of the way of the terrifying impact. What results out of these tear ups can end up being truly incredible, with not only vehicle parts flying off in all directions in a trail of smoke and sparks, but the resulting chaos delivered onto nearby vehicles - particularly lorries and buses - being the most enjoyable example of videogame destruction by a huge margin.

Fortunately, you're not punished for crashing like last year's effort. Not only do you return to the track almost immediately, but your Burnout meter only takes a small hit, meaning that restoring it to a powered up state is a relatively manageable task. This immediately makes the process of catching up much more straightforward, and therefore you're caning it around the track, taking insane risks at every turn. It's this motivation to drive stupidly fast that makes Burnout 2 so irresistible to play - no game has ever taken the concept of driving fast to such extremes, and pulled off such a compelling game into the bargain.

Reality? What's that?

'Burnout 2: Point Of Impact' Screenshot sep0210b

I think I was in this traffic jam earlier

Inevitably, Criterion's pursuit of all out fun and adrenaline has resulted in some curious compromises of reality. For a start, the handling ostensibly belongs in the arcade camp. Whichever car you choose you'll find the car sticks to the road like glue, and powering around corners borrows liberally from the Ridge Racer school - no bad thing in our book. It's by no means remotely realistic, but as a method of making the game for fun and immersive it works a treat. Similarly, when you charge full pelt into some of the guide arrows, you mostly end up being guided gently in the right direction, rather than just wipe out. In addition, if you crash into CPU crashes, you get to start again just fractionally ahead of the transgressor - and likewise when you cause similar chaos to your opponents. Unrealistic, sure, but ultimately it seems that every attempt has been made to keep the game from ever being annoying. Some may balk that this lessens the challenge, but that would be missing the point. After all, there are plenty of opportunities to crash at every turn - gamers really don't need pedantic discipline imposed upon them when they're charging along at speeds of 160mph. Fortunately races are also a mite shorter than the original Burnout, which was an area many felt Criterion got wrong. The design just feels as tight as a drum, with every effort made to keep your attention.

As with any great racing game, there's an absolute stack of cars, modes and tracks to unlock, and, again, Criterion has structured it such that there's always an incentive to keep plugging away. It's the Championship mode that you'll inevitably head straight for to unlock the numerous goodies, and faced with a series of Grand Prixs, Pursuits and Face Offs there are always ways to keep the interest levels high.

In the GPs you race against three other AI cars, usually contested across between two and five laps, depending on the length of the track. Win the GP on points, and you unlock the next GP series. Win Golds in every race, and even more is unlocked, including Pursuit races and Face Offs. Pursuit involves haring after a wanted felon, ala Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit, with a certain number of hits required before the time limit runs out. This is a welcome addition, in that it allows the player to unlock the criminal's vehicle, while Face Off gives a similar incentive, albeit in a straightforward one-off race.

Please release me

'Burnout 2: Point Of Impact' Screenshot sep0213b

The sense of speed is almost there

The unlocking theme extends throughout the game, and once your Championship mode is fully unlocked, a further Custom mode allows you to race in much more challenging GP races, with rather odd, but welcome additions becoming available to your car roster.

But possibly best of all is the stupendous Crash mode. The premise is simple: drive your car as fast as possible towards moving traffic - often a crossroads or traffic jam - with the intention of causing as big a pile up as you can. Time your impact correctly, and you can set up a spectacular chain reaction of twisted metal as one vehicle after another smashes into the carnage you've caused.

Send 18 wheelers flying onto their sides, jack-knifing across the carriageways and all hell is let loose, and it's all displayed in superb action-enhancing slow motion, with the helicopter piloted cameras panning and zooming in to show off the glory that is going on all around. By the end, your damage is multiplied by the number of vehicles involved in your crash, and once again your performance is rewarded by Gold, Silver or Bronze medals - allowing you to unlock a multitude of progressively insane crash levels.

But one minor fly in the ointment is the multiplayer mode. While the game does at least allow four player split screen on a PS2, the impact on the frame rate and graphical splendour is all too apparent. Once you're used to charging around in single player mode, multiplayer feels somewhat muted compared to the anarchy you've been used to. We're not writing off the mode completely, because it is enjoyable taken in isolation, but it clearly doesn't quite live up to the uniform excellence elsewhere. Racing against mates is obviously superb fun, and provides a much more satisfying race experience, but when you're playing at what feels like 30 FPS, rather than 60, it just feels sluggish. Maybe this is an area the forthcoming Xbox version will address in style.

So, to sum up, without any hint of an exaggeration, Burnout 2 is the most compelling arcade driving experience we have ever had the pleasure of undertaking. It's a visual master class, supremely playable, addictive, has huge replayability and has a superb learning curve that will ensure it has a broad appeal to anyone with even a vague interest in videogames. There really is no excuse not to buy this - it will restore your faith in the ability of videogames to generate excitement. Burnout 2 is pure adrenaline. You owe it to yourself to play this game.

9 / 10

Read the Eurogamer.net scoring policy
Picture of Kristan.

About Kristan Reed

Kristan is a former editor of Eurogamer, dad, Stone Roses bore and Norwich City supporter who sometimes mutters optimistically about Team Silent getting back together.

Read more articles from Kristan by visiting the Kristan Reed archive page.

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Comments (83) Latest comment 4 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • st3ph3n #1 9 years ago

    Interesting, maybe a bit of Burnout one trading in could be in order, but not before Sunshine has been given a right good seeing to.

  • Whizzo #2 9 years ago

    Maybe this is an area the forthcoming Xbox version will address

    According to a post from Criterion's Alex Ward on the Edge forums, "The game does NOT exist on any format other than PS2." It's not coming out on any other console just yet.

    So it's a good game then, that's nice to know as I pre-ordered it from Game, although seeing Amazon doing it so bloody cheap I wish I hadn't. Oh well double points on pre-orders will have to be the inadequate compensation...

  • UncleLou #3 9 years ago

    Just came home, and guess what I bought 30 minutes ago...mwuahahahaha, I am off now...

  • Whizzo #4 9 years ago

    Oooh look another example of a British game and those bloody continentals get it first! ;-)

    We'll expect a full report on it UncleLou, from someone who actually had to pay for it themselves, in a couple of hours! :-D

  • UncleLou #5 9 years ago

    No problem, I'll log on again in 2 hours or something...and now I am really off... ;)

  • sam_spade #6 9 years ago

    Where does Uncle Lou live then?

  • Whizzo #7 9 years ago

    UncleLou is in Germany.

  • skalmanxl #8 9 years ago

    Hopefully this is ending up at my place in the coming days, I love this job.

  • AOFanboi #9 9 years ago

    Since Burnout is on the 'Cube, is there a teeny bit of chance this apparently godly sequel will arrive at that machine (despite the current PS2-only remarks)? Anyone know?

  • UncleLou #10 9 years ago

    Ok, so here we go, after about 1 hour of Burnout2, having passed the driving licenses and won the first 2 championships, here's my impressions. Haven't read krudster's review yet, so some repetition is probable:

    +incredibly fast and nerve-wrecking
    +detailed, interesting and long tracks
    +great graphics, especially:
    +best sun on tarmac effect ever (better than in GT3, and it means something if I say that, GT3 addict that I was)
    +best sun reflecting of steel/glass skyscrapers effect ever
    +best sparks ever
    +motivating championship structure - you can win a championship and unlock the next one, but if you don't earn gold medals everywhere, cars/tracks/modes (pursuit) remain unlocked
    +no more horrible shimmering and flickering, thus no more tearing eyes and headaches from trying to figure out whether the fuzzy thingy in front of you is a car or just a stain on the TV
    +rock solid framerate
    +hilarious crashes, much better (crash) physics than in the first burnout (slight crash not resulting in your car flipping over anymore)
    +boost bar fills much quicker
    +handling feels better than in B1, but I can't say why exactly
    +when passing a checkpoint, you get a quick info on the distance to the cpu car in front of/behind you (but still no map of the track)
    +crash mode
    +statistics screens to rival those of Unreal Tournament (longest jump ever, miles driven in total, longest drift, biggest crash...you get the picture)
    +slight touching of other cars or environment not resulting in instant crash anymore
    +only one replay of crash, races feel much less interrupted
    +doesn't feel like the AI still cheats as much as in B1 (yet, maybe in the later levels)

    -might be a tad bit too easy? Don't know yet, it will get more difficult surely
    -slight jaggies
    -generic music shite
    -generic car model shite
    -cars lose parts, but don't get crunched really
    -motor sounds that hurt in your ears when driving at the same speed for a few secs

    I'd say if you hated the first Burnout, this won't win you over, but if you only liked the first one a bit, you'll love this. They consequently removed all the annoying bits and improved everything else. If this game isn't what video gaming is all about, then I don't know what is!
    Edited by 2 at 08/10/02 @ 21:11

  • Whizzo #11 9 years ago

    Round of applause for the lucky so-and-so with a copy of the game! ;-)

    Sounds very good and I look forward to my copy coming through the door on Friday morning.

    Sigh, starts tapping fingers on desk... Is it Friday yet?

  • UncleLou #12 9 years ago

    Want to add I just tried the pursuit mode. You have got to chase another car and hit it a few times in a given time (or rather track) limit. After a few hits, the chased car starts to blow out black smoke and sparks, making it hard to see anything. So you are driving at 160 mph through dense traffic without hardly seeing where you are going, trying to bump another card off the road. Man, I love it.

    And whizzo: not long till Friday, and when I am used to the game already, you are still in for the real treat!

    edit: we can compare some of our crash mode high scores then :-)
    Edited by 1 at 08/10/02 @ 21:41

  • UncleLou #13 9 years ago

    Right, playing the Pal version, it has a 60Hz mode and...*checks video options*...yes, 16:9 mode, too.

  • reto #14 9 years ago


    According to a post from Criterion's Alex Ward on the Edge forums, "The game does NOT exist on any format other than PS2." It's not coming out on any other console just yet.

    and

    Since Burnout is on the 'Cube, is there a teeny bit of chance this apparently godly sequel will arrive at that machine (despite the current PS2-only remarks)? Anyone know?

    On the same forum he stated that it will be coming out on the xbox and GC, but not until after christmas. He explained that they only had a smallish team and could only work on one at a time. So its going to be avaiable for the XB/GC but your going to have to wait a while.

  • Super Stu #15 9 years ago

    Pursuit involves haring after a wanted felon, ala Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit, with a certain number of hits required before the time limit runs out.

    Sounds a bit like Chase HQ. Anyone here old enough to remember that?

    -generic music shite
    -generic car model shite

    Ah, my work here is done.



    Nice sounding game, btw.

  • UncleLou #16 9 years ago

    Well, I was paying homage. :-)

  • binky #17 9 years ago

    yeah i was thinking chase HQ as well. didnt say anything in case it made me sound old.

  • Nemesis #18 9 years ago

    phat air

    You know, I've never really understood that phrase. I mean, is Phat Air the air above chipshops, or is it air without any real friends, or is it air with thin air inside wanting to get out or just air that gets picked on by default.

  • otto #19 9 years ago

    screaming like a cheerleader having her first orgasm

    not many people on this site gonna know what that sounds like...

  • Tricky #20 9 years ago

    No otto but probably a lot of people on here wish they knew what it sounded like.

  • UncleLou #21 9 years ago

    Are you desperately trying to allure Errol?

  • #22 9 years ago

    Heh.. where's Errol anyway?

    ..Nice review! Getting it for sure (eventually, when they stop denying the GC version exist, even though it's actually finished.. bastards).

  • otto #23 9 years ago

    Trying to work his way up to 35 in the UT2003 global rankings probably.

  • roodevleck #24 9 years ago

    "In addition, if you crash into CPU crashes..."

    Nope, doesn't make sense to me. ;)

    I'm looking forward to seeing this game in action.

  • UncleLou #25 9 years ago

    Er, it DOES make sense. A crash into a CPU crash happens when you crash into a crash the CPU opponent in front of you has caused. Got it?

  • otto #26 9 years ago

    Yeah, gamesindustry.biz reported it, not for the first time Acclaim kind of overstep the boundaries in marketing taste. "No such thing as bad publicity" notwithstanding, it confirms my view of their PR people as a bunch of complete w&nkers.

  • Khab #27 9 years ago

    Grrrr... no-one seems to know when this'll be coming for the GC. EG's release list has it as 4th quarter, Ninty Europe doesn't have it at all, Ninty Sweden figures on 18th of Nov... I guess it'll be after Xmas, sadly. I'm aching for a good racer on my GC.

  • Whizzo #28 9 years ago

    doubt they can do anything about your 3pts though.

    Or your insurance premium increase, possible imprisonment, potential risk to employment or anything else.

    If anyone does get nabbed and plays this card, if Acclaim pays it out I suggest summary execution of their PR department and the person involved too.
    Edited by 1 at 09/10/02 @ 14:51

  • Alastair #29 9 years ago

    'Or your insurance premium increase'

    That can depend on which speed limit you were breaking. I once had 6 points for 2 separate SP30 endorsements*. Was told they had no effect on the premium.
    I believe they are more worried by SP70...

    *Obviously I've grown up a lot now and wouldn't do that sort of thing anymore. AND NEITHER SHOULD YOU, KIDS!

  • Super Stu #30 9 years ago

    Or your insurance premium increase - don't care right now
    possible imprisonment - don't care right now
    potential risk to employment or anything else. - don't care right now.

    Excellent.

    Except there isn't a speed camera within 130 miles of here.
    Edited by 1 at 09/10/02 @ 14:59

  • UncleLou #31 9 years ago

    Stu, if there's someone in need of a copy of Burnout2 at the moment, it's you. ;)

  • Whizzo #32 9 years ago

    I believe they are more worried by SP70...

    Oooh that one that doesn't actually exist... ;-)

    Oh and ignore my comment about possible imprisonment, I was wrong on that score.
    Edited by 1 at 09/10/02 @ 15:05

  • Super Stu #33 9 years ago

    Prefer the live action version at the moment, mate. It's more exhilirating!

  • Alastair #34 9 years ago

    'Oooh that one that doesn't actually exist... ;-) '

    Really? What do you get for breaking 70?

  • Whizzo #35 9 years ago

    Really? What do you get for breaking 70?
    The highest defined speeding offence is SP50, breaking the speed limit on the motorway, although there is SP60 but that's undefined speeding offences, whatever that means.

    This site has the Magistrates guidelines on it for punishing naughty speeders...
    Edited by 1 at 09/10/02 @ 16:35

  • Hank KIngsley #36 9 years ago

    "it will restore your faith in the ability of videogames to generate excitement."

    These words from the very same writer raving about TS2. Hyperbole?

  • UncleLou #37 9 years ago

    Well, TS2 is getting very high scores everywhere I look, but after the demo, I don't quite understand it, either...but he's damn right about Burnout2.
    Edited by 1 at 09/10/02 @ 17:22

  • skalmanxl #38 9 years ago

    Well, TS2 is getting very high scores everywhere I look, but after the demo, I don't quite understand it, either...but he's damn right about Burnout2.

    Am I the only one to think that TS (first one) is one of the worst generic shite shooters on the PS2?

  • Blerk #39 9 years ago

    I hated TS too, skal. :-)

  • UncleLou #40 9 years ago

    Never even tried it because it looked so generic-fps-shite-like.

  • skalmanxl #41 9 years ago

    Never even tried it because it looked so generic-fps-shite-like.

    It is all that...and two extra bags of the horror stuff.

  • Nobby #42 9 years ago

    I liked it. For a while.

  • Whizzo #43 9 years ago

    TS2 is getting very high scores everywhere I look, but after the demo, I don't quite understand it

    I thought the demo was pretty ropey myself, I put this down to the fact I don't really like FPS games on consoles much, I'd rather play them on a PC and having played sooooo many since Wolf3D it really needs that special "something" to get much interest from me.

  • Azule #44 9 years ago

    On the same forum he stated that it will be coming out on the xbox and GC, but not until after christmas. He explained that they only had a smallish team and could only work on one at a time. So its going to be avaiable for the XB/GC but your going to have to wait a while.

    Don't you think that they are working on it or have finished it for the other systems, but they don't want to get people's hopes up, so that they'll buy it for PS2, even though most people expect the game to look even better, with a better framerate in multi, on GC and XB? Reason: because usually people that own a GC or XB also own a PS2 and .... probably Sony paid them to do this. Hmm?

  • sam_spade #45 9 years ago

    Well, I'll be getting on the PS2 simply because I have a steering wheel for it.

  • UncleLou #46 9 years ago

    I missed something from the original Burnout in B2, but I didn't know what it was.

    Now I think I know: The "whompph" sound and heavy vibration when you missed an oncoming car. It is still there, but less impressive somehow, and occurs much less often.

    Also, B2 makes me wince less often, but it's only because the crashes don't come so surprising as they came in B1, when you sometimes just couldn't see anything due to the fuzzy graphics, and you can't blame them for improving the graphics, can you. ;)

    But don't get me wrong, I am nit-picking, I love the game, and its miles better than B1.

  • UncleLou #47 9 years ago

    Don't know what makes me promote the game all the time, but another great and new feature is that you can link your burnouts, so you can drive at insane speed for quite some time if you don't crash. The speed then is just at the limit what your mind can bear, and you know you'll crash in the end, so when it happens, it comes almost as a relief. It's just insane, feels like there is really some bio-chemical thingy going on iny our brain. Almost like a drug.

  • BartonFink #48 9 years ago

    I have the US version of Burnout 2 and it runs at a solid 60Hz framerate with no slow-down, hi-res textures, no aliasing problems or jaggies whatsoever... where are the GC or Xbox versions gonna improve ? Err they are both more powerful machines than the PS2 perhaps?

  • UncleLou #49 9 years ago

    Sorry, but it's really hard to think of something that could be improved much. I mean, detailed tracks, great textures, great lighting effects, insanely fast engine, top framerate, what else do you want? Multiplayer could have a better framerate though, that's true.

  • UncleLou #50 9 years ago

    *me seconds BeeMan*

  • sam_spade #51 9 years ago

    Do you think I'll be able to persuade one of our independent game stores to sell me a copy today? Or will they be instantly sucked down into the ninth level of hell for a ticking off?

  • UncleLou #52 9 years ago

    Don't know where you live. Where I live, they usually don't sell games any earlier when there is a fixed release date because they are simply afraid of the contractual penalties, even if they have it in the back of the shop already. But I don't know if that's Acclaim's policy? Hardly think so, cause I bought it earlier, too.
    Edited by 1 at 10/10/02 @ 11:32

  • sam_spade #53 9 years ago

    I shall skip into town merrily to buy edge and then I shall stalk around the stores inquiring into this possibility.

  • BartonFink #54 9 years ago

    Ok BeeMan I agree with you. I'm not expecting either the GC or xbox versions to be better. But it's not a matter of can't do on the part of the developer it's won't do. The game may be nearly technically perfect for the PS2 but since the other two are technically more powerful there is no reason why some sort of technical improvements cannot be made. Apart from the laziness of the developer that is.

  • sam_spade #55 9 years ago

    God bless independent stores and their hazy viewing of release dates. Got my copy. Woohoo!

  • UncleLou #56 9 years ago

    Congrats! Tell us what you think when you have played it.

  • sam_spade #57 9 years ago

    I tell you something, the stomach sinks when I hammer the Boost button and the music turns up a notch and it really gets going. Wonderful stuff. :D
    Edited by 1 at 10/10/02 @ 15:49

  • sam_spade #58 9 years ago

    I have to agree on the many points that were raised by Uncle Lou, it's fast, fun and it makes you feel naughty - In Crash Mode I watch the helicopter fly-by thinking Oh my God! What have I done. The gigantic pros outweigh the needs of the few cons.

    On a FF wheel it's great - the wheel twitches as you slip over kerbs, judders as you punch the Boosters and slightly twitches as you glide through near misses.

  • UncleLou #59 9 years ago

    Glad you like it. Crash mode's a bit short, unfortunately, I mean it wouldn't have been too much of an effort to include at least 30 "levels" instead of just 15. Well, when something's great, it's always not enough.

  • Doogle #60 9 years ago

    Argh!.

    Ordered my copy off Amazon and it's been sent to me but I haven't got it yet.

    Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

  • st3ph3n #61 9 years ago

    Walked into game today to give them back Mario seeing as my copy from Play arrived, unfortunatley I managed to come out with this instead of my 40 notes.

    Three of us spent 2 hours playing crash, shot each whilst attempting some Vc++ programming, it is indeed great so far.

  • UncleLou #62 9 years ago

    once you get good at it it is very very easy to avoid crashes - and that's the best bit about the game

    Heh, obviously you haven't played Custom Championship yet. ;-)
    Edited by 1 at 12/10/02 @ 00:34

  • Razz #63 9 years ago

    Ahh.... Lulu returns

  • UncleLou #64 9 years ago

    Too tired to go to bed actually.

    That's me
    Edited by 2 at 12/10/02 @ 01:09

  • Whizzo #65 9 years ago

    Am I alone in thinking that seeing a bus slowly go onto two wheels, fall over onto its side, its windows shattering and finally slide upside down and hit another vehicle is a wonderous sight? ;-)

    One thing has annoyed me about B2, the inability to save crash replays like the first one, some of the crashes deserve to be seen again and again!!
    Edited by 1 at 12/10/02 @ 01:34

  • UncleLou #66 9 years ago

    Taken out of context, that first statement of yours could disturb some people. But no, you are not alone. :-)

    About not being able to save crash replays - I really don't care, the next great crash is never far away.

  • Razz #67 9 years ago

    "Taken out of context, that first statement of yours could disturb some people."

    ROFLOMAO!!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA *cough* Wheeeeeze* *dies* x_x
    Edited by 1 at 12/10/02 @ 01:41

  • st3ph3n #68 9 years ago

    Right, the crash over the dam, how the hell do you gold that? I've done the rest of them now.

  • st3ph3n #69 9 years ago

    OOO, done it, but no award for all golds in crash, shame.

  • Whizzo #70 9 years ago

    but no award for all golds in crash

    Surely the warm glow of such horrendously poor driving, broken glass and twisted metal (hmm sounds like it should be a name for a game...) should be enough?

    I haven't had as much fun from crashing cars together since I was a little kid with my Matchbox ones, still think it's a pity you can't save the truely disasterous ones though...

  • st3ph3n #71 9 years ago

    The pleasure of watching that bus roll down the street is more than enough for me.

  • Machiavel #72 9 years ago

    Received this from Amazon today. Had a brief go at lunchtime.

    The first time I filled the boost bar, clamped the R1 key down, rocketed at an obscenely fast speed through a busy cluttered street and skimmed past an HGV truck at a junction by inches, I squeaked. A strange, strangulated exclamation of joy from the rear of my throat.

    I guess I'm going to enjoy this game...

  • Fozzie's_bird #73 9 years ago

    "Except there isn't a speed camera within 130 miles of here."

    Lucky sod. They're all over the bloody place here! In every exit from town, and dotted like lamposts along the major routes in any direction.

  • Whizzo #74 9 years ago

    I guess I'm going to enjoy this game...

    Just wait 'til you start chaining Burnouts through city streets, diving between oncoming trucks just to keep your meter topped up...

    I'm glad the Burnout meter fills up more quickly, it encourages you to go out of you way to keep it going and the sheer simplicity of cranking the music up when you Burnout makes it even better.

    Anyone else have a lot of trouble with Pursuit 2? It took me bloody ages to do it and yet P1 and P3 I did first time! :-)

  • UncleLou #75 9 years ago

    Don't want to brag, but I actually did Pursuit2 at my very first attempt. Am completely stuck at Custom Championship 3, however. And I have not yet won gold medals everywhere, be it Championship, Custom Championship or crash mode.

    And I wholeheartedly second your description of chaining burnouts - it's a drug, really. I don't understand how some people (at the gamefaqs forum, for instance) can state Burnout2 would be nothing special. I can hardly imagine playing another arcade racer, like NfS, again. I'd just miss that adrenaline kick B2 definitively gives me.

    edit: some evil typos. Am a bit drunk, actually :-)
    Edited by 1 at 14/10/02 @ 19:01

  • Whizzo #76 9 years ago

    Don't want to brag, but I actually did Pursuit2 at my very first attempt.

    Git! ;-)

    I don't understand how some people (at the gamefaqs forum, for instance) can state Burnout2 would be nothing special.

    I'm loving it, I was tempted to return my copy to Game for a refund so I could get it £10 cheaper from Amazon but I know I'd have to do it by post, there's no way I could go into the shop and say I didn't like the game without it being very obvious I was lying!

    Am a bit drunk, actually

    Celebrating the pay rise huh? :-)
    Edited by 1 at 14/10/02 @ 19:15

  • UncleLou #77 9 years ago

    how do get I something else than 0 in my burnout stats

    Not sure what you mean. The "burnout chain"? You get this when you "link" several burnouts, ie drive risky while in boost mode, so when it runs out, it immediately begins again.

    Btw, do you lot know that you can do a "boost" start? Hold down x (gas) during the countdown, tap the break shortly, so your wheels start to smoke, then release gas half a second after "one" and immediately hit it again when the announcer says "go". The Hotrod even makes a wheelie then.

    Celebrating the pay rise huh? :-)

    Indeed! :-)
    Edited by 1 at 14/10/02 @ 20:15

  • Whizzo #78 9 years ago

    Excellent tip UncleLou! I wondered how the hotrod did that on the head to head and now I know. I think I'll keep that nugget to myself when I play 2 player games... ;-)

  • UncleLou #79 9 years ago

    It's probably due to the adaptive AI that I got this far without properly using boost

    It really is adaptive. I had problems winning some of the Custom Championships. I always used the Oval racer, Custom Sports, etc., and just didn't make it. I then tried it with the (much slower) roadster yesterday, and suddenly I had no problem winning at all. The AI is much less relentless when you use a slower car.

    And glad you found out about the boost mode, William. :-) A different game suddenly, huh?

  • sam_spade #80 9 years ago

    Shamelessly ripped off from Gamespy via VE3D

    It doesn't happen often but every once in a while, an assumption is made about an upcoming game that's so large that it somehow turns into fact. This appears to be the case with Burnout 2 from Acclaim. This morning, to our surprise, we contacted Acclaim asking about Burnout 2 and found out some shocking news. No, Burnout 2 wasn't canned for Xbox or GameCube, as you can't can something that never existed. It seems that despite the hundreds of GameCube and Xbox previews across the net, and the news updates on Xbox and GameCube sites, that Burnout 2 wasn't ever slated for release on Xbox or GameCube.

  • Azule #81 9 years ago

    ...um, I'm late ;-)

    Games always seem to look better on the better consoles (GC, XB) than the outdated inferior one (PS2). If Burnout2 has been optimized to the absolute max of PS2, then good, but we do know that the multi-player framerate is somewhat choppy. This is something that could be improved, especially considering that GC and XB are very multi-player friendly. :)
    p.s. how did you know I was an idiot?

    About the GameSpy article: Acclaim did say they were producing this game for all next-gen systems. It kind of sucks but then I realize I will have plenty of games for GC, including Metroid, Cubivore, Zelda (someday), coming out during the holidays. So when Acclaim decides to throw GC owners a bone it'll probably be the dry gaming season again, then the game will really be worth it. :p

  • Azule #82 9 years ago

    2 words: installed userbase. :p

  • valli #83 9 years ago

    Great game... took 18 hours to complete with gold in everything. Definitely easier than the first one, but still great fun to pick up and try to beat those Time Attack scores!

  • BBIAJ #84 4 years ago

    This looks mint on X-Box 360 BC!

    Shame the Offensive Driving School 101 videos bug out though...