rikhan_z's Review of Burnout 2: Point of Impact

The sequel to the Burnout game extends the gameplay and adds a few elements in the game to make this game more fun.

User Rating: 8.5 | Burnout 2: Point of Impact PS2

By rikhan_z | Review Date: September 24, 2008

The original game involves you driving around a track, avoiding traffic and winning a race. In this game, driving recklessly earns you points and boost, which can give you an advantage in the race. However once you use the boost, you are fixed in the boost mode for a while, with no option to turn it off. Some games like Need for Speed Underground allows you to use Boost anytime. Why can't Burnout 2 do this? Burnout 2 has an American theme to it, as you race on Highways, Marinas and Desert town counterpart of Las Vegas, these are just few of the kind of tracks that you race on.

Using a Burnout Boost and successfully racing like crazy and being reckless will earn you more boost, if it fills the meter before the current boost you're using runs out, you get a Burnout message across the screen and a multiplier along with it, keep doing this, and you'll be able to improve your score. The score is a little useful for a Playstation 2 game, as the game is an arcade game. The score is simply for boasting.

Crashing gets annoying after a while. The reckless driving does add more challenge to earn more boost and have that advantage over your rivals.

The events do add more variety, there are simple races and tournaments. Also a face off where it is an 1 on 1 race against a rival and pursuit mode were you play cop and stop the other vehicle. The pursuit mode is basic, nothing compared to Need for Speed Hot Pursuit 2.

All these modes are tied into the single player experience. The first set of tournament earn you new cars, however the second set earns you new supercars and racing against other custom super cars with customized paint work and super performance (customization was a popular trend during the early 2000s, it shows in this game).

The different vehicles are simply different classes and have different performances on each.

A new mode is called crash mode, which is a simple puzzle game, which allows you to drive a vehicle and crash into a junction, causing a pile up. It's pretty cool and you earn points on how much damage you create. The visuals have improved a lot since the first game, more polygons on cars, better weather effects and the tracks looks really great, with reflected surfaces on the roads and buildings. The sound and music is different, as the game has an American theme, the music fits the theme and you'll experience a lot of it inside the game.

Burnout 2 is a good racing game. With an improve formula for racing and earning boost as you can reckless drive and improved visual for the series. It worth playing if you really enjoy racing and does offer something different when other racing games

Burnout 2: Point of Impact

The sequel to the Burnout game extends the gameplay and adds a few elements in the game to make this game more fun.

Oh Acclaim, you've done it again.

The addiction starts here.