User Rating: 8.4 | Burnout 2: Point of Impact XBOX
By Padrino | Review Date:
Burnout 2 has been out for six months on the PS2 and it has finally arrived on the Xbox. In this review, I am going to start of with some negative comments. This is intentional so that I could close on the positive note that "Burnout 2" deserves. Despite the Xbox exclusive "Developers Cut" moniker on the package, the extras are mostly superficial. 480P support is mute because the textures are low resolution and all the backgrounds are full of jaggies. Live support is a nice touch but they could have done it with codes and a web site (ala MGS2:Substance) for those without "Live". The cars may have more polygons but you would be hard pressed to notice a major difference because there is very little in terms of lighting and shadow around the car models which look a little flat. The cars are cube mapped which is a nice touch but it won't impress Xbox owners much. Unfortunately, one of the extras I was expecting did not show up; You can't save your spectacular crashes on the hard drive to show off to your friends. The Major extra for this (and the Gamecube) version of the game is the 15 new Crash junctions. Since the crash mode is probably the most fun in the game your have just doubled your pleasure over the PS2 version. And that's not to shabby. The Xbox is also able to provide a rock solid framerate to go along with solid gameplay. Burnout 2 is nothing like any sim auto games, it is pure arcade fun. You are given incentive to drive like a maniac with a boot meter which fills up with every near miss (or near hit). Once the boost meter is full you can use it to propel your car to insane speeds. Control at speed is rewarded if you can expend the entire boost meter without crashing. Of course this leads to lead foot (or thumb) and you get to go even faster! It all works extremely well considering the impossibility of control in reality. There are some cheats to help you as well. For example, head on traffic becomes a little more forgiving as long as you steer clear soon enough. It all add up to a very challenging and varied championship mode. Each victory in the championship unlocks new cars, tracks, or race modes. The other major gameplay component is the crash mode. This is were you get to enjoy the crashes you tried so hard to avoid in championship mode. The after crash physics are in one word, spectacular. Cars go flying every which way and the damage adds up on screen as it progresses. The crash will also segue into a cinematic unfolding before your eyes. The camera attempts to catch the best moments in slow motion and it works almost every time. Burnout 2 is simply the most fun you can have in a car on the Xbox. If you are a fan of this speed freakish arcade style action, don't hesitate to pick this title up.

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