Burnout

Burnout Description

Burnout caused something of a stir when it made its debut in November 2001. A game that quite obviously sprang from the arcades, Burnout was supposedly the latest game to corrupt our nation's youth, with its representation of wreckless driving and lovingly-replayed crashes and collisions. We say "Pah!" Burnout, despite the initial teacup-located storm, proved itself to be nothing but a sweaty-palmed, 'let's drive really fast and see what happens' arcade-style racer. Just as the makers intended, no doubt. Burnout for GameCube is unchanged from its PS2 incarnation: the same selection of familiarly-shaped motors, the same exotically-challenged, city-based/dual carriageway-situated locations, yadda yadda. Unlike so many recent next generation racers, Burnout has no real game progression to it. There's no career mode, no upgrades available for the cars on offer, no real reward at the end of play. So why get yourself a copy of Burnout, then? Well, let's see. For starters, it's an absolute riot in two player mode. All traffic is there to be avoided as in single player mode, but with the added tension of racing against a friend. When you're steaming along at ridiculous speeds, fender to fender, and into oncoming traffic, it's quite exhilarating to say the least. More than a handful of near misses will result in your Burn meter filling up, and this is where you can really cause some auto-hassle. The speeds you reach will either take you away from your competitors and allow you to stay there, or it'll all end in a spectacular crash. Whichever side the coin falls on, it's pretty exciting stuff. Burnout is also a good game to throw in the console to kill a few minutes as opposed to one of those long haul titles that take an age to play through. Burnout is eminently 'put-downable' but it won't be long before you're picking it up again.