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"Brunout - Should I get it?"

So whats burnout like?

I got GT3 and GTA3 is it going to co-exsist with them, or will it start a brawl?

Tell me all about it pls

Burnout is 2 player? Im sure i read it was just 1 player.

B****r, that makes the choice even harder...

Yep Burnout is two player - However I would go for Tony Hawks 3!! It looks like its got more lastability and Im sure it will be one of the best games out this christmas!! Plus you got the online gaming!!!

i just noticed the title 2 this post....whats BRUNOUT? lol

What good is online gaming at the moment when there is no modem?

Well eventually anyway!!

me thinks the same

You're all amateures, I have BURNOUT and it's superbly great if you like racing games. I don't and I love it. Maybe cos you can trash your car loads. Yes it is two player. There are about 14 tracks situated in London and the USA. Each car has many damage points ensuring different crashes every time. You may think that 14 tracks is not a lot but each lap takes about 3 mins and on most tracks there are 3 laps to do. So has that answered you questions, BURNOUT rules.

I had to give Burnout a rest last night. Not sure if it was because I was getting tired or what, but the speed of it was actually making me feel sick!

Anyway, lets tell you about it...

The idea, as with any racing game, is to finish the race in as quick a time as possible. However, Burnout puts a slightly different twist on the genre, in that you actually get rewarded for taking what in other games would be unnecessary risks. You only race against four other vehicles, but these are street circuits, and those streets are packed with other traffic, including cars, vans, buses and huge trucks of varying types.

There are a number of challenges to complete. Single Race gives you three tracks to race on initially, with others appearing later after being unlocked by racing in Championship Mode. There's also Head to Head mode (two-player) and Time Attack (against the clock).

The two Special modes to be unlocked are:

Face Off - race against the computer in a previously hidden car; win the Face Off and unlock that car for use in any mode.

Survival Mode - the aim is to complete the course without crashing. There are no computer opponents, but one crash and it's all over.

There are also a wealth of configuration options. Thankfully the game supports 60Hz video mode for those of us with compatible TV's, and there's also a Widescreen option, as well as the ability to adjust the screen position - good news for everyone using a SCART lead whose picture isn't quite central.

In terms of audio, we're also spoiled, as the game supports Mono, Stereo, Dolby Surround AND Dolby Digital, and the music and SFX can have their volumes independently adjusted - something sadly missing from GT3.

As for controllers - those who bought the GT Force wheel will be happy to know that Burnout supports it, complete with force feedback.

So, on to the actual racing...

Handling of the cars is very responsive, but don't expect it to compare to GT3 - this is an arcade racer, not a driving simulation.

You have a 'Burnout' meter in the bottom left of the screen; this starts out empty, but the risks you take fill this bar up. When overtaking, you are rewarded by an increase in your Burnout meter if you leave it as late as possible before pulling out to overtake. This registers as a 'Near Miss', and adds a little to your meter.

Another way to add to the bar is to maintain a controlled drift (or power slide) around the longer corners of the circuits; the longer you drift for, the more gets added to your Burnout meter.

However, by far the quickest way to fill the meter is to drive head-on into oncoming traffic. Doing this will completely fill your bar in about 20 seconds.

Now this game is very, very fast. But once the Burnout meter is full - and *only* when it is full - pressing and holding R1 starts the Burnout. This is the equivalent of a Nitro boost, and sends your car into warp speed; the music fades out, and a heartbeat starts thumping, which adds to the adrenaline rush. However, release the button midway through a Burnout and you will have to fill the bar in order to use it again.

You will need to do this as often as possible during a race in order to win. And it's not as easy as it sounds. One crash, and your Burnout meter is depleted. Have a major accident, and you'll lose the lot.

And of course, as you'll know if you've seen any of the video clips and screenshots around the net, the crashes are what makes the game. Huge impacts are commonplace. The tracks are well designed; early tracks feature wide roads, with most of the traffic moving in the same direction as the player, easing you into game. But the tracks get harder, forcing you into narrow streets and incoming traffic.

One of my early crashes that left me extremely impressed occurred on the 'Interstate' track. Not knowing what lay ahead, I drifted around a corner into an multi-lane two-way street, and straight into the front of a truck. The crashes are bone-jarring, and give you a real sense of impact. You *will* cringe as you experience the crashes, for at least the first couple of hours of playing the game.

The crash physics are generally realistic, but have been tweaked just enough to fit with the arcade style of the game. You won't find the car going airborne after colliding head-on with a bus, but clip a van while cornering at high speed and the results can be spectacular.

Each crash results in a dollar-value, which is (supposedly) the amount that the insurance company have to pay out for the damage you've done. This is totalled up during the race, and added to the score tables at the end.

There are actually FIVE high-score tables ion this game: Fastest Time and Fastest Lap (self explanatory), Best Driver (highest points, obtained by drifting, driving into oncoming traffic etc.), Worst Driver (most crash damage) and Biggest Crashes (biggest insurance claim for any single crash).

Once you've finished a race, you'll get a classy replay of the whole event, crashes and all. And once you've finished watching that, you can actually view replays of each and every crash you had during the race. It's not the most sophisticated replay system ever seen in a game, but it is perfectly adequate. The replay is fixed on your car, but you can rotate the view around the vehicle and zoom in and out. And you can play each crash forwards or backwards, at quarter, half or full speed.

The graphics are outstanding - not quite GT3 standard, but better than GTA3, and about as realistic as you can get using made-up vehicles. The game has been developed using Criterion's own Renderware development system, which Rockstar licensed for GTA3. As you'd expect, Criterion know how to get the best from their own system, and it shows in the colour and clarity of the graphics. Obviously Burnout isn't recreating entire cityscapes like GTA3, but these tracks are huge... three laps of the Interstate track take around eight minutes to complete.

So is it worth a place in your collection? Well, if you're a huge fan of racers, I don't see how you can fail to enjoy Burnout. Believable cars, raced in highly realistic environments, at speeds not really seen since the Wipeout games. But, at the end of the day, it *is* just another circuit racing game, so if you're not a huge fan of such games, my advice is to try before you buy. But it really is worth a try, whatever you think of racing games.

thanks for the detailed analasys, you could have just said, "try it monday at lunch d*****s"

Still I want a go, so tomorrow I will get wookie to demo it to me. I think its going to be based on that as to weather I get myself a copy.

Yeah, I can say that to *you*, but what about all these other lost souls?! :-)