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Wishing for a cheat code to make the checkpoints go away...

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 11 / 11
Date: July 19, 2002
Author: Amazon User

My feelings on BURNOUT are very mixed. On one hand, it offers a lightning-fast racing experience that is absolutely thrilling. At the same time, it suffers from some serious flaws. The game is unique in that it allows you to race through busy streets rather than on a racetrack, so you get to weave in and out of traffic at insane speeds in a realistic looking environment. The graphics are terrific and the inevitable crashes are impressive...although the three consecutive crash replays may be two too many. The sound is uneven, with engine noises being too loud and horns too quiet. The crashes are very loud, as you'd expect. The MIDI music is monotonous, but you can't really hear it over the constant drone of your car's engine anyway. The car selection is extremely limited, with only FIVE generic choices available at the start of the game. They include: "Supermini," "Sports Coupe," "Saloon," "Pickup," and "Muscle." The best of these is the Muscle car, which looks a lot like a Viper. You can at least change the color of your car, but this feature is also very limited: The Burnout paint shop stocks only red, black, white, silver and blue (yellow is exclusive to the Pickup truck). I remember playing Test Drive 6 on the PlayStation 1 and having a whole SLEW of awesome authentic automobiles to choose from. Not so with Burnout, and it's a crying shame. Furthermore, the game provides only TWO camera views: an external (or `chase') view, and an interior view. Select the latter, and you'll see nothing more than the road -- no dashboard, no steering wheel...not even the hood of your car (kind of disorienting). But by far the most unfortunate aspect of the game is, of course, those vexatious and unnecessary CHECKPOINTS. It is completely unreasonable to expect the average player to race for 10 to 15 minute stretches while consistently maintaining a level of concentration intense enough to enable said player to avoid all crashes, perfectly execute all turns, pass all AI opponents, AND make every ridiculous checkpoint just to finish the race! In so doing, Burnout's developers have taken a good chunk of the fun out of the game and replaced it with frustration, anger and disappointment. You can be mere seconds away from a checkpoint, in 3rd place, when the time runs out and you see the dreaded GAME OVER message as the guy behind you in 4th place zooms on by. I was ahead of that guy! Why didn't HIS checkpoint timer run out?! It's enough to make you throw your WaveBird right through the TV screen! (NO! DON'T DO IT!) Remove the checkpoints, triple the number of playable cars, redo the music and you'd have an exhilarating racing game worthy of a perfect 10. As it is, though, I give Burnout a less than enthusiastic 7. The GameCube library needs more auto racing titles; this one is not bad but it could've been a lot better.

Burnout-Best Racing Game for GCN Avaliable

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: May 06, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Burnout is a really great game! I bought the game having not ever played it before, and I am not a racing fan. The game is a whole lot of fun and, to me, puts a very unique twist on the usual boring "race to the finish line" racing genre. Yes, that is the goal of the game, but factor in the amazing crash sequences and the need to drive recklessly to improve your Burnout meter and you have a really great, fun game! The speed you can go is amazing on this, it draws you right into the game, and when you crash going top speed and flip multiple times, even if you are trying to beat down your opponents you can't help but enjoy the mouth-watering crashes! If you're looking for a great game to tide you over until Starfox or Zelda comes out, or just want to play a very excellent game, I highly recommend this game! The only flaw I could find is the corny music. Also, increase the fun by having more than 1 person to play it with, then you get to force your friends into oncoming traffic ;-)

This game comes to a screaching halt faster than the Viper.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 8 / 9
Date: August 25, 2002
Author: Amazon User

The game is called Burnout. The object is simple, drive around everyday cities, it everyday cars. Sounds simple right? EXACTLY. That's the problem, the game is just TOO simple. You go an get turbo points for literally "taking chances" driving into oncoming traffic, swirving around cars, nearly hitting it. After a while, it gets boring. By the second lap, you going "I keep in doing this! What's so fun about this?"

The gameplay is any basic racing game. You go when it says go, and you try to make it to first place. The game contains checkpoints. I think every racing game, by law, should need an option to turn those annoying things off! When you crash, you get seriously behind. 2 crashes, and you'll need to speed up to get to the next one. 3 crashed, and you're pretty much out of the game. You also must build up your turbo meter, as I said before, by taking chances. Hitting a car will go and take away 50 out of 100 turbo points. So if you have 99, and you crash, you now have 49 and must do it all over again to reach Turbo. Once turbo is reached, you press L and you go REEEEALY fast. The problem is, you crash even easier that way! The varieties are 1P time trail or race againts the computer, or the Championship races, and 2P involves head to head. You can race againts someone else and 0, 1 or 2 computer cars. The cars themselves have no real variety to them. A minivan is under "Easy" so anything else is very hard. Younger gamers will have a difficult time making it to checkpoints and making impossible turns, so gameplay gets a lousy 6.5/10

Gamecube graphics are pretty great, and it lives up to it in Burnout. You can't go all out cool with the graphics in a racing game, but this is pretty nice. The cars have sleek designs that shine and glisten, and I love crash cams. You see perfect physics with glass flying and fender benders. Sometimes your car does a flip. The graphics are real nice, even for a racing game. With no hesitation, I think i'll lay down a nice 10/10 for the graphics.

Now, bare with me. You cannot have a lot of sound in racing games. Music in the backround, cars crashing and tires squeeling. I made a promise that when I rate racing games, I go easy on the sound. For this game, I don't even have to. It's sweet how you can hear horns blazing, and the sound of air swooshing past your cars. The crashes are nice, they have good sound effects for them. Everything else is pretty standard for a racing game. However, it is the racing-in-a-normal-city type game, so I would of likes to hear some angry hecklers from passing cars. Overall, the sound gets an 9/10, a nice score for a racing game.

Speed? No, no, i'm not talking about the cars, Im talking loading time. Nintendo has always stayed true to cartdrige style, but you can't have graphics like these or mass produce them either. So, alas, CD's were made. The loading time isn't so great. You do need to wait a while for races to load, about 3/4 of the time it takes for madden to load. (I always compare my loading time to madden 2002. If you've played it before, you guys know what I'm talking about.) The loading gets a 6.75/10, not the best, but it's OK.

Racing controls are never hard. A to go, B to stop, thats all. The game has L for turbo and R for beep your horn. It can't get easier than than. 10/10 for controls.

You NEVER, and I mean NEVER buy a racing game if it has no replay value. Burnout gets more fun after you play it longer, because you can unlock new cars and roads. However, with it only 2-player, the replay value only gets an 7/10

Before you buy Burnout, wait a while until you see if a different racing game catches your eye. If not, that's fine. Burnout doesn't stink that bad, but it is not the best racing game I've ever played.

Let's review:
Gameplay: 6.5/10
Graphics: 10/10
Sound: 9/10
Speed: 6.75/10
Controls: 10/10
Replay value: 7/10
Total: 49.25/60 giving Burnout an 82.03

No cheats in this game, but there are secrets in it though. You can unlock new cars and tracks, so I'll add an extra point in there. Burnouts new total is now 50.25, coming out to be an 83.75

Fun racing game but too short.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: June 10, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I would give this game a dual rating if I could. 2 stars for advanced video game players and 4 stars for everyone else.

"Burnout" is actually one of the better racers that I have played. The controls are excellent and sometimes the racing gets quite hectic. There are several lengthy courses and three modes of play. You can also race a friend in 2 player mode.

Those are the good things. However, the bad characteristics of this game end up weighing it down for the more experienced players. One major flaw is that it is way too easy. My friend and I beat this game in only half a day. That doesn't exactly leave you feeling like you got your money's worth. Another problem is the crash element of the game. Every time you crash, you are forced to sit through 3(!!) replays of the crash. To say the least, it irritatingly interrupts the flow of the race. A much better idea would be to simply have given the player the option to watch the crash replays AFTER the race is over. Some of the crashes are pretty cool and I can understand why some people would like to view them.

Given the good car control and thoughtfully planned courses, I would recommend this title to racing game fans. However, a rental would be the best bet for most since this game can be beaten rather quickly.

What Do you mean it's a crime.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 7
Date: March 15, 2002
Author: Amazon User

This is the perfect game choice. You unlock 1,000s of levels and can earn four new cars which are The Roadster, Tow Truck, bus, Saloon Gt. The crashes are cool to watch and can be saved. It's good to have at least two controllers and 1 friend. On PS2, I've been play on this game for hours. Interstate is no matter what the best level to play. The game is very lively like you are accually controlling a reallife car. In my opinion I say play the Mustang in Manual, because you can go up to 143mph on Interstate for the whole level. The roadster is a fast car in Showoff mode. Survival is also very good. You should start with the Super Minivan. The Super Minivan is good at turning. The game is not a crime. It's the perfect game.

Great fun but has a fatal flaw

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 5 / 7
Date: July 09, 2002
Author: Amazon User

This is hands down the most exciting racer on the cube for a sheer sense of speed. The graphics are good, the physics are great and the crashes are fun to watch. Other than affording too little damage to the vehicles involved, the crashes appear to be fairly realistic with a bit of added flair. The cars also have pretty varied feels and handling. All of this makes for a very fun game, especially in multiplayer, which allows up to four simultaneous players. I have one complaint in that the screen space for the 3 or 4 player mode is very small and Acclaim could give more room to the action than the meters and numbers on the screen.

As other reviews have mentioned, the repeated crash replays do get a bit annonying and cannot be turned off. This is not, in my opinion, the most serious problem, however. The thing that really ruins this game is the overly-sensitive checkpoints that must be passed in time in order to continue with the rest of the course. I have a lot of video game experience, and I have a hard time believing those who say they have finished the game in a day or two. I and three other decent video game players have worked on this game for multiple weeks and all of us repeatedly fail to make the same checkpoint on two of the initial tracks--Harbor Town in particular. There seems to be one section of each track where the time afforded for the next checkpoint is unreasonable. One single crash (which are not infrequently caused by the AI drivers) or a loss of a couple of seconds on a curve or railing will always cause you to fall short and end your game. This usually occurs near the end of the last lap and often happens even when you appear to have built up time through the race. As you watch the crash replay multiple times, your hope of continuing vaporizes. This has caused several friends to vehemently hate this game even though they think the gameplay is really fun. If you can't continue because of one little mistake (which may not even be your fault) it quickly becomes unnecessarily frustrating. This sole feature turns a really great racer with great gameplay into a frustrating nightmare where only virtual perfection lets you finish the race. It quickly goes from fun to infurating--and that's not necessary.

I really hope that Acclaim gets a clue and either allows the checkpoint feature to be turned off or loosens it up a bit. I'm open to the possibility that I just stink. However, looking at comments on the web and my friends' reactions, the checkpoint requirements are too strict and, frankly, ruin the game.

I love the gameplay, but I'm tired of having to be stuck unable to unlock championships. My friends and I are tired of not being able enjoy a full race with everyone in multiplayer because of stringent checkpoint times. Because of this, I'm ready to move on. I'll be very wary of another Acclaim racer on my next purchase.

This game is the best racing game for the Gamecube so far!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 8
Date: February 23, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Although this game has not come out for the Gamecube yet I've played the PS2 version of it and its absolotly one of the best racing games ever!!! The reason its so great is that you can buy almost any car imaginable from the Ford F-150 to the Porsche 911 turbo. So to rap this up I seriously recomend this game to anybody who likes racing, and/or is a car enthusiest!!! ---This review is in regards to the PS2 version of this game.

Wow! Dont play this before going on the "Real Road!"

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: July 01, 2002
Author: Amazon User

This Game is great! Cool Cars! Endurance Levels! I wanted to rate
this 4 1/2, but I just went with 4. This sounds better than most people make it sound. The whole point of the game is to finish the race faster than the others, like any other car-racing game,
But there is so many cars on the road other than P1, P2 and COM. players. This game oddly enforces driving on the wrong side of the road against oncoming traffic for more boost-points, and the closer you get to a car, without actually hitting it, gets you Near-Miss points, but it is simply a great game! Many unlockable levels and some very cool cars to earn! (including the lotus, tow truck, bus & saleen gt!) The replay value of this game is high in my opinion, I like to play it alot. And I would have to say that so far this is my favorite racing game.
I hope this review was helpful to you if you are trying to decide on whether to get this game or not :)

Thankyou for Reading,
*Vapor*

Funarific driving game!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: May 09, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Burnout is an excellent game for Gamecube. The cars are wonderfully designed and the tracks are long. This game's graphics are great, because, well, it's a GAMECUBE GAME! Any GC game is wonderfully graphinated. This driving game is like none else. Heeeeere's the top review:

PLay Control-
OH MAN! The control is perfecto! Depending on which car, though. 4 and a half!

Graphics-A huge upgrade. This is far out the best pro of 'pros and cons' of the game. 5 stars, indeed!

Replay Value-Great, especially if you like to drive. You can play Single Race with 1 player if ya' like. Four stars!

I give it 4 and a half. The half is for some controls and some replay, but overall, very good game!
Oh, have you ever played Midtown Madness for the PC? Well, I you have, get this! Enjoy!

Simply Exhilerating

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: June 09, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Yes exhilerating is definetely the best word to describe Burnout. You will have some trouble doing well when you first pick it up but after a while you start figuring it out. However there isn't enough variety in the cars and tracks and modes of play. The 2-player mode (head to head) is good for a while but they need something else in the mix. Like police pursuit or something. Also crashing is frustrating after the coolness of it wears off. They show you 3 replays of it from different angles which is cool, but all the while your opponents get to keep driving along. Eventually every crash is a waste of time. You start out with 5 cars and unlock more as you go along ending up with 9 or so. Lots of the tracks seem like the same thing but luckily it is still very fun. Enough of the bad stuff. Yes Burnout is a ton of fun. Your mission is to simply win the race. But aside from that what you do is try to fill up this bar in the bottom left corner of the screen. You do that by powersliding around turns which count as drift time, driving as long as possible against traffic on the wrong side of the road, and coming close to hitting other cars but just missing them. Once you do this you press and hold R on the controller and all of a sudden you are going very, very fast. Don't worry it is a ton of fun. When you complete the turbo boost without crashing or braking then it is called a burnout. Beware this is easier said than done. It will take you a few hours to accomplish this. Also the difficulty curve is too high. It is very hard to accomplish all of the chamionship grand prix stuff. And survival mode? (make it through a race without crashing once) Nearly impossible. And no weather effects is disappointing. Aside from all that, I highly recommend Burnout, the best racing game out for the gamecube until the sequel comes out in a few months and Need For Speed Hot Pursuit 2 comes out. The whole concept of Burnout is incredible. You will get so into this game your head will be knocked back by every crash (I'm not kidding). And when you use that turbo boost your thoughts will go from "Jesus Christ this is fast!" to "Holy [Cow] God help me!"

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