Burnout 2: Point of Impact (PS2)

The graphics are some of the best seen on the PS2; the cars aren't exact replicas vis a vis GT3, but everything is really polished. You must see the rain and snow effects!

This game is really, really fast. You build up your nitro (turbo boost)and then hold down r2 for as long as possible. If you manage to gain points whilst using turbo, you get instantly another nitro. This carries on for as long as you are able (my record is five - not easy at all, believe me), allowing you to reach insane speeds.

I've had this game since it came out in October, and I can unequivocally state that it still produces the same level of adrenaline rush now as it did then (if not more). Simply brilliant.

In the championship mode,you race against 3 other computer controlled cars in over 30 different tracks.Upon completing individual championships,you then get access to face offs and pursuit mode,and eventually,the customised championship.This is where the real fun starts....

The main difference to the first one is the graphics.The cars look truly amazing,and the tracks and background scenery are stunning,thats if you get a chance to look at them as your hutrling down the wrong side of the road with the boost on.

All in all,Burnout 2:Point of Impact is a master piece that truly does exceed the expectations of most sequels.It has amazing graphics,bags of replay value and is great fun to play.
Enjoy!

The basic premice of the main game is to race around tracks at high speed in modified cars (a la fast and furious) and dodge in and out of traffic, using the oncoming lane if so desired, and catching air off crests in the road. Doing any of these three things increases your boost gauge. A full boost gauge means that you can go even faster, and the screen goes all distant and slightly out of focus (again a la fast and furious). Needless to say this is immense fun. There is also one other way you can increase your boost gauge and that is by drifting. Mid way through a corner slam the brakes and then accelerate. The car will slide willingly and you can play with it on the throttle. This is SO much fun. You can keep it sliding like this for most of the race after a while and thus you get boost after boost after boost. If you win the race you get a cup and go onto the next round. You may win a new car if you complete a pursuit (pursue a computer car in your cop car and ram them until their life goes down).

However, if you should crash...the screen zooms out, you see a balletic display of your beloved car pirouetting across the screen/through the air/into walls/over cliffs. Its quite wonderful. BUT obviously this gets annoying. Luckily, by the time it gets annoying you'll be good enough to avoid virtually all crashes and so it becomes unimportant.

Another mode of the game is the EXTREMELY fun crash mode where you have to deliberately smash your car into traffic and cause as much damage as possible. The bigger the crash (the more trucks/buses/cars that are involved and the severity of their impacts) the more points you get.

Overall this game is FUN. It aims for easy arcade driving and succeeds. With the side games included it is a fairly long term game aswell. 2 player is also catered for which is a boon. The graphics are great and the sense of speed is the fastest I've come across in a PS2 racer (say goodbye to the gluey slowness of GT3). The only negatives are that the tracks and cars aren't based on real life. They are all just random cars and tracks, but seeing as you're encouraged to crash its not really suprising...