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Burnout2, Point of Impact
Acclaim
Criterion Games
Released, 5/2/2003

Burnout2, Point of Impact, is what fans of the original Burnout have been waiting for.  Everything is "more" in this game; more cars, more tracks and more challenges.  New features, such as Crash and Pursuit help add to the replay and multi-player value as well.  You now also have the option of using your own custom soundtracks in the options menu.

Upon starting the game, you are required to take a Drivers 101, where you learn the very basic driving skills such as drifting and avoiding oncoming traffic to fill your boost meter.  This takes no time to accomplish and returning players of Burnout will have no trouble mastering it all over again.  Once completing the Drivers 101, you open up the Championship, Single Race, Time Attack and Crash modes.  Championship mode is where you begin unlocking things, and there are many things to unlock, including cheats.  

Completing the first stage, a grand prix of 3 races, in Championship mode unlocks a point a to point b "Sprint"; get gold medals in all the races and you also unlock a Face Off race against a locked car.  Medaling in the "Sprint" unlocks the next grand prix with a new track; get a gold medal, you unlock Pursuit mode, which in turn unlocks a new car.  Confused?  Basically, medal in a challenge, you unlock the next challenge, get a gold medal in all the challenges, you unlock bonus challenges. And so the game goes in Championship mode, eventually you unlock custom versions of the basic cars that are much faster.  Once you unlock all the Pursuit games in Championship mode, it becomes available on the main menu of game play options.  Complete Championship mode and unlock the Custom Championship mode with all the tracks in reverse and more custom cars to unlock.

Crash mode is a new addition to Burnout.  You have a predetermined route and set amount of time to cause a crash.  This is a fun addition as you have to figure out a way to hit a certain car to set off a huge pile-up to get the most points.  Again, as with Championship mode, you complete a set of three Crash zones; you unlock a set of three more.

Multi-player is limited to only two people.  You can race head to head against another player with all the cars you've unlocked on all the tracks you have unlocked.  A rather picky thing concerning 2 player in Crash mode is that you have to pass a single controller between the two players instead of each using their own controller.  Graphics are on par with most current racing games and the levels are set in American locations and are massive; covering city streets to country highways.  Replays are a treat themselves, providing a stunning look at all the great visuals and realism of the cars and environment.

I find this to be one of the funner racing games I have played due to the ease of car control yet challenge of perfecting it and weaving through traffic at unreal speeds.  I do have a hard time with the sometimes long drawn out cut scenes when you wreck, but have learned the best way to avoid them is simply not to wreck.  This game has a tendency to give me the THPS pause, restart "love to hate" habit in crash mode when playing against another person or even trying to get a gold medal. The single and multi-player make this game definitely worth trying and if you're a fan of the first Burnout, then Burnout2, Point of Impact, is a must have.