Let's face it, the Playstation 2 has seen its fair share of vehicle racing games over the past year. It is difficult for the consumer to wade through all of the mediocre titles that are released in order to find those games worthy of their hard earned cash. Sure the Gran Tourismos of the world get us as close as we can to the real thing. But what if you are like me and have had enough of simulators and arcade racers that offer nothing new? Criterion Games must have been thinking the same thing when they were developing Burnout. If you have been longing for a high-speed motoring mayhem experience, your desires are now a reality. Burnout is an adrenaline filled racing game that allows players to recreate the most spectacular road chases reminiscent of classic action movies. The action takes place all over the streets of the US and Europe. The end result is a much needed change in the vehicle racing genre.

Criterion is well known not only for developing games but for creating some of the most incredible middleware software used by publishing houses all over the world. Their programs have been used by the likes of Neversoft in creating Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3. Thus it comes as no surprise that Burnout just looks stunning. There is a lot of eye candy here. Each of the courses have been painstaking created with fine detail. The courses are based in the US and Europe, thus each has their own distinct feel. And even though the 16 courses are variants of 5 routes, they almost feel totally unfamiliar. Naturally with a game of this nature, where speed is of utmost importance, Criterion has everything running at a slick 60 frames per second refresh rate. There is no slowdown or pop-up evident throughout the entire game even though the streets are busy with all sorts of traffic. What makes the feat even more remarkable is how Criterion added in special effects without any deterrence in performance. Since Burnout relies heavily on near misses and incredible crash sequences, Criterion uses particle systems to simulate environment effects such as smoke, dust, lights and flying debris. The real-time collision sequences which occur, are the best ever seen on a console. After the race is over, players have the opportunity to relive the intense race through a very exhaustive replay studio. A total of 16 unique camera angles are at your disposal. Although the 9 vehicles presented in the game lack official licensing, they are nicely modeled after the most popular sports cars and SUV's on the market. The soundtrack is pretty generic but the sound effects have been created with great care and are surreal thanks to the inclusion of Dolby Digital.

The handling of the cars is an arcade experience rather than a simulation approach. And that suits the game fine as the control matches the intensity of the game's atmosphere thanks to a responsive and intuitive model. The premise of the game is to go as fast as possible pulling off power slides, all without colliding with civilian traffic. You must race against three other competitors who will do whatever it takes to win. These A.I. rivals will run you into oncoming traffic and have no regard for civilian traffic. The only way to beat them is take on their mentality. This is where the game thrives as you are driving unrealistic speeds avoiding traffic, taking insane risks, and avoiding injury. Naturally collisions occur which are graded for insurance severity. The more damage inflicted results in a better pay out. The trick is trying to win the race while stopping a couple of times to spectacularly crash your vehicle. The gameplay is well balanced enough to allow a couple of collisions with the ability to jump back into the race and actually win. The challenge here is to keep concentration while all of this thrilling insanity rushes by you. I had a scratch on my hand at it cost me a hefty yet brilliant collision. It really is that intense. Add to this some intelligent A.I. Your opponents know what they are doing especially in later stages of the game. As a result, insanity will only get you so far. You will have to strategize your races in order to complete the entire game. A nice feature is the turbo boost which is in the form of a performance meter that increases as you take more risks like driving against traffic or having near miss collisions. When the meter is full, you get a boost that best resembles a jet rocket. Push the button and watch everything blow by you in stunning blurred visuals. Trying to avoid a collision with the boost is challenging but sometimes such accidents justly rewarded.

Burnout offers a lot of replay value. There are two basic modes, single-player and two-player. Single player games include: Single Race, Championship and Time Attack. The Championship mode is the meat of the game where players will race through a series of Grand Prix and Marathon races, unlocking additional courses and modes as they progress. New courses then become available in all other game modes. Players begin each Grand Prix with 3 credits that can be used if they fail to meet their target in the race. Once the credits have been used, the game is over and players must restart the game. The Marathon races require great concentration and nerve as they are long endurance type races where one course merges into another. The two-player experience is better than average. An additional mode known as Survival can be unlocked by clearing certain requirements in the Championship mode. In survival, players must complete the course without crashing. One crash and it's game over. Burnout also features a couple of more secret modes to round off a very polished game.

Acclaim should be commended for picking up the publishing rights to this game. Burnout is simply pure exhilaration. The feeling of whipping around a course at break-neck speeds, with a multitude of near misses and beating your opponents is one of the best feelings gamers can have on the PS2 this year. Burnout may not be for the simulation fan, but it injects much needed life into a genre that is quickly becoming stale.