| Game of The Day | Burnout 2 | 12.09.2016 | Cross-Platform |

GAMEPODD RATING: 8.5 | GREAT |

This game was a challenge to see quite literally how much damage you could cause in rush hour traffic. Aim for the Semi trucks carrying logs and such. The first burnout in the series was great, but this second installment was the one that really perfected crashing for fun!

Burnout 2: Point of Impact is a racing game that was developed by Criterion Games and published by Acclaim Entertainment. It is the sequel to the 2001 video game Burnout and the second title in the Burnout series. It was released for the PlayStation 2 in North America on 30 September 2002, in Europe on 11 October 2002 and for the first time in Japan on 1 April 2004. The GameCube and Xbox versions (the latter version under the titleBurnout 2: Point of Impact – Developer's Cut) were released a year later in North America on 9 April 2003 for the GameCube and 1 May 2003 for the Xbox, and in Europe on 9 May 2003 for both the GameCube and Xbox. It also was the last Burnout game to be released on the GameCube and the series would not see a release on a Nintendo platform until the release of Burnout Legends in 2005.

Gameplay:

The goal of Burnout 2: Point of Impact is to race circuits around a track, either alone, against the game artificial intelligence or human opponents. The tracks feature traffic, complex junctions and obstacles which can make driving at high speeds difficult. In order to travel faster, the player needs to accumulate Boost. This can be done by driving down the wrong side of the road, drifting around corners at high speeds, swerving to avoid traffic and hitting jumps at speed to gain air. Colliding with traffic or scenery at high speed causes the car to lose control and crash. After a short interval a replacement car then appears on the track without damage, but with a loss of boost.

The game also includes a "Crash" mode, in which the player(s) earn points by causing damage to other vehicles. Crash mode is generally seen as the "puzzle" aspect of Burnout, as each scenario's vehicles are not randomised. This adds a layer of strategy, as well as trial and error, to determine which angle, speed, and point of impact is required to obtain maximum points.

There is also a Pursuit mode where one must wreck a criminal's car to arrest him, unlocking the car.

The game contains few glitches such as "the teleport glitch," where the car being driven flies off the edge of a mountain or bridge, and ends up in a higher position where they were before, and the "flying truck glitch," which happens in crash mode when a large truck has its front turned sideways at a ninety degree angle, and becomes airborne.

The Xbox version of the game is subtitled the "Developer's Cut" and it features 21 new car skins, 15 more "crash" mode tracks, which totals up to 30 "crash" mode tracks in all and an Xbox Live online leaderboard, which was also the first use of Xbox Live in a Burnout game.

The GameCube and PlayStation 2 versions include all the custom cars from the Xbox version, but they do not have customizable skins, online functions, or custom soundtrack capabilities.

Love, GamePodd