Cheat Index - Burnout XBox Review

The last of the consoles to receive Burnout, the Xbox version runs at a pretty constant 60fps. The Renderware engine does a great job of keeping the poly count up without slowing down at all, although it is starting to look a little dated. This is not more of the driving mode from GTA3 though; it's an arcade racer that uses the single player mode as a training exercise for multiplayer.

There aren't that many cars to play with--only four at the beginning--but a few more are unlocked as you play through the fourteen huge tracks. The difficulty setting also determines your choice of car. If you want to play on "Hard", there's only one sports car or a sluggish truck, but at least you can pick the color. Even at 130mph, the tracks take some time to complete a single lap, which says a lot about just how big they are. There's a wide variety, including nighttime races on wet roads, long stretches of open highway, city streets with cross-traffic, and bumpy gravel shortcuts through shadowy forests. There is traffic to contend with, but it's not what you'd call heavy or even moderate. You'll never have to brake on a straight stretch for another vehicle because there's always a way around or through. Aside from getting in your way, traffic also allows for one of the most satisfying aspects of the game; herding an opposing driver into the path of an oncoming car.

Crashes are pretty good, and the game stops for a few seconds to show you a couple of different camera angles of the accident, as well as display the dollar value for insurance purposes. Damage is modeled really well, but not to the extent that the box quotes suggest. It's actually very realistic, but a more over-the-top approach may have worked better and maintained the arcade-y feel. As it is, no major parts leave the car and all damage is repaired after only a short delay. Most accidents are usually single-car rear-enders or head-ons, with your vehicle never leaving the road. At least in GTA3 you could bash into a few cars and drive around with your doors off before your car rolled and burst into flames. Now that's an accident!

In challenge mode, you play through a set of three tracks, usually three laps on each, and must place first in the last race to unlock the next challenge. The first two races are pretty easy, but you may need more than one go at the final track. Opponent AI is adequate, though they get into almost as many fender-benders as you do. The main goal of the game, hence the name, is to acquire "burnout", which is kind of like switching to rocket fuel for a short amount of time. A bar at the bottom left of the screen slowly fills up as you avoid traffic and perform dangerous driving stunts like near misses or racing headlong into oncoming traffic. Once the bar is full, you press a button and go into turbo. You can hear your heart pound faster and there's a graphic effect that makes it look like your focus just got pulled. It's best to use it on straight stretches though, since you probably won't be able to corner very well. Despite the speed gain, you'll find it doesn't seem to put much distance between you and your rivals, so perhaps they get boosts as well.

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