Nintendo GameCube · PlayStation 2 · Xbox
3.58 from 196 ratings
427 members have it in their collection · 5 playing now · 81 backlogged · 55 wish listed
How long? Main story 3h (from 1 logged playthrough)
Review Kenway24601 5/5 · Nov 8, 2021
One of the most fun racing games I've ever played. Improved drifting action, more violent crashes, and tough but rewarding courses make this game so much fun to play. Add in a great soundtrack and you have a recipe for a great way to spend an all nighter.
Review kariyanine 3/5 · Mar 20, 2018
The original Burnout game was a bare bones, run of the mill arcade racer that leaned heavily on the concepts of the past of coin-op racers. Its sequel, Burnout 2: Point of Impact, ups the ante in nearly every aspect, offering a more fleshed out experience with some new modes that would go on to be part of the core …
The original Burnout game was a bare bones, run of the mill arcade racer that leaned heavily on the concepts of the past of coin-op racers. Its sequel, Burnout 2: Point of Impact, ups the ante in nearly every aspect, offering a more fleshed out experience with some new modes that would go on to be part of the core of the Burnout series.
Where Burnout was just a series of different cup races, Burnout 2 offers just a bit more in a structured campaign that presents double the amount of content as its predecessor. The campaign offers individual races, grand prix cups, and pursuit chases, where players chase down a car in a police cruiser and attempt to immobilize it before it gets away. Separate to the campaign, the game also introduces the series favorite crash mode. Crash mode, for those unfamiliar with the series, is a puzzle mode of sorts where players are tasked with crashing their car and trying to cause the most damage possible.
In addition to adding a bit more gameplay depth, Burnout 2 improves upon nearly everything else from its predecessor as well. The game looks better and plays better all around. Going back to it now, nearly 16 years later, Burnout 2 isn’t a looker but the draw distance, car models, and environments are all a marked improvement over the first game. In terms of how it plays though, the game feels great. The sense of speed is increased and boost is given somewhat more generously, making it even faster more often.
Burnout 2 is still saddled with some coin-op gameplay markers, specifically the checkpoint counter, but these legacy design choices are almost relegated pointless because they are so forgiving that their inclusion in the game seems awkward. Awkward to the point that it feels like the decision to make them so forgiving must have been done in the final hours of development, otherwise why have them at all.
The checkpoint system though doesn’t do anything to alleviate the issue of unfair rubber-banding with the opponent AI. As I’ve said in past pieces, I fully understand the desire to keep races close but Burnout, as a series, goes to extremes with it and sometimes it can become rage inducing because it doesn’t float both ways. Nothing is more frustrating than making an early mistake and the lead car taking a 10 second lead that no matter what you do can’t be surmounted except for maybe running a perfect race, seeing your opponents make multiple mistakes and crash only to have them nipping at your heals during the final lap.
Even with the anger inducing AI, Burnout 2: Point of Impact is a blast to play though and its four hour campaign, crash mode, plus some additional content make for a great improvement over the original game and a huge stepping stone for where the series would ultimately end up.
