THE GOOD:Graphics: The graphics in this game are stunning. The way the cars and camera get splattered with mud as you pass through a big muddy ditch, the way the track deforms as each individual car passes over it, the way the debris from a crash up ahead whistles past you. The graphics in this game are something else.
Originality: You won't have played any games like this before. It takes the racing genre and crosses every type of racing game there is and produces something so original it can be classed as revolutionary
Sound: The sound in this game is great. The engines have satisfactory grunt , the crashes have all the noises you would expect, metal screeching, big bangs etc. The soundtrack is great also and it fits in to the action, it's fast paced unpredictable rock.
Spectacular crashes: Burnout is a game that has a major selling point of huge crashes but the crashes in this are even bigger, better, more violent and more spectacular. The way the car bounces off a rock across the track as it's bodywork is ripped apart and thrown into the path of the oncoming racers causing them to have further crashes is simply amazing.
Lots of vehicles: There are several classes of vehicle to choose from these include the light fast bikes to the huge track owning big rigs. Within these classes are different types of styles from your racing big rig to your huge "there is no way you are getting past me mate" big rigs all of which come with multiple paint choices
THE BAD:
Enemy A.I: At first you will think this is great they are behaving as if they really want to win the race and aren't just there to make up the numbers but as time goes by you will see quite the opposite. Instead of trying to win it seems as if their actual goal is to stop you winning and any result other than you winning is a success, e.g. I was racing on a bike and I was neck and neck with another racer when for no reason he cut across the track taking both of us out and resulting in us finishing last.
Physics: Again it's the same here at first it looks good, cars crash and break apart realistically and anything can happen like a stray tyre from that crash could fly off and cause another huge pile up elsewhere. But as time goes by you will see that you in your big rig you are the one that gets forced around the track by bikes and buggies e.g. i was heading along by the side of a cliff when a bike pulls up alongside me, leans into me and forces me into the cliff as the quarter tonne bike heads off unscathed whilst the 3 tonne big rig it managed to force off the road is left hanging there in a spectacular slow-motion crash.
Lack of tracks: When you see the huge list of vehicles you would expect to see an equally huge list of track but unfortunately you only get a handful of tracks that you will find yourself constantly going round. Yes there are several paths to take within these tracks but the reality of it is there are only a handful of tracks to pick from
SUMMARY:
This had all the ingredients required to make a great racer plus some more but unfortunately it couldn't quite bring them altogether and you are left with a great looking game that in terms of gameplay is quite weak.
Don't be fooled by the fancy physics or the spectacular crashes because this really isn't as good as it seems and you will soon become frustrated and bored.
It is almost as if when they were making the game they lost the reason why they make games and instead went on a technical graphical and physics usage experiment to prove that they are capable of producing a great looking game with lots of fancy phrases for graphics and crashes but lost the core of any game which is the gameplay.
I am expecting a sequel and I expect it to have beefed up gameplay and to have changed some of the annoying little A.I and physics bugs.
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