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Burnout
Developer(s)	Criterion Games
Publisher(s)	Acclaim Entertainment
Director(s)	Alex Ward
Designer(s)	Chris Roberts
Programmer(s)	Richard Parr
Artist(s)	Michael Williamson Trevor Moore
Composer(s)	Steve Emney Stephen Root
Series	Burnout
Engine	RenderWare
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2 GameCube Xbox
Release	PlayStation 2 NA: 1 November 2001 EU: 16 November 2001 GameCube & Xbox NA: 30 April 2002 EU: 3 May 2002
Genre(s)	Racing
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Burnout is a 2001 racing video game developed by Criterion Games and published by Acclaim Entertainment. It was released for the PlayStation 2 in 2001 and GameCube and Xbox in 2002. It is the first instalment in the Burnout series.

Gameplay

The main gameplay mode in Burnout is the Championship mode, which is a selection of events with three or four races in each. Here the player competes against three other cars on various courses styled on European and American locations. Each event gets harder and requires the player to use faster cars to reach first place. After completing each event, a Face Off challenge is unlocked which in turn unlocks a new car if won. Other modes include single race, time attack, and 2-Player. Single race is a mode where the player races against three opponents. In a time attack, the player must finish a lap in a certain amount of time.

Each location is connected in "Sprints", so hypothetically one could drive from River City (Paris) and end up in Harbour Town (the Costa del Sol) in a matter of seconds. On completion of all the 'European' and 'American' events, two 'endurance' modes are unlocked, allowing the player to drive through both these locations in a single race, as well as the three American locations. Completing these can take between 15 and 20 minutes. Each location has a distinct collection of traffic that distinguishes one continent from the next; e.g. American taxi cabs versus European taxi cabs and so forth.

Burnout features a small collection of cars, including the small Supermini, the Saloon, the Pickup and the Muscle.

The tracks feature road traffic, oncoming traffic, cross junctions, and obstacles which can make driving at high speeds difficult. To travel faster, the player needs to accumulate Boost. The Boost meter can be powered up by driving down the wrong side of the road, drifting around corners at high speeds, narrowly avoiding traffic, completing a lap without crashing, or swerving to avoid a collision. Colliding with traffic or scenery will cause the car to crash. The crash is then shown from several different angles, and a replacement car then appears without damage, but with a loss of some accumulated boost. The accumulated boost can only be unlocked by filling the boost meter. This can then be used to produce a Burnout (an increased acceleration of the vehicle) until the boost meter is empty. While the boost is activated, the player can continue to drive dangerously which rewards the player with more boost in their bar when their original boost bar is fully depleted, allowing the driver to chain burnouts together if they are skilled enough. Burnout Dominator attempted to bring back the Burnout feature, which was changed in releases between the 2 games.

Development

Burnout was in development for almost two years prior to its release in November 2001. The 1976 French short film C'était un rendez-vous and the 1998 film Ronin influenced the conception of Burnout. Alex Ward, the creator of Burnout, said the inspiration for the racing game was the DVD version's 15th chapter, which is titled "Crashing the Case", and shows a crash between two opposing cars.

Reception

Review scores

Publication	Score
	GC	PS2	Xbox
Computer and Video Games	N/A	8/10	N/A
Edge	N/A	8/10	N/A
Electronic Gaming Monthly	8/10	7/10	8/10
Eurogamer	8/10	8/10	N/A
Game Informer	7.75/10	7.75/10	7.75/10
GamePro
GameRevolution	N/A	C−	N/A
GameSpot	7.3/10	8/10	7.3/10
GameSpy		83%	N/A
GameZone	8.5/10	7.8/10	8.5/10
IGN	7.8/10	8.6/10	7.6/10
Nintendo Power	4.5/5	N/A	N/A
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine	N/A		N/A
Official Xbox Magazine (US)	N/A	N/A	8/10
FHM	N/A		N/A

Burnout received "favorable" reviews on all platforms according to video game review aggregator Metacritic.

References

1. Cove, Glen (1 November 2001). "Burnout Ships". Archived from the original on 16 August 2004.
2. Cove, Glen (30 April 2002). "Burnout Ships for XBox and Nintendo GameCube". Archived from the original on 3 August 2004.
3. "Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. Announces 'Burnout' for Playstation 2 Computer Entertainment System". Business Wire. Berkshire Hathaway. 8 August 2001. Archived from the original on 27 August 2001. Retrieved 19 June 2019 – via Yahoo.com.
4. Davison, John (26 April 2017). "'Burnout' Series Creator Talks Remaking Crash Mode for 'Danger Zone'". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 22 January 2018. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
5. Ronin (DVD). MGM Home Entertainment. 7 May 2013.
6. Thorpe, Nick; Jones, Darran (22 January 2020). "Burnout series retrospective: Exploring the history of one of gaming's greatest arcade racers". gamesradar. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
7. Les. "Burnout". Computer and Video Games. No. 240. pp. 106–107. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
8. Edge staff (December 2001). "Burnout (PS2)". Edge. No. 104.
9. EGM staff (July 2002). "Burnout (GC)". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 157. p. 122.
10. EGM staff (January 2002). "Burnout (PS2)". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 151. p. 202.
11. EGM staff (July 2002). "Burnout (Xbox)". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 157. p. 124.
12. Taylor, Martin (18 May 2002). "Burnout (GC)". Eurogamer. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
13. Bramwell, Tom (18 November 2001). "Burnout (PS2)". Eurogamer. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
14. "Burnout (GC)". Game Informer. No. 110. June 2002. p. 81. Archived from the original on 8 July 2004. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
15. "Burnout (PS2)". Game Informer. No. 105. January 2002. p. 80.
16. Reiner, Andrew (June 2002). "Burnout (Xbox)". Game Informer. No. 110. p. 83. Archived from the original on 1 December 2003. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
17. Dan Elektro (29 April 2002). "Burnout Review for GameCube on GamePro.com". GamePro. Archived from the original on 7 February 2005. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
18. Major Mike (30 November 2001). "Burnout Review for PS2 on GamePro.com". GamePro. Archived from the original on 4 February 2005. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
19. Air Hendrix (1 May 2002). "Burnout Review for Xbox on GamePro.com". GamePro. Archived from the original on 12 February 2005. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
20. Sanders, Shawn (December 2001). "Burnout Review (PS2)". Game Revolution. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
21. Satterfield, Shane (25 April 2002). "Burnout Review (GC)". GameSpot. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
22. Ahmed, Shahed (2 November 2001). "Burnout Review (PS2)". GameSpot. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
23. Satterfield, Shane (25 April 2002). "Burnout Review (Xbox)". GameSpot. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
24. Spain, Craig (5 July 2002). "GameSpy: Burnout (GCN)". GameSpy. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
25. Chick, Tom (29 November 2001). "Burnout (PS2)". GameSpy. Archived from the original on 12 December 2004. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
26. Watkins, Rob (30 June 2002). "Burnout - GC - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on 11 March 2008. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
27. Krause, Kevin (6 December 2001). "Burnout - PS2 - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on 13 February 2008. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
28. Bedigian, Louis (13 June 2002). "Burnout - XB - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on 19 February 2008. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
29. Mirabella III, Fran (29 April 2002). "Burnout (GCN)". IGN. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
30. Bishop, Sam (2 November 2001). "Burnout (PS2)". IGN. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
31. Mirabella III, Fran (30 April 2002). "Burnout (Xbox)". IGN. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
32. "Burnout". Nintendo Power. Vol. 156. May 2002. p. 131.
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34. "Burnout". Official Xbox Magazine. June 2002. p. 76.
35. "Burnout (PS2)". FHM. 11–17 November 2001. Archived from the original on 9 August 2002. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
36. ^ "Burnout for GameCube Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
37. ^ "Burnout for PlayStation 2 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
38. ^ "Burnout for Xbox Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 5 January 2024.

External links

• Burnout at MobyGames

• 2001 video games
• Acclaim Entertainment games
• Burnout (series)
• Criterion Games games
• GameCube games
• Multiplayer and single-player video games
• PlayStation 2 games
• RenderWare games
• Video games developed in the United Kingdom
• Video games set in Europe
• Video games set in the United States
• Xbox games