There were a lot of series that started last console generation that became instant classics in many gamers eyes. One of these was the Burnout series. I like many people I know did not really get into the series until EA picked it up and released the suburb game that was Burnout 3. Now Burnout 3 was not the first time I played a Burnout game, no the first time I played one was when I rented Burnout 2 for the Gamecube. I was pretty impressed and was planning to buy it, but alas the Gamecube version is actually rather hard to find. When my sister got an X-Box though I knew that Burnout 2 was going to be one of the games I got. I did get it and played it for a few weeks but then Burnout 3 came out and well I kinda got into that and had not gotten back to Burnout 2. Today I was a bit bored and saw the game sitting on the shelf and decided to give it another go and here are my thoughts.

Now once I got started I did notice it lacked some of the presentation that was added in the later games. Overall Burnout 2 is a far simpler game than the later sequels made when EA got the license. This is not that bad though since it still looks plays and feels like a Burnout game. It may lack the World Tour mode and other modes from later games but it still has the important ones like Championship, Single Race, and Crash.


I then decided to do a basic race to get things started. Once the game got going it all felt familiar since the controls are the same as in the later games. Now it was lacking things that I was accustomed to in the later games, like Takedowns and Aftertouch but that is a minor thing. The cars however are a bit less responsive than the later games, even the most responsive and easy to control ones don't seem to respond as well as the cars in the later games. But it was not that bad as a whole, it just took some getting used to.

Visually the game does look nice for a game from 2003. There is a good sense of speed and the details on the cars are very nice. The environments are also nice and detailed. The crash animations also look good but not as god as the later games. There are not many dynamic explosions and such. But still the crashes are fun to watch.


Once I finished racing I played around with the Crash mode which is always fun. Heck when I rented the game I played this mode more than any other mode in the game. It is one of those modes that is simple to get into and is so addicting once you get into it. Always trying to find that right line to cause the most damage that you can. This is where the crash physics really shine. While yes they are not over the top like in the later games with explosions and vehicles breaking into thousands of pieces it still is just a site to behold when you hit it just right. It is one of gaming guilty fun pleasures that is for sure.

Well after I got done crash mode I decided that was enough for now, believe me I could have played for the whole night if I had not stopped myself. After playing this game again I really have to say it is a lot of fun and a blast to play. While it may be simpler than it's sequels, it still has that fun entertaining charm about it that all the Burnout games I have played have. Yes it is not as good as Burnout 3, but that being said Burnout 2 is still a very fun racing game that should not be missed that is for sure.