Burnout (video game)

Burnout, also known as Shiny Red Car (working title) is a racing game developed by Criterion Games and published by Acclaim on the PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube. The PlayStation 2 version was released in North America on November 1, 2001 and Europe on November 16, 2001. The GameCube version was released in North America on April 292002 and Europe on May 3, 2002. The Xbox version was released in North America on April 30, 2002 and in Europe on May 5, 2002.

Burnout was the first in a series of high-speed racing games noted for over the top crashes and high risk gameplay mechanics, where the objective of the game is to cause the most damage possible. The game was followed by Burnout 2: Point of Impact.

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. 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 multiplayer. Single race is a mode where the player races against three opponents. In time attack, the player must finish a lap in a certain amount of time.

Tracks and cars
Each location is connected in "Sprints", so hypothetically one could drive from River City (Paris) and end up in Harbor Town (the Costa del Sol) in a matter of seconds. 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 Compact, The Saloon, the Pickup and the Muscle.

Soundtrack
The original in-house soundtrack produced by Criterion games.


 * Nought 260
 * Oversteer
 * Eurorush
 * Heart Failure
 * In Control
 * Dead Ahead
 * 66 Kicks
 * Whiplash
 * Downtown Drift
 * Fatal Instinct

Burnout's music player is accessible in the specials menu.

Each song is played on a specific race track. For example, 66 Kicks is played on Interstate and Rush Hour. After the song for the track is played or when the player has crashed more than once, the next track is played. This pattern is present on all tracks, going from a moderate upbeat song to a suspenseful song.