Burnout's design is quite simple and centers on the emphasis of high speed racing through a lot of traffic. Sure, other racing games have had some traffic, but they would be sparse enough that it wouldn't make too much of a difference. Here, the traffic is constant and you will find yourself weaving and cutting to avoid cars. To top it off, the sensation of speed is implemented quite well which makes it even more intense while avoiding other cars.

In addition to this, it actually pays to drive dangerously. There is a boost system which is built based off of three factors; close misses, how far you drift, and how long you drive into on coming traffic. Once filled, if you hold down the turbo for the entire bar and not crash, you will gain a significant portion of the bar back to give you a head start on building up your boost meter again.

There are a total of two areas which are broken down into six tracks. These tracks are also to be played in reverse as well. Normally, I'm not a huge fan of using the reverse track as a way of adding another track to the game. However, it works in this game since the tracks are so long and diverse that even playing them in reverse might as well be a whole new track to begin with. The game is broken down into a series of races with a required placement in each race to move on to the next. Once you have beat a series, you can move on to the next. In addition to the series, there is a race where you race three tracks that are connected together for one large track. Another type of race that can be unlocked, is a one on one race against a rival car. Races are fairly long, but the down side to that is the frustration of having to redo the race if you lose.

While the graphics aren't drop dead gorgeous, and the models aren't too detailed, the overall world is full of plenty of cars with quite a bit of depth to the background. Several of the crashes look spectacular with multiple ways to deform your car. In the event that you really did some damage that looked cool, you can even save the crash replay to your memory card. The lively world in which you race in, and the exciting crashes more than makes up for any aspect that is lacking graphically.

Small touches to the graphics even effect gameplay. You will see cars use their turn signals, and traffic lights do change. So while racing, it's key to pay attention to traffic lights at intersections to see if there is going to be cross traffic that could get in your way, not to mention stopped cars. This small attention to detail adds quite a bit to the intensity of the overall race.

For people with friends, there is a two player split screen mode that pits you against two CPU racers. Although the framerate takes a bit of a hit, the intensity of the race remains.

If there is anything to complain about in Burnout, it has to be the audio. The music is ok, but pretty forgettable. The amount of audio effects are somewhat limited, but the crash effects sound pretty good. The worst part is the balance. For some reason, you can hear both the sound effects and the music without a problem, but the announcer is so low that you can barely hear him at all. Even with balancing the sound levels in the options, it still is an issue.

All of this would be meaningless if the control wasn't responsive. Well with the positive tone so far, you'd be right to guess that the control is pretty good. In fact it's not just pretty good, it's spot on. With a variety of cars, all with differing handling characteristics, you will have to toy around with each to see which one fits best.

Although there isn't much left to do once you've beat the game, Burnout is still fun to pick up and play. It's good to see that the genre isn't dead and can still bring new thrills to the table. If the length is too short for you, be sure to at least rent it because it is most certainly worth playing. It's good to see that Acclaim is releasing a sequel in the near future (Burnout 2 preview here), and if this is any indication, the arcade racing genre still will live on.