Burnout 2: Point of Impact is the sequel to Burnout. The game was created by Criterion Games and published by Acclaim Entertainment. It launched in 2002 for the PlayStation 2, and in April 2003 for the GameCube and the Xbox, the latter being a special edition developer's cut, with improved features.
The game takes place in the United States, and includes real-world cities, landscapes, and roadways from the USA: the only differences are the track names.
Gameplay[ | ]
The basic gameplay of Burnout 2 is simple: race circuits around a track, either alone, against the A.I. or human opponents. The tracks feature traffic, complex junctions and obstacles which can make driving at high speeds difficult. In order to travel faster, the player needs to accumulate Boost. This can be done by driving down the wrong side of the road, skidding around corners at high speeds, swerving to avoid traffic and hitting jumps at speed to gain air.
Colliding with traffic or scenery at high speed causes the car to lose control and crash. After a short interval a replacement car then appears on the track without damage, but with a loss of boost.
The game includes a "crash" mode, in which the player(s) earn points by causing damage to other vehicles
Different versions[ | ]
The Xbox version of Burnout 2, "Burnout 2: Developer's Cut', featured 21 new car skins. It also featured an Xbox Live online leaderboard, which was the first use of Xbox Live for a Burnout game. The GameCube and PlayStation 2 versions include all the custom cars from the Xbox version, but they do not have customizable skins, online functionality, or custom soundtrack capabilities.