Burnout

Burnout was released on PlayStation 2 in 2001 and, from the very first moment, built on a simple but addictive idea: the more recklessly the player drives, the faster they reach the finish line. Instead of collecting weapons, money for engine upgrades, or licensed cars, the game offered pure driving on the edge — rewarding driving against oncoming traffic, close near-misses with cars coming the other way, and long drifts through corners. Every such risky moment filled the Burnout meter, and emptying it triggered a burst of turbo speed, letting the player overtake rivals in places ordinary driving never would. The game offered classic races, time-trial competitions, and one-on-one duels where courage and precision of driving mattered above all else.

On the PlayStation 2 hardware of the time, Criterion Games managed to conjure a strong sense of speed even without photorealistic graphics — blurring scenery, fading silhouettes of oncoming cars, and convincing-looking crashes gave the game a cinematic tension. Tracks ran through city highways, mountain switchbacks, and country roads, and were always laced with traffic that represented both the main threat and the main source of points. Engine sound, thumping music, and the commentator's voice heightened the sense of a rushed, nervous drive where a single mistake could turn a leading position into a pile of wreckage in an instant.

At the time of release, Burnout positioned itself as a fresh alternative to simulation-leaning racing series and showed that arcade racing could be built on risk instead of collecting upgrades. Although it was soon overshadowed by more polished sequels, it laid the groundwork for the principles Criterion kept building on for the whole decade that followed — reward for daring, an emphasis on flow and tension over car specs. Today the game will mainly appeal to players interested in the roots of a series whose fame arrived with its later entries, or to those who want to see what the arcade racing genre looked like right on the threshold of the new console generation.

Why play it: Anyone interested in the roots of the Burnout series will find in the first game a fresh arcade foundation built on risk instead of collecting upgrades, even though it was soon overshadowed by more polished sequels.