Burnout is one of a new breed of high spec games which are trying to get people to upgrade. Burnout is futuristic car bashing game which is aimed mainly at multiple player users.

To play the game you will first need to install the game and then unpack the tracks, cars etc. This is a handy option because if you don't have enough hard disk space, you'll only need to unpack the files you want to use.

Once all this has been done it is now down to enjoying the game. Upon loading the game you will be greeted by some excellent music and it will tell you the storyline to the game. Earth 2045 has gone through many changes. The past war was fought not by armies but by huge media giants. The newest sport is Burning which provides the masses with entertainment while it fills the pockets of those who show it. But you must remember that only the best can Burn out and you have to take up the challenge.

From the menu you will see that you have a number of options before you start. The best way to start of is to chose the amount of human and computer players. You either use a joystick or the keyboard and have up to four human players. Then it is time to chose the type of gameplay which will be either be Tournament or Knockout.

In tournament you will have the chance to battle through 8 rounds of 4 various arenas. In each battle you will have the chance to earn money to buy upgrades and weapons for your car from the Burnout Shop. This way you have a greater chance to beat your competitors. The knockout allows you to chose the arena you would like to use and then the amount of battles. I found the Tournament the best to play especially with friends as it lets you see all the different arenas including the bonus stages and gives you a bigger incentive to beat your competitors as you will then get extra cash.

Before you start into the game you will have the option to pick a car. There are four cars in all with them having there own special advantages. They are called the Trike, Heavy, Hoverbug and Beetle. Some are slower or very fast but then they can be bigger and harder to bash in whereas the smaller ones are more manoeuvrable and you can get out of the way faster.

The arenas are very good with them containing spikes or you can fall off the edge. The Donnut is probably the best with a hole in the middle and another edge which you can fall off around it making it the most difficult arena. You have to be both careful in not falling over the edge and watch out for your competitors and beat them.

After each stage you get the chance to buy some weapons and upgrades. The weapons include Greyout - A fog bomb which blinds all the drivers including yourself but also confuses the drivers so they drive over the edge or into a spike, Turbo - this increases your speed dramatically so you can bash your competitor out of the arena in one quick go, Phaser - This is one of the best weapons that allows you to go invisible temporally so any driver that trieds to bash into you will go straight through you and of the edge or into a spike. This probably the best weapon but it can be annoying when your competitor get hold of it as they can you it to their advantage. This happened to me when all I had to do was bash a Trike which was at the edge of the arena. He used the Phaser and I went straight out of the arena and he won.

There are other weapons and upgrades for your car like for shields, engines, steering, brakes and more. These upgrades are essential to your success as they will make you both more armed and your car more better but you must remember to keep your spending low so you can get bigger weapons and upgrades.

Burnout is definitely a multiple player game of which you can invite your friends round for for some car bashing fun especially with these awesome graphics. But if you are thinking about getting this for one person you should knock down 15% for both the addiction and the lastability as this game is best suited for multiple player. A big plus for Burnout is that it is one of the most expandable games with new arenas and cars already in development, some arenas have been given away for free and are available in Aminet.


Graphics 95% - "Truly some of the best graphics ever seen"
Playability 80% - "Gameplay that suits good in multiple player but not in one player"
Sound 92%- "Amazing music to listen to"
Addiction 81% - "Very addictive especially playing it with friends"
Lastability 80% - "Data disks with more arenas and cars are in development"

Overall 85%
"Burnout is a multiple player car bashing fun game containing awsome graphics and music"

If you want to get the game check Vulcan Software web site for full details or you will find it in the shops:-

• Vulcan Software

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