Burnout

Are you ready to burn?

The story is simple: four vehicles, arenas, last one remaining wins. It is a demolition derby set in the future and you are a contestant up against three others.

The game is quite a simple concept. If anyone remembers an Amiga game called Ebonstar they can understand it. You and three other players (human or computer) battle each other in an arena to see who is left at the end. A player is eliminated by either being kicked off the arena into the abyss or taking critical amounts of damage. A standard Amiga can have two human players using the two joystick ports. You can purchase a parallel port joystick adapter from Vulcan to connect up to two more joysticks and play with four human players. The fewer computer players the better.

At the start of the game you set up the players' controls, human or computer, and the computer's skill level. You can also alter the controls for the human players to your preference for weapons firing and acceleration. You then select your car from the four which come with the game. There are two types of game, tournament and knockout. In tournament you battle for eight rounds over four randomly chosen arenas while in knockout you can choose the arena you will battle on and how many battles will take place, from 4, 8, 12, or infinity.

In knockout you are next taken to the Burnout Shop and given money. Here you can buy enhancements for your car's engine, brakes, and steering, armor, and weapons. In the tournaments you use your winnings based on your placing in each battle for this purpose. You are then taken to the arena to play bumper cars with the other players by ramming your vehicle into them to try to push them over the edge or damage them until only one remains ("there can be only one"). Some arena walls contain spikes that you can use to damage the other cars or that can damage you if you lose control and slam into them. Sometimes bonus screens are introduced in which you must show your reflexes and nerves by accelerating or braking at the proper time. The rules on these bonus screens are tricky.

With three computer opponents, be prepared for very short battles. These guys are fast even at the dumbest settings. The weapons can be more damaging to yourself sometimes so care must be taken. One is a blast that turns the whole screen white for a second or two. More than enough time to hurl yourself into the void whether you triggered it or a computer player did.

Graphics: The cars are beautifully done in 3D and the arenas are impressive artwork in and of themselves.

Burnout Screen Shot (The colored pie-pieces are remaining strength. The blue car just lost all his hence he is dead)

Sound: Rocking music between battles coupled with explosions, shrieking tires, and even horn blowing.

Overall,