Review

Mere seconds into my first race on Burnout Dominator, I fell foul of my first rather humiliating crash. Being used to the high-speed mayhem of Burnout Revenge, I ploughed straight into the back of an unsuspecting road user, expecting to send him flying out of my path, only to go tumbling into a mangled heap of metal myself. It served as a stark reminder that each game in the Burnout series is different from the last, and Dominator puts far greater emphasis on racing than it does on destruction.

What this also means is that you actually need to be a skilful driver to succeed once more. There were moments during Revenge where you simply kept accelerating through traffic without a care in the world, racking up a massive score as you went. Going from that extreme straight into Dominator and the chances are you’ll find yourself crashing just like I did!

Anyone familiar with the Burnout series will welcome the fact that very little has changed, instead Criterion have taken the opportunity to refine what was already there (although I do miss the crash junctions) and add a couple of new modes for good measure. The most enjoyable new mode is Mayhem, where medals are awarded for the score you achieve during the race, and this score increases at a far greater speed if you drive dangerously. It’s also possible to get score multipliers by chaining burnouts without letting off the boost.

The Dominator structure is the best possible reason yet to go back and replay levels you’ve already completed. Additional races and classes are unlocked by collecting Dominator points as you race by taking down rivals, finishing in first place or opening up hidden short-cuts. Each class of vehicle has four cars to unlock by performing specific tasks during races, and only when you have got all four does that classes Dominator challenge become available. Complete this and you are crowned series champion.

As you’d expect, the presentation is of the highest possible standard. Most PS2 racing games can only dream of looking this good as Criterion once again work wonders with the aging technology. There’s also the obligatory soundtrack comprised of licensed tunes, which fit the high-speed action perfectly, although most of the artists were completely unknown to me.

EA have gone to great lengths to let everyone know that this isn’t Burnout 5, as that will be released on Xbox 360 and PS3 later in 2007, but by saying that they are doing this game a disservice. This is every bit as good as previous games in the series, and in many ways is better than Burnout Revenge. The lack of crash junctions and online play is disappointing but there is a split screen two player option to compensate. As a single player, breakneck arcade racer this is right up there with OutRun 2006 as a shining example of the genre so it’s hard to complain too much!

About the Review

Platform

Sony Playstation 2

Developer

Criterion Games

Publisher

Electronic Arts

Released

23rd March 2007