Burnout 2: Point of Impact

Gameplay

Burnout 2: Point of Impact is an arcade racing game. All the cars are fictional, though some share similarities with real-life vehicles. The tracks portray the United States of America, but have fictional track names, except for Interstate 88, although in real-life there are two versions of Interstate 88. The races are usually circuit races where the player is pitted against several AI opponents. These races are usually set on tracks with heavy traffic. Any collisions with traffic forces the player to re-spawn nearby and triggers an in-game cinematic where the vehicles involved are damaged.

Boosting

An important feature of the gameplay is boosting. Similar to in the Project Gotham Racing series, the player is awarded for driving with style. Drifts, jumps, driving towards oncoming traffic and driving close to traffic fills up the boost meter. When the boost meter is full, the player can hold down the boost button to achieve greater speeds. By continuously boosting and driving with style, a “Burnout” occurs, where the player is awarded new boost as the boostmeter is emptied. If the boost is filled completely by such a burnout, the player can keep boosting. This is referred to as “Burnout Chaining”. If the player stops boosting before the meter is emptied, the player will have to fill it up to use it again. This method of boost was replaced by a more user-friendly boost in Burnout 3: Takedown and Burnout Revenge, but returned as the method used by Race-class vehicles in Burnout Paradise.

Modes

Offensive Driving 101

An introductory mode showing the player how to use the Boost meter. By getting at least a Bronze in all lessons, new game modes are unlocked.

Championship

Here, the player races through a series of Grand Prix-style events. Additional courses and game modes are unlocked as the player progresses. Winning is done by holding the highest number of points by the end of the championship. In the Custom championship, the cars are modified versions of the ones used in the standard championship.

Pursuit Races

In Pursuit Races, the player starts as a police vehicle and is tasked with destroying another vehicle. In multiplayer, Player One controls the police vehicle and Player Two controls the fugitive. If the fugitive is rammed ten times, the police vehicle wins.

Face/Off Races

Face/Off Races are one-on-one races where the player competes against a more advanced vehicle. Winning this race awards the player the opponent’s vehicle.

Single Race

Any unlocked courses are available for racing here. There are always three CPU opponents to compete against. In multiplayer, the two human players play against two CPU opponents.

Time Attack

The player races alone and against the clock on any unlocked track.

Crash

Use your vehicle to rack up as many damage points as possible. Three stages are initially unlocked, but scoring a Bronze in these unlock more stages. In multiplayer, four opponents can be challenged to rack up the most points in a turn-based tournament of three Crash areas.
 

Vehicles

• Compact
• SUV
• Coupe
• Pickup
• Sports
• Roadster
• Muscle
• Hot Rod
• Cop Car
• Oval Racer
• Classic
• Japanese Muscle
• Gangster
• Supercar
• Custom Compact
• Custom Sport
• Custom SUV
• Custom Coupe
• Custom Pickup
• Custom Roadster
• Custom Muscle
• Driver’s Ed

Locations

Airport Terminal 3

• Number of Laps: 5
• Lap Length: 1.6 Miles
• Conditions: Sunny/Overcast

Airport Terminal 1 & 2

• Number of Laps: 3
• Lap Length: 3.6 Miles
• Conditions: Night/Rain

Interstate Loop

• Number of Laps: 3
• Lap Length: 2.7 Miles
• Conditions: Dawn/Rain

88 Interchange

• Number of Laps: 2
• Lap Length: 6.2 Miles
• Conditions: Sunny/Overcast

Palm Bay Heights

• Number of Laps: 3
• Lap Length: 2.9 Miles
• Conditions: Sunny/Overcast

Palm Bay Marina

• Number of Laps: 3
• Lap Length: 4.0 Miles
• Conditions: Sunset/Sunny

Sunrise Valley Downtown

• Number of Laps: 4
• Lap Length: 1.9 Miles
• Conditions: Sunset/Dawn

Sunrise Valley Springs

• Number of Laps: 3
• Lap Length: 3.0 Miles
• Conditions: Sunny/Overcast

Big Surf Grove

• Number of Laps: 4
• Lap Length: 3.1 Miles
• Conditions: Night/Showers

Big Surf Shores

• Number of Laps: 3
• Lap Length: 4.9 Miles
• Conditions: Sunny/Showers

Crystal Summit Peak

• Number of Laps: 5
• Lap Length: 1.9 Miles
• Conditions: Sunny/Snow

Crystal Summit Lake

• Number of Laps: 3
• Lap Length: 5.2 Miles
• Conditions: Sunny/Snow

Ocean Sprint

• Number of Laps: 1
• Lap Length: 4.9 Miles
• Conditions: Sunny/Overcast

Heartbreak Hills

• Number of Laps: 1
• Lap Length: 4.4 Miles
• Conditions: Sunny/Variable

Freeway Dash

• Number of Laps: 1
• Lap Length: 5 Miles
• Conditions: Sunny/Variable

Soundtrack

• Bulldozer Blues
• Backlash
• A Photograph
• Bridge the Gap
• Panic Attack
• Pass Me By
• Burnout Theme, Destroyer Mix
• Heartbreak Hills
• Childish Games
• Dark Moon Rising

Differences between console versions

The game was first released on the PlayStation 2 in 2002, but was released on the GameCube and Xbox in 2003. The Xbox version was released last and named The Director’s Cut, featuring 21 new car skins, online leaderboards and custom soundtracks. The Xbox version is backwards compatible on the Xbox 360, but suffers from slow-down in split-screen and tracks with rain or snow effects.

All game data on this page is sourced via Giant Bomb.