burnoutenjoyer
it's way too easy even on expert and half the good songs are (now unattainable) dlc but the cutscenes in the background having an actual direction is great and wish any of the other plastic instrument games had it
2004
to me, video games are technology at the service of entertainment. this game excels at that. criterion and ea at the height of their powers drop this absolute bombshell, their very own commercial engine - renderware (persona 4, gta3), displaying beautiful landscapes, cars that deform in real time at perfect 60 fps even on ps2, only to reassert their dominance the following year with 'black'
gameplay is incredibly tight, every race is just so fun it leaves you wanting more, cars physics are on point for the kind of game it is and the speeding sensations, along with the sound design keeps you on the edge of your seat all the time. It's a very addictive video game and feels like a straight evolution of the racing arcade genre into a format made for home consoles, with its own hooks to keep you from boredom
the soundtrack is a very divisive part but personally i've grown to like it, perhaps because it's rather difficult to ignore. I always turn off the annoying DJ however
as for the car selection I love how it's divided in classes where the models are different (unlike revenge, for example), and i like how they're directly referential of their real life counterparts (say, indy racing, f1 or gt1 models). there are subtle but noticeable differences between each model within the same category
the only real downside i can think of the game is there not being enough tracks, there are just 3 regions that are pretty much 3 large tracks that are cut down into smaller circuits. I feel it's not enough and after playing it for so long i just wish there was more to it. read somewhere the game was developed and released in just under a year, so guess that's a consequence of it
as a footnote, the crash mode is decently fun and i like how its kept separate from the racing modes and neither bars you from each others progression (actually my first time i only played crash mode), and some of the takedown trophies required for 100% are an absolute pain in the ass i dont want go through ever do again
so yeah there isnt much i cant say that hasn't been said yet, i really love this game and think it's an absolute masterpiece, easily one of the best racing games ever made if not one of the best games in general, i hope the people who worked on it are proud of their work, it's just that good
gameplay is incredibly tight, every race is just so fun it leaves you wanting more, cars physics are on point for the kind of game it is and the speeding sensations, along with the sound design keeps you on the edge of your seat all the time. It's a very addictive video game and feels like a straight evolution of the racing arcade genre into a format made for home consoles, with its own hooks to keep you from boredom
the soundtrack is a very divisive part but personally i've grown to like it, perhaps because it's rather difficult to ignore. I always turn off the annoying DJ however
as for the car selection I love how it's divided in classes where the models are different (unlike revenge, for example), and i like how they're directly referential of their real life counterparts (say, indy racing, f1 or gt1 models). there are subtle but noticeable differences between each model within the same category
the only real downside i can think of the game is there not being enough tracks, there are just 3 regions that are pretty much 3 large tracks that are cut down into smaller circuits. I feel it's not enough and after playing it for so long i just wish there was more to it. read somewhere the game was developed and released in just under a year, so guess that's a consequence of it
as a footnote, the crash mode is decently fun and i like how its kept separate from the racing modes and neither bars you from each others progression (actually my first time i only played crash mode), and some of the takedown trophies required for 100% are an absolute pain in the ass i dont want go through ever do again
so yeah there isnt much i cant say that hasn't been said yet, i really love this game and think it's an absolute masterpiece, easily one of the best racing games ever made if not one of the best games in general, i hope the people who worked on it are proud of their work, it's just that good
2017
i dont trust anyone who 5 stars this after the 394th fetch side mission
2019
pretty fun but it peaks on the first location
playing this and having zero fun makes me wonder why i liked the first game if they're pretty much the same
dumped 200+ hours into this in 2015, tried replaying it this year and dropped it 1 mission in
2010
Still fresh
2018
what were they thinking
2018
i'm in a place where this game (along with 1 and 3) is objectively good and is everything i could've asked for a follow up to blood money but I just can't have fun with it, maps are too big and missions are too time demanding if you want to get a silent assassin rating (and i'm too proud to get anything but), I would have loved this 8 years ago but I just don't have the patience, energy nor time for it anymore. life fucking sucks.