Burnout: Revenge

The Good
When I first saw Burnout, the game objective was described as "try to make a highway pile-up as spectacular as you can". I was instantly sold.

Burnout doesn't compromise; the whole game is a hundred percent aggression with lightning speed. Flashes, sparks, flares, blurred objects in the distance suddenly becoming an obstacle, sunday drivers trying to desperately pull away the wheel when you're ramming them head first... and the tanker trucks, oh God, the beautiful tanker trucks falling into pieces when you shunt a foe into their sides.

It's the Destruction Derby 2 of the new millennium - more degrees of freedom, slicker graphics, and of course a lot more tricks to do.

The Bad
The local multiplayer mode of the game was a HUGE disappointment: there's literally NOTHING to configure. No number of laps or maximum takedowns, no splitscreen orientation... you can't even play with more than two players! Very very disappointing, especially when you consider the party-game potential in it.

Oh yeah, and the music was just a horrible selection of weak, non-violent soft-metal tunes. And Doors - which is just an insult towards both Doors and Burnout. (The sound effects weren't too fresh either.)

The Bottom Line
The best description of Burnout I ever heard was "It's actually a spaceship game, only with cars." It really is the ultimate 150% adrenaline rush game for hyperactive people.

We've been playing with the game for a few months now, and I haven't really seen anyone who DIDN'T get addicted to it.