Burnout Dominator

Destined to dominate the PS2 racing market for the next several months (if not the entire year), Burnout Dominator is a fascinating, uber-exhilarating racer with more nitro under its hood than The Fast & The Furious movie trilogy. You’ll cringe, gasp, and feel your jaw drop as you skid by oncoming traffic, evade a turning Mack truck, and weave in between two mini-vans. Then, just when you think the coast is clear, your heart will be stopped and your eyes will be stunned as a tiny, two-door coupe – the only vehicle you didn’t see coming – puts an end to your speedy, heart-pounding run.

Dominator is not unlike its predecessors, which is how it succeeds as a PS2 sequel. Burnout 4, the tentatively titled PS3 and Xbox 360 sequel, will have unfathomable expectations attached to it. But on the previous generation, I looked forward to another dose of the movie-quality thrills introduced in Burnout 3. Those expectations have been met with a game that’s nearly as good as the third edition. 

Domination Nation

Burnout 3’s gameplay centered on the physical elimination of your opponents, an act the game referred to as a “Takedown.” To take down an opponent, you must ram him off the road, into a wall, or into oncoming traffic.

Burnout Revenge expanded on this idea, and Dominator is yet another take on the concept. It is, as announced upon starting the World Tour, “all about dominating your opponents.” Translation: commit ridiculous acts of road rage and drive as dangerously as possible in order to take first place – that is, to “dominate” your opponents.

Dominator’s values (or lack thereof) are cloned from the previous chapters, but the cars and courses are new. Many of the series’ great events return: eliminator, burning lap, road rage, and grand prix are back for more rubber-burning action. New editions revolve around the slightly altered burnout (speed boost) concept. To chain a burnout, which multiplies your score while maximizing your vehicle’s speed, fully deplete a Supercharged Boost – the most powerful burnout in the game. Chains can go on into infinity, so long as you don’t crash while boosting.  

Geico's motto is saving 15% on car insurance, but I think these guys can forget about the offer. 

The new maniac challenge, part of Dominator’s World Tour mode, dares you to drive as dangerously as possible. Drift around other vehicles, drive on the wrong side of the road, and score as many near misses as possible to achieve a high score. For the experienced Burnout player, getting a bronze or silver medal won’t be too much of a problem.

Go for gold and it’s a whole other story. The game purposely limits the number of points you can achieve in a normal run by shortening each course. Numerous attempts – with few crashes and a continuous chain of burnouts – were only enough to grab a silver medal. It wasn’t until I started experimenting with the track that gold became feasible. Scour every mile and find every shortcut / alternate route before attempting these challenges.

Rival Challenge is an event within an event. When you see a car icon appear over a challenge, that indicates the inclusion of a new, unlockable vehicle. To acquire the latest muscle machine, follow the given instructions. They most often read, “Takedown the rival.” Only one rival will be designated for that race, and that’s the car you want to hit. In the road rage events, it’s easy to score a Takedown. Rival events, however, will test your patience as much as they test your gaming skills. 

Unlock all the rival cars in a particular circuit and you’ll open up the Dominator Challenge, a special race event with another car up for grabs. Bronze and silver medals – no problem. Gold – not so much. The car stays locked until a gold medal is won, which is why the developers made its acquisition so difficult.

Signature Shortcuts are an interesting addition. They’re discovered by slamming a rival into the shortcut’s location (which may be boarded up to disguise its presence). Also new to the game are the drift and near miss challenges. They add a hint of Need for Speed to the Burnout series, but are easy when compared to the other events.

Overall the event selection is very impressive, but there is one missing from the list: intentional crashing. Burnout 3 featured an event that encouraged players to slam their vehicle into a pile of cars, trucks, vans, and everything in between. It was awesome, exciting, and fairly challenging. Its absence doesn’t make any sense until you check the ESRB rating. Burnout 3 received a T (13+) rating. Dominator, on the other hand, received an E10+ rating. One could assume that EA thought it was necessary to release a lighter Burnout title. But the rest of the game is as crash-heavy as ever. And although you’ll be penalized for doing so, it is still possible to drive into oncoming traffic during a regular race. 

Crash-tacular!

The camera work is great. Burnout 3 is still the king of Takedown effects – its flawless cinematic arrangement is unmatched by anyone. But the Dominator crashes that involve your car are insanely intense.

If the crash is powerful enough to lift your car into the air, the camera will switch to a close, rear-view mirror perspective. It’s a first-class, front-row seat to everything your car is about to endure. The camera flips with the vehicle, dizzying the player while inflicting pain – the emotional pain of having to visually feel the trauma of a severe car wreck. The real thing is awful. I’d never wish it on anyone. But in a fictitious video game setting, there are few things as exciting as the experience Burnout produces.

Gameplay: 8.5
Dominator serves up a hearty portion of “Woohoo!” and “That was close!” with a side of “Oh my gosh, did you just see that!?” As you slam into another vehicle, every car involved will be crunched, smashed, and battered with a unique and defining visual. Think your compact car is small now? Just wait until you clip the side of a large truck.

That’s what the Burnout series is all about, plus the coolest cars and course designs available.

Graphics: 8
Good but disappointing. Throughout 80% of the game, Burnout Dominator looks nearly identical to Burnout 3. But while the previous Burnout titles had few moments of visual imperfection, Dominator contains a handful of average-looking environments (bland grass, trees, or a couple of ugly structures, etc.). These flaws are only found in parts of certain stages. But as the fifth game in the series (and likely the last on PS2), Dominator should have pulled out every graphical trick the PS2 could muster.

Sound: 6
The weakest soundtrack since EA's acquisition of the series. While Burnout 3 featured debut tracks from major bands like Jimmy Eat World and several indie artists worthy of a big break, Burnout Dominator is a cornucopia of crap. Rather than being diverse and creative, Dominator's soundtrack contains several versions of the same Avril Lavigne song. And it's not even a good song! The rest is anything but memorable.

Difficulty: Medium
Sequels are generally easier than their predecessors. We could speculate for hours as to why this is, but I think it’d be more interesting to take note of one of the few sequels that’s equally as challenging. The learning curve is gone for anyone who played the previous game. But the difficulty of winning gold medals in all events, and the challenge of unlocking every trophy is very impressive.

Concept: 7
Nearly every feature of Burnout 3 is back in Burnout Dominator.

The defining feature of Burnout Revenge – ramming into civilian drivers without consequence – is nowhere to be found in Dominator. Though it may sound like the developers are backtracking, it’s actually an improvement. I want to feel powerful, but not impervious. Dominator brings back that sensation.

Multiplayer: 6
Burnout Dominator is a cool game to play with friends, but its multiplayer competitions are limited to two simultaneous players. It might be crazy to split the screen any further, but what about online play? Was that not a viable option, or is it merely being saved for the next-gen sequel? Keep in mind: Burnout 3 offered online multiplayer, and it was released in 2004.

Note: The 1-4 player listing on the box is not entirely clear. Four players can take turns, but only two can play simultaneously.

Overall: 8.2
The criteria for Burnout Dominator are simple: are you a fan of Burnout 3 and do you want more? This game is exactly that – an extension of all the things that made Burnout 3 a success (soundtrack and multiplayer excluded). The steering and speed boost mechanics, course design, and unrivaled thrill-factor come together for another addictive and surreal racing game.