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PS2 | Driving | Burnout Dominator

Boxart for Burnout Dominator
Burnout Dominator 22 screen shots
  • GRAPHICS: 4.00
  • SOUND: 4.25
  • CONTROL: 4.25
  • FUN FACTOR 4.25
  • AVG USER SCORE 3.8
  • AVG CRITIC SCORE 3.7

Review: Burnout Dominator

Review by Chris Morell | 03/05/2007 | 15:11:54 PM PST

Any real Burnout fan touts Burnout 3: Takedown as the series unquestionable high point. Sure, there were things in the last edition of the series, Burnout Revenge that heightened gameplay in a technical, often graphical sense. But Takedown came together as the best overall blend of the high-intensity racing and vehicle-bending mayhem that Criterion has yet slapped with the Burnout patent.

Now Criterion is giving us many PlayStation 2 owners a timely gift to tide us over until the big daddy Burnout 5 hits the PS3 and Xbox 360. Its name is Burnout Dominator.

Back to Basics

It's easy to see Dominator as a filler to plug the space before the new-generation console release, a logical bastardization of the franchise to rake in more coinage from an already established worldwide user base of PS2 owners. And, after all, Dominator has no online support, and a mysterious absence of Crash mode will be quite suspicious to series returnees, for the multi-car pileups have always been a big part of the Burnout draw.

But remove the expectations (take into consideration, too, that the game is $40) and you'll see that Criterion has stripped Dominator back to the series basics. Gone entirely is the Crash mode that changed so drastically from Takedown to Revenge, upsetting many followers in the process. Instead, racing is the focus, and several older Burnout features return to Dominator to spice up the whole experience.

The Return of the Burnout

Dominator is all about simplicity. That's why the game focuses almost entirely on the World Tour. All new tracks and cars take you through seven different car classes, ending of course with the Dominator class that provides the faster and most challenging racing. You'll start with one car class unlocked, and each event you complete will earn you a number of points depending on how well you do. Like other Burnout games, there are gold, silver, and bronze medals to be earned, the gold usually taking a few tries to complete.


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