Generation 1: Genesis

Burnout

The birth of the series was on the 29th of April 2002 when the original Burnout was released in the US. The game was also released in Europe on the 3rd of May 2002 (and re-released as a classic on the 11th of April 2003). This game set the original standard for all later games and was notoriously difficult to master.

Gameplay features 

• Checkpoint-based racing
• Championship mode (3 or more races in which you need to achieve a pre-set position for each race to complete the event)
• Single race mode (standard 3-lap, 4 car race)
• Time attack mode (set a best time on an unlocked track)
• Face off mode (2 car race, unlock the opponent car if win)
• Survival mode (complete a course without crashing, no opponents)
• Head to Head multiplayer mode (4 car race with 2 human players playing split-screen on the same console. Option to play with Survival-mode rules)
• Race-score summed up based on the following criteria:
  • Drift distance
  • Oncoming distance
  • Number of Near Misses
• “Insurance damage” calculated based on the amount of damage you do to your own and other cars during a race
• The criteria for adding to your Race-score also adds to your Burn meter, which can be used to give your car an extra boost when the meter is full
• Possibility for chaining boosts if you manage to fill up your Burn meter while spending boost
• Crash Replay Theater – you can watch replays of the crashes you have during a race and save your favorite ones for later viewing in the Crash Replay Theater
• Credit-based retry-option for the Championship mode (you get 3 credits which can be spent retrying the races in the Championship mode if you fail)

Next page: Generation 2: Crash-mode