The one thing that is missed out when starting up Burnout is a flashy FMV intro, or even a snazzy intro of real-time playing cut together into a montage of carnage, near misses and powerslides -- sure if you hold the B button down on start-up you can change to 60Hz mode -- but that doesn't quench the thirst of a flashy intro. You are however met with a couple of images of the developer's, publisher's and game's logo. Trust us, it's not a nice feeling being disappointed by loading up the game. All these bad feelings go straight to your head, but thankfully they disappear as soon as the race begins.

Burnout features 4 different play modes, with 2 more to unlock. You have your standard Championship mode which gives you 3 courses to race on where you have to meet the target finishing position. If you fail to meet the target you can use a credit -- which you have been given 3 -- to try again. Once you have completed one of the Championship races another opens up, as does 3 new courses and sometimes the ability to do a Face-Off Mode, but more on that later. You then have your Single Race, choose a course and car and race it against 3 computer controlled players. Once you have unlocked a course in Championship Mode it becomes available here.

Next up is Head to Head Mode which is of course for the player with friends they would like to see smashing their car into oncoming traffic. Choose your car and car's colour and race it against your friend and a choice of either 0, 1 or 2 computer controlled cars. Then it's just a matter of beating them to the finish line while also trying to inflict as little damage as possible to your car, as points matter here.

And finally, the Time Attack. No opponents, no traffic, just you and the road. Try and beat your time and hone your skills for the Championship mode. Ok, so we've covered the play modes, but are they any fun? Try driving down the wrong side of a busy motorway, getting as close as you can to other cars just so you can get another boost, as the one you are currently using is just about to run out. Moves like this are made easier but three different control modes. You have the A = accelerate, B = brake, R = boost set-up -- where you can also use the C-stick to give you analog acceleration and braking -- as well as the R = accelerate, L = brake setup that seems to have become the standard for driving games these days.