The racing game for people who hate racing games... and those that like them too
I'll start off with the racing aspects. In my opinion there are three events that have a straight racing appeal to them, the Race, Burning Lap, and GP. The race is, as it sounds, a race that pits you against seven other computer controlled players. Even in this straight race though, the key to getting a 100% completion on this game is to drive aggressively. You'll be rated on things such as 'checking' traffic, weaving in and out of traffic, and doing 'take-downs.' This is where the game gets REALLY fun. Doing things to an opponent like slamming him into a pillar, shunting him into oncoming traffic, or dropping down on top of him from a ramp results in a take-down. This causes the player to crash and gives you a boost bonus and just really never gets old, as the game sets up specific points in each location to have you try to get a take down (for example slamming someone into construction equipment located at one point on a course).
For those that get tired of going head on against other opponents have four other options open, those being Crash, Eliminator, Road Rage, or Traffic Check. Eliminator is kind of a hybrid of racing and simply trying to get take downs, as every thirty seconds the person in last place is eliminated (hence the name), so taking people out will give you the upper hand. Crash is just straight "see how much money in damages I can rack up" and has an almost puzzle like feel to it as you have to hit the right cars at the right time to reach the gold medal prize.
The online aspect of Burnout is golden. The connection is very solid and it's easy to jump right into your favorite event and take off. This is also where the very interesting mechanic of "Revenge" comes most in to play. If a person takes you out online (or offline for that matter) that person becomes your Revenge rival, and is marked by a red cursor over him. The game keeps track of who your rivals are and calls them out for you before each race. There are few more satisfying things than beating the crap out of the same car all day, or likewise finally settling the score with a car that's been handing it to you all day.
Overall, the game is a blast and deserves to be in every XBox 360 owner's library, even if you're not a fan of the racing genre.