Taking the best aspects
of Sega classic Hang-On, Super Burnout manages to become one of the best
arcade style motorcycle racing games ever made. It's missing some depth since the
single-player experience is dry, but it makes up for it with an amazing sense of speed.
This is one of the Jaguar's best titles, and it has the racing genre covered.The tracks offered to race on are limited in number (a meager six). It's the biggest problem the game has, and if there were any sort of career mode to play with, it would be complete. As it is, the championship mode just offers basic racing through the gauntlet of courses, and that's it. Multi-player is fair, with a decent split-screen viewpoint.
Varied statistical attributes on the bikes can drastically change the way the game is played. Controls are spot-on, and taking corners becomes second nature after a few races. It feels natural, even with the arcade-like nature of the game. The giant, hand drawn scaling sprites that litter the sides do seem a little out of place given the hardware, yet help complete the exhilarating sense of speed.
That's what makes Super Burnout work, and there's little question that this could make someone nauseated. The view is set low to the asphalt, making an obvious racing line visible and dominant. Memorization doesn't hurt, but the line is enough to make this one easily accessible from the beginning.
Night racing is one of
the missed opportunities, diluting the colors into a gray scale while a cheap-looking
yellow light shines in a circle a few inches from the bike. If the sky color were changed
to blue, you'd never know it was a late night challenge. The CD-quality music remains
upbeat to keep with the races, and doesn't differentiate between stages. It's a shame then that so few people discuss Super Burnout. It's buried in a sea of Road Rash clones, and while there's plenty to admire in that series, Super Burnout is just about racing (not beheading your opponents too). By keeping it simple, the developers put their efforts in this one strictly for racing, and this is the nearly flawless result. This is one of the consoles best titles, without question.
