Danger Zone 2

A fantastic sequel that improves on its predecessor significantly and the real world crash locations only serve to enhance its appeal.

It’s great to see crashing as a major game mechanic back with a bang, Danger Zone 2 is the smash ‘em up we’ve been waiting for since PS2 era Burnout.

For fans of Ward, Sperry and Ross’ previous work, Danger Zone 2 is the closest we’ve come to a new Burnout experience in years. Crashing into things hasn’t lost any of its base appeal, and while we’re waiting for Dangerous Driving to bring things full circle, this is more than worthy of your time.

It may be a bit rough around the edges, but Danger Zone 2 usurps its predecessor with a smash 'em up high score chaser that captures the joy of Burnout's Crash mode.

Visually, the game is leaps and bounds above the original. The game controls far better than the original and additions such as checking, boosting, and Run Up objectives provide some much-needed depth and challenge.

Danger Zone 2 takes necessary, if limited, steps beyond its predecessor with new pieces that fit nicely into the structure of chaos. It makes a spectacle all right, but it’s fleeting.

Danger Zone 2 rights some wrongs of the first game, but not all of them, making this game an interesting proposal with some room to keep on improving.

By expanding on the explode-'em-up gameplay we know and love, Danger Zone 2 makes some nifty improvements to the formula. The new locations and more vivid art style vastly improve the game's looks, while the extended run ups add a little extra challenge to the levels. Performance can be a little choppy and vehicle handling lands on the wrong side of generous, but overall, the game still delivers on its promise of a Crash mode experience.

In the end, Danger Zone 2 dips below the standard set by the original game. The addition of the run-up makes the levels feel deep, but the wonky physics and crash restrictions and presence of older issues negate all of that positive movement. The lack of modes is accentuated further by the lack of levels, and the middle-of-the-road presentation makes the game feel lackluster. This is the type of game you'll want to pick up at a sale, but if you're more patient, you might want to wait for the developer's upcoming Dangerous Driving to see if it can finally deliver a full Burnout-inspired game.

On their way to create the true Burnout spiritual succesor, Three Field Entertainment delivers an evolution of the well known Crash mode. It's fun and enjoyable, but a little bit pricey for the content it offers, and the control during the driving sequences needs polishing.

Sure, Three Fields might not have the resources its founders once did, but it feels as if the studio was in rather too much of a hurry to get this one out the door. [Issue#323, p.122]

Three Fields continues to slowly inch their way towards the Burnout successor everyone is clamouring for. At the end of the day, Danger Zone 2 is much too light on content to recommend despite scratching the itch to a certain degree.

Danger Zone 2 is a great love letter to the Burnout we all know and love, even if it does fall short in many areas that stops it from truly getting to the same level.

Beyond the addictive, puzzle-like challenge of hitting those high scores, there’s a fantastic sense of speed here. When you’re belting around in the F1 car, just scraping past trucks and getting through minuscule gaps in the traffic, things feel suitably rewarding. It’s just such a kick in the airbags that for every time that feeling reveals itself, there are two more times when you’ll be frustrated by one of Danger Zone 2’s bugs or general inconsistencies.

Danger Zone 2 attempts to bring back the crashing thrills of the Burnout franchise, but unfortunately falls prey to presentation issues and a lack of overall content. It’s still a fun time for the couple of hours you have with the game, but there are much better arcade racing titles from which to choose.