Burnout Dominator

Burnout Dominator on PlayStation 2 is a 2007 arcade racing game from EA UK and Electronic Arts, and the sixth main release in the Burnout series. Built around high-speed road races, aggressive driving and a constantly growing boost supply, it keeps the series’ collision-heavy character while putting renewed emphasis on the named Burnout mechanic. Players take to fictional public roads in licensed-style cars, threading through traffic and competing in events where speed alone is not enough; controlled risk is central to success.

The essential rhythm is to fill the boost meter through daring driving, then spend that boost without breaking the chain. Drifts, airtime, near misses, driving into oncoming lanes and takedowns can all help a run, while a crash halts the momentum. When a full meter is completely drained, the game awards a Burnout; maintaining the required pace allows further boosts to be linked into a Burnout Chain. The system rewards careful route reading as much as nerve, since traffic, opponents and roadside obstacles can end a promising streak in an instant.

Its principal single-player path is World Tour, organized into seven vehicle series: Classic, Factory, Tuned, Hot Rod, Super, Race Special and Dominator. Events provide medals and unlock progress through the tour, with the car classes giving the campaign a sense of escalation. Standard Race events are direct contests for the finish, while Road Rage asks the driver to take down rival racers before time expires. Eliminator raises the pressure by removing the last-place car at regular intervals, and Burning Lap turns the focus to a one-lap time trial.

Dominator also makes scoring disciplines a significant part of the PlayStation 2 experience. Maniac Mode counts hazardous actions for points, encouraging a player to combine drifting, near misses, air and oncoming driving while staying in control. Separate Drift, Near Miss and Burnout Challenges concentrate on those individual skills. Grand Prix strings together three races and awards the win by accumulated points, so a consistent performance can matter as much as taking a single checkered flag. Record Breaker offers another way to revisit event types and pursue personal high scores outside World Tour’s fixed combinations.

The PlayStation 2 release uses 12 courses set across eight locations, with forward and reverse layouts extending the available routes. Racing is presented from behind the car or from a first-person view, and the design favors broad, dramatic roads packed with hazards rather than simulation-style vehicle tuning. The game’s vehicle roster is largely new, though some machines familiar from earlier Burnout entries return. Local split-screen play is supported on PS2, letting the same roads and modes serve competitive sessions away from the campaign.

In series terms, Burnout Dominator looks back toward the chained Burnouts of Burnout 2: Point of Impact after later games had moved away from that emphasis. It is also unusual in the franchise because EA UK developed it while Criterion Games was working on Burnout Paradise. The game does not include the Crash Mode associated with several neighboring Burnout releases, nor does the PS2 version offer online multiplayer. Those omissions make its focus especially clear: race, survive traffic and convert dangerous driving into uninterrupted boost.

Released late in the PlayStation 2’s life, Burnout Dominator stands as a PS2-and-PSP-era entry rather than a new-generation reinvention of the series. Its World Tour structure, event variety and Burnout Chain system make it a distinct chapter for players who enjoy the earlier games’ track-based racing and score-driven challenges. The PlayStation 2 version is a concentrated arcade racer in which every clean overtake, takedown and narrowly avoided collision can feed the next burst of speed.