I remember my first day in New York City alone. I recently moved to New York and the feeling of being in the city, alone, and completely on your own is surreal. Where do I go? How do I get back? Will I ever learn a place that's this big?

I found myself asking these very same questions again when I first picked up Burnout. The game doesn't hold your hand like a traditional racer. You're just thrown out there. Take a wrong turn at the end of a race and you're probably done. Should you happen to not pay attention to what you're doing in a race and you could very well wind up on the interstate while the other cars are careening towards the finish line. A lot to worry about, or so I thought.

After the first hour of getting familiar with the city, crashing through gates and billboards, and doing an event here and there, I suddenly felt right at home. Yeah I have to press select to view the map every so often (and yeah that sorta takes you out of the feel of the game), but checking the map lets you plot out your course.

Races aside, marked man, road rage, and even stunt mode are all very very very addictive. The crashes are so epic and they never seem to get old.

Control is extremely solid. I slow down not because I feel out of control but because the sensation of speed is amazing. I'm not even 14 cars in the game yet and I'm already flying around.

The Graphics are top notch. Really crisp and vibrant. The lightening is flawless. The sound is insane with a 5.1 hookup.

Overall, I can't recommend the game enough. If you're even remotely into cars this is the game for you. I haven't even touched online yet and I'm this pleased. Great game.