Burnin' California is a game for gamers that wish they had more freedom while playing the Sims and who love Vice City and the Getaway.

The game takes place in California. When you start in "Life Mode" you create a person by putting in their gender, age, weight, looks, personality, profile, and criminal record. Then you start homeless with close to no money, looking for a job or seeking a college degree (depending on age and profile). You search for a job (there are over 20 career choices) until you find one that you like and you practice that job until you get promoted. You can interact with people at your job and find friends and lovers. If your character is ever in money trouble or having health problems you can always count on those friends to come through. When you get promoted you get more money and can buy more expensive things like vehicles, (such as cars bikes, skateboards, roller blades, atv's, golf carts, and go karts) houses, go kart tracks, etc. If you work long enough and are happy with the money you have then you can retire. When retired you can do anything from go to nightclubs to play golf to sit and watch TV waiting for the day that you die. If you chose the athletic or acting career and got famous then you can have autograph sessions and still gain money. Or you can choose to do bad things during your retirement and get yourself sewed. If you character gets old and is going to die, then a timer will appear on the bottom of your screen and when it reaches 0 then you will die (the best time to rob a bank is with 2 minutes left on your timer). After you die in "Life Mode" you can either quit or continue. If you choose to continue then your money and possessions will carry over into your next life. There is also a mode called "Goal Mode" in which you complete a list of tasks from the simple, moderate, or tricky categories. If you complete the tasks before you die then you get points. More points if you complete a "tricky" list and points for how much time you had left before you would've died. The more time you had, the more points you get. You use your points to unlock items that you will be able to purchase in "Life Mode."