Burnout Paradise

The Burnout series mimics the Need for Speed series success

Strengths: Fantastic crash models, very nice framerate, fairly good car models

Weakness: NO split screen multiplayer, sometimes a bit too rediculous.

The last Burnout game I played was for the XBOX. I enjoyed it a lot for its "puzzle-like" crash modes. You and a friend could alternate to see who could rack up the most costly crash with a predetermined scenario. This mode was great fun and really showed off the crashes well. Add to that dueling it out in person against one another in a heated race as you try to destroy one another and you can...
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The last Burnout game I played was for the XBOX. I enjoyed it a lot for its "puzzle-like" crash modes. You and a friend could alternate to see who could rack up the most costly crash with a predetermined scenario. This mode was great fun and really showed off the crashes well. Add to that dueling it out in person against one another in a heated race as you try to destroy one another and you can start to see my disappointment when I learned that they not only went to a free roam style(see Need for Speed series) which was fine with me...but also completely eliminated split screen multiplayer altogether. So, you have a friend come over and you want to race eachother? Too bad, you'll need your friend to connect to the internet through his own console on his own game and then you guys can play one another. This decision was a very poor one in my opinion. Part of the draw of a racing game is that they are almost always multiplayer. You and a friend can race and compete IN PERSON. Burnout breaks this norm.

Now that I have gotten past my bitterness for the poor multiplayer mode choice I'll mention the good things about this game. First of all, of course, the crashes are as gorgeous as ever. Windows shatter and glass bits fly forward, impacts crumble the specific portion of the car they hit, parts fly off...its really quite pretty. The framerate also deserves a nod. It's locked at 60FPS making the games insane speeds manageable. The graphics are pretty good, however, I would like a bit more detail put into the cars. They look good...but somewhat bland.

Lastly, about "showtime" mode. I'll admit it is fun...for a limited amount of time. It's fun to bounce around and blow up other cars and see what mayhem you can cause. I don't know if I am the only one...but because the crash models are so realistic...I kinda want the crashes to play out realistically too. Therefore, when I can bounce my car like a madman down a city street literally for miles...it takes away from some of that fun when you do get a REAL crash.

Other than that, races are hectic as they should be for this type of racer. Sometimes the "free roam" style races which have no clear path can lead to difficult turns, however, I haven't had too much of a problem managing at this point.

By Sdiver2489 - May 5, 2008

Burnout Paradise

Strengths: Great action and sound.

Weakness: Hard to find your way around at times

This is a great game which the whole family can enjoy (which many of the games for the PS3 aren't). If you like racing games then this is for you. You won't be disappointed.

By kschilling - Apr 1, 2008

Good open-world arcade-y racing

Strengths: Burnout now uses an open-world environment, good selection of cars, developers still working on improving this title

Weakness: Burnout now uses an open-world environment, cars are made up (not real life cars), game is picky about steering wheel controllers, music selection is bleh

From back to its days on the Playstation 2, the formula for Burnout games has been good controls, good variety of vehicles, a boost reward system for high risk driving, a driving engine that gives the best feeling of speed when combined with boosting, and spectacular crashes. Even though the Burnout franchise has now moved on to the Playstation 3, it doesn't deviate a lot from that basic formula....
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From back to its days on the Playstation 2, the formula for Burnout games has been good controls, good variety of vehicles, a boost reward system for high risk driving, a driving engine that gives the best feeling of speed when combined with boosting, and spectacular crashes. Even though the Burnout franchise has now moved on to the Playstation 3, it doesn't deviate a lot from that basic formula. What has changed greatly though is how the races are set up. In the previous games, you'd set up a race, race that race and, when it was over, you'd set up your next race and repeat. In "Burnout: Paradise", they have switched that out for a persistent open-world environment (think "Grand Theft Auto"). Open-world environments are the latest craze these days, since GTA did it and Spiderman games started copying it effectively. Basically what this change means for the Burnout player is that you have to drive around to specific race locations to start a race. Actually, you also have to drive around all the intersections to find and identify all the possible racing and driving events. And, if you want to re-do a race, you have to finish that race first and then drive back to the starting line to restart the event. In the old days, you'd just press start and choose the retry option to do all this. I personally have no issue with this new way they're doing things and like the immersive experience of the new open world, but some hardcore Burnout players may gripe about the changes. The only thing I didn't like about the open world is that it's very easy to get lost in the middle of a race. There are some indicators at the top of the screen that tell you when to take a turn, but it's hard to keep an eye on everything in the middle of a race. The flip side is that, if you've discovered a short cut (and there are many to be found), you can use it to your advantage. The online integration in this game is very good. You just press the D-pad to access all the online options. The offline and online worlds are almost seamless. The graphics in this game are top notch for the arcade-y (that is, non-simulation) racing genre at this time. "Gran Turismo: Prologue" is better looking, but that is a driving simulation. There are a good selection of cars to unlock, but they aren't real life vehicles with real names. In the future, there will be an online upgrade package to add motorcycles to this game as well, but I haven't heard if there will be a charge for it and how much that would be. The radio tracks in this game are limited, but I hear that another update, due next month or so, will allow you to play your own MP3's and music instead. There are a variety of different challenges to complete in this game aside from straight racing, but it's mostly the racing that interests me. For example, there are timed runs where you try to beat a specific time, stunt runs where you try to gather a minimum number of points from performing stunts, etc. I tried hooking up an old PS2 driving wheel controller to this game to see if it would work. The same controller worked with "Gran Turismo: Prologue", but "Burnout: Paradise" would not recognize it as a compatible controller. Pretty disappointing, since I really don't want to buy a whole new wheel. Overall, I'm not a huge fan of driving games, but I like this game and would buy it again. I think it's the best of its genre right now, though I haven't tried "Dirt" yet.

By ryu_ken - Jun 16, 2008

Sweeeeet Game!

Strengths: Great open world format. Can choose from many types of events. Continued support from Criterion with frequent updates and HUGE additions.

Weakness: Only if you don't like cars or racing.

Get this game! If not now, when it hits the PlayStation Network this fall at $29.99. I hope that other studios follow the lead of Criterion and provide MASSIVE UPDATES and EXPANSIONS for their games. Value of this game compared to price is off the charts!

By Mel Perias - Aug 17, 2008

Great game to vent your road rage

Strengths: Speed, crashes, graphics

Weakness: no "restart race" option

The Burnout series has always been known for its amazing speed and off-the-top crashes as an arcade racer. Don't expect a racing simulator here. This title also offers probably one of the biggest change of direction in the series of Burnout games. Instead of having to flip through layers of menus to start a race, this one lets you continuously drive around town and pick races and challenges to...
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The Burnout series has always been known for its amazing speed and off-the-top crashes as an arcade racer. Don't expect a racing simulator here. This title also offers probably one of the biggest change of direction in the series of Burnout games. Instead of having to flip through layers of menus to start a race, this one lets you continuously drive around town and pick races and challenges to run.
This game is meant to be played on a big screen HDTV. The graphics are amazingly sharp. The details you can see in the slow-motion crashes makes you think you are watching an pre-rendered CG.
Crashing into other cars, jumping off ramps, taking down the opponents, all these really get your adrenaline pumping. It's a great way to release some stress. Online races are also great ways to test your skills against real people.
There are free and paid updates to the game that can be downloaded online. One of which (available in Aug 2008) is to introduce motorcycles to the game.
The one gripe I have about this game is the lack of "restart" option. Because of its free-roaming design, you are unable to restart a race in the middle of it. It makes retrying races a chore - you have to drive back to the original spot to re-initiate it.

By jjmai - Jul 26, 2008