Review: Burnout Paradise (360)

This certainly happened with Burnout Paradise, and came to a head when the demo was released, even prompting designer Alex Ward to defend the demo (and insult some of the series fans in the process). Still, neither the audience or creators could definitely say if the game would be successful, but happily for both parties, Burnout Paradise is successful in almost every aspect that matters, and Criterion have managed to make the leap to free-roaming with aplomb.

The game takes place in the titular Paradise City (introduced by the Guns 'N' Roses song of the same name, which just shows how much improved the soundtrack is over previous games), which includes a bustling metropolis, some countryside and an outlying mountainous region, all bristling with traffic and fully realised with the game's new (and very pretty) graphics engine. The various events of the game are dotted around this landscape at traffic lights, and are activated by pressing both triggers. Once this is done, the event starts and you're barrelling along crowded streets trying to win. The events available are standard point-to-point races, the classic Road Rage mode (where you have to smash your opponents off the road a set amount of times), Burning Routes (a simple time trial specific to the vehicle you are driving), Marked Man (a turnabout of Road Rage where you are the target and must survive your opponent's onslaughts) and the new Stunt Run (where you must use the environment to perform crazy stunts and rack up the points).

All of the events are as adrenaline-fuelled as you would expect from Burnout, and the Road Rage event in particular works well with the new open world, as the cars follow you where ever you drive, meaning you can drive to a less crowded street and not run the risk of accidentally slamming into a piece of traffic. When the free-roaming works, it works really well, but it can be frustrating during the early stages of the game. With races in particular, there are no barriers or neon turning signs along these open roads, unlike the previous games' arrows telling you where to turn. The only indicator are the turn signals on your car and some flashing signs posts that appear at the top of the screen; however, it is very easy to ignore these when you're barrelling along at over 200mph and are being ground into a wall by a van. And, of course, there is a complete lack of restart function, which (despite what Alex Ward will tell you) is very annoying when you fail a race. However, when this does happen, there is usually another event nearby you can try, or a jump to land, or a billboard to smash, so it's not like you will be annoyed about the lack of restart for long. That is until you progress further into the game and need to complete every event, and when you have completed everything, there's little reason to go back to the game.

One thing that Burnout veterans will have noted in this review is that Gamestyle has yet to mention the franchise's most famed mode, the Crash junctions. That is because it no longer exists. The Crash mode of yore is gone, replaced by Showtime mode, and quite frankly, it's a disappointment. While the original Crash mode tasked you with causing as much damage as possible by picking the best line of destruction on a specific junction, Show Time mode can be accessed any time by pressing the LB and RB buttons simultaneously and simply crashing into as many vehicles as you can until your boost bar runs out. The more cars you hit, the more boost you get, and the longer you can continue crashing. It's fun in a way, especially when competing with your friend's scores via a Live leader board, but there's none of the strategy of the previous games.

Less disappointing is the choice of cars this time around. Not only do they get faster as you progress, collecting them is much more enjoyable, and there's more to consider than just speed. There are three varieties of cars in Burnout: Speed, Aggression, and Stunt. Each type of car handles slightly differently, but what is most interesting is how Burnout's famous boost is earned with them. Aggression cars play just like the cars from the previous Burnout game, Revenge. They have a small boost bar that is increased by taking down your rivals, and can be turned on at any time. They're also the toughest cars physically and best for events such as Road Rage or Marked Man. Race cars, by contrast, are weak, but far quicker and best for race events. Their boost bar is small and can only be accessed when completely full; but you can chain the boost bars by driving like a maniac, allowing you to use the boost for as long as you keep filling it. Stunt cars earn more boost than their companions when performing stunts, and are the perfect car for doing the game's Stunt Run events and performing the crazy jumps. They are also the best cars to use when simply blazing about Paradise with your friends over Xbox Live.

The game's multiplayer component is brilliant and so easy to access. Simply press the D-pad on your controller and you have access to your friends list. Press it again and you're online, blazing around the city with your friends. While online, you can set up races, perform one of the game's 300+ online challenges (which include performing jumps, drifting a set distance, etc.) or just blaze around the city pretending to be the guys from Top Gear. It's a great social game as you can just make up your own races and events on the fly, and when you're finished, you simply go back to the single-player city exactly where you were while online.

Burnout Paradise is an excellent game, but there are one or two blemishes that do tarnish it somewhat. Still, there's something for every Burnout fan here and it will no doubt spark continued debate over whether it's the best in the series.

Rating: 9 / 10

Words by Garry Webber