Go To The City

[Please note: this is a review for the vanilla (ie: without patches or DLC) disk experience.]

Burnout Paradise is awesome.

There we go, I just spoilt the whole review. But the game's been out since the beginning of the year, and so if you haven't played it yet, you really have missed out. Burnout Paradise is one of the top five best next-gen games so far, and when you're sharing that list with LittleBigPlanet, you've done a fantastic job.

I'm gonna start out as if you've never played a Burnout game before: In all the games in the series prior to Paradise, you spent your time racing at ridiculous speeds along gorgeous tracks, shoving other racers out of the way (taking them own) to whizz off into the distance, earning the series (and developer Criterion Games) a massive and well-deserved fanbase. In Paradise, which was released in January, the game was changed dramatically in many different ways for the series debut on the next generation of consoles.

*yoink* Thankyou, IGN.

The first thing you'll likely say upon seeing the screenshot above is "omg, screen clutter" or something similar. And I guess to a certain extent this is true, there is a lot more going on on the screen than in most other games. But really, this screenshot just serves as a jumping-off point to talk about some of the best and most important bits of Paradise.

In the bottom right hand corner of the screen you can see the mini-map. Normally in a racing game, the mini-map (if there is one) is just for checking by how much your mates are kicking your arse. But Burnout Paradise has an entirely open map, and when you take part in a race you can go any way you feel like. Although at launch there was a lot of contention at the disappearance of structured races and easily discernible routes, as you progress through the game you realise the ability to take shortcuts down other roads or jump up onto the train tracks looping around the city is a godsend when trying to shave those valuable seconds off your time. You can figure out the ideal route using either the mini-map and/or compass to make snap decisions or view the whole city map with Select. Oh and did I mention that past the initial load, there are no loading screens whatsoever?

And although this works fantastically well in the main single-player game, it really shines online, with players shooting off in all different directions along their preferred routes. The way Burnout Paradise does online is truly unique as well. Pressing the right directional button at any time will open the Easy Drive menu, from where you can access a number of settings, as well as starting a Freeburn over the internet, or jumping straight into a round of whatever game mode you choose. Whilst the game modes are varied, it's the online Freeburn that is the real innovation here. Basically a free roam mode, you can do whatever you like in a lobby with up to 8 players. Anytime another player beats a road rule, showtime rule or jump record that you have set, a message will flash up on the screen (and if they have a camera attached to their console, so will their smug face). Also, you can trigger challenges (both fun ones and timed ones) that everyone can get involved in.

There's so much in Burnout Paradise to talk about, and I have barely scratched the surface, but the game really shows how fun a racing game can be without being silly and pointless, and therefore comes with the highest recommendation for me. At at the now-lower price, there's no excuse not to jump in and join the ever-growing community. 85%

P.S. Come back tomorrow where I'll be looking at the amazing patches and downloadable content for the game, and regrading the game including all this.