Life in Paradise

Yesterday, I reviewed Burnout Paradise for the PS3 and 360. But the content on the game disk is nothing compared to how the game stands now, 10 months after release. Criterion Games has been the forerunner for post-release support up to this point, and it doesn't appear that this will change anytime soon.

In August, the 'Cagney' update was released, which aimed to enhance the online component of the game. To the online races, it added online versions of the Stunt Run, Road Rage and Marked Man events, as well as adding more Freeburn Challenges. Other additions included new cars, new paint jobs and custom soundtracks for the PS3. Adding such a large amount of new content so long after a games release was unheard of up til this point - but Criterion wasn't done yet.


In mid-September, they added the 'Bikes' pack. For the first time ever in a Burnout game, bikes were available to play with, and although the crashes aren't quite as vicious, to offer such a game changing update in a game (particularly an EA game) for free is a first. At the same time, more big changes were made - the addition of a day and night cycle, as well as a changing weather system. At for the bikes, 70 new Freeburn challenges were available (half of these timed) amongst various other fixes and enhancements. A week later, a trophy patch was released, and the game became the first full made-for-disk retail release to become available on the PlayStation Store.

Having had the game since I got my PS3 in May it was at this time, as I was becoming a trophy whore, that I decided to restart Burnout Paradise and play it through to the end. And it became the first racing game I've ever completed, mostly because of the sheer fun - even when some of the races were becoming stupidly hard. At that time, all that was known for the future of Paradise was that at some point there would be a whole new island released that added more freedom than ever to the game to drive wherever you wanted. But then, in October, Criterion announced they weren't done just yet.


Over four consecutive weeks, Criterion will announce more new packs (excluding the Island) to be released in Spring 2009 - well over a year after the original release of the game. The first of these is the 'Party' pack, which adds a pass-the-pad multiplayer mode with plenty of challenges to complete, as well as a new party-themed UI and brighter in-game colours for the mode. The next two packs are 'Legendary Cars' and 'Toy Cars'. The best addition coming up in these? The DeLorean-alike Jansen 88 Special that can fold up its wheels and hover, and pressing boost leaves fiery strips behind you. Who knows what the next packs will be?


For more on the packs, head over to CriterionGames.com, but for now I think it's appropriate to re-review Burnout Paradise with all it's new content (downloadable now as updates, or on a new disk called the Ultimate Box in Spring 09), and I think it deserves a 95%.

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.

Carbonated

I'm gonna be honest and say that driving games are not my forté. Well, by that I mean straight-up racing games. Gran Turismo, Project Gotham Racing, etc etc; I'm rubbish at all of them.

But then there's the other racing games. The ones that are different in their own ways, not just pure simulations of track racing. Burnout's deranged mayhem, Need for Speed's nighttime city runs, Motorstorm's off-road chaos and Ridge Racer's impossible drifts. All of which add up to ultimate fun for those of us who don't really fancy day-long endurance races.

This weekend is a Bank Holiday, so I've been using the extra day off to get some gaming done before I return to revising for exams. Therefore, whilst on socialising travels today, I popped into Blockbusters and picked up Need For Speed: Carbon for PS2 (£3 for a week, pretty cheap). I always used to play round my car-obsessive friends house when Underground and Underground 2 came out, and I got Most Wanted with my PSP in 2005. I've briefly played Most Wanted for PS2 on a hire too, but this was my first play of late 2006's Carbon.

The first thing to mention is that the core gameplay (driving around the streets of a fictional city, looking for events that culminate in boss races) is still perfect. It seems to have taken a turn for the worst in last year's ProStreet, but here in Carbon, the gameplay feels solid, the best it has since Underground 2. The next thing to mention is that the game has returned to a nighttime setting. Thank-frigging-god. How much I hated the sun-drenched streets of Most Wanted, and yearned for underground and very illegal racing to return to its seemingly logical hiding place, namely the night. Plus, you just get a much better sense of speed at night, which makes things more interesting.

Obviously, this being a yearly EA franchise, there's the inevitable gimmick new feature. For Carbon, EA Black Box added 'Canyon Duels'. These are set one of the canyons conveniently located around the main city, and involve you and a big bad boss racing down a treacherous cliffside track and attempting to shove each other off the side. I'll make my point brief: it's surprisingly good. Oh, it can be stupidly difficult from time to time, but overall its a good new addition. Another new addition is the 'Risk'-like map. The city is split up into numerous zones, each of which contain a number of events to compete. It actually gives a much more visual representation of 'winning back your rep' than the other games in the series. And my favourite thing about NFS Carbon? They brought back Drift events! =D

From what I've played (the game reports that I'm 20% of the way through), Carbon does feel like the best Need for Speed game in a long time. Graphics are sharp (for PS2), the UI is normal EA perfection, and the combination of licensed tracks and music made especially for the game is fantastic. But, and here's the bastard truth, that's because it's been the same for so long. Since Underground, its been basic improvements all-round (Yay, Autosculpt! /sarcasm) rather than anything new and exciting. And the kicker: when they did change it in ProStreet, it sucked. Big time.

Overall rating: 9/10

FO

(Note: screenshots from PS3 version of the game)

 

Who Needs Sunshine When You Have Games?

Playing: Beats (PSP). Listening to: Skins OST.

Today was an absolutely gloriously sunny day in the North of South Korea (spoiler: not where I actually live), so I took the opportunity to head outside and ventured into my garden armed with my laptop. Unfortunately, my neighbours had decided not to switch their wireless box on today, so I was denied some Starcraft online action. I sulked for some time, before heading back inside and digging around for a prized possession of mine. And there it was: the Total Annihilation disk.

Now for all of those who don't know, which I assume to be quite a lot of people, Total Annihilation (PC) is another ageing RTS, and is one of my favourite games. Although the title would seemingly suggest the opposite, it is in fact a more tactical affair than the aforementioned 'Craft, and for that reason, makes it a lot more fun if you (like me) enjoy playing the 'long game' in an RTS. Which basically means working through the tech tree and deciding which units are the best for your strategy.

Unlike in Starcraft, where you research your way through the tech tree (a la Age of Empires), in Total Annihilation, things are done a little differently. There are three main types of units: Kbots, Vehicles and Aircraft that apply to most maps (there are also Naval units, and Hovercraft that turn up on occasion). Then, after building a Kbot lab for instance, you use it to create a Construction Kbot, which then can build an Advanced Kbot Lab, which can in turn build an Advanced Construction Kbot. Overuse of the word Kbot, methinks. And no, it doesn't go any higher than that, but this does open up a lot of different units. But getting the Metal and Energy levels to be able to build the advanced units does take some time, hence my favouring of the 'long game', compared to how Starcraft's AI will attack quite quickly, forcing you do build a quick defensive army of low-level units.

Point made: I love Total Annihilation. Moving on, I said I'd have some impressions of my recent PSP acquisitions, and although I haven't got far enough into Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops to form an opinion yet, I will share my thoughts on the PSP-exclusive (until the inevitable PS2 port) God of War: Chains of Olympus. However, this is far from a review, that would be cruel after only a few hours of play, so bear that in mind.

Apart from a brief spell with the GoW1 demo, I have never really played either of the previous God of War games, so no, I don't know any of the back story. But that is irrelevant, because at one point in Chains of Olympus, Kratos turned around and said "What treachery is this?" and I was made happy, forgetting the fact I had no idea what was going on. However, from what I've gathered, Kratos does not at all like being the Gods' bitch, which is understandable really.

Story aside, the gameplay is immense.I've never really been a fan of beat-/slash-em-ups (presumably the reason I haven't played God of War games before), but this is really great fun. The combos are slowly unlocked as you go around collecting red orbs to level up your mad skillz, so you can learn them at your own pace rather than them all being there when you start, which is what makes other fighters too overwhelming for me. Also, the fact you have to balance out your magic usage, blade-swinging and health gives the game an extra depth. There is one major problem though. Random insane difficulty spikes. They are the death of me, literally (well at least in the game). I've already come up against two in my playing, and I'm stuck at another one now. It's not a deal breaker, but it is annoying when they turn up, because they take a hell of a lot of time to get past. At least the loading times are fantastically short, which takes away some potential annoyance.

Now to presentation: the music in the game is top notch orchestral stuff, and so I was mightily glad about that. Sound effects are also great, and the voice acting and animation in the cut scenes is also spectacular. And so I get to the inevitable mention of the game's graphics. And yes, they are amazing; hell, they'd be amazing on PS2, on PSP they are astonishing. The first time I booted up the game to be given a fantastic view of the Persian attack on the Shores of Attica, and it was genuinely a moment of amazement. But one thing I will say is, due to the games use of the full-and-recently-unlocked 333Mhz of the PSP processor to chuck out this graphical awesomeness, the battery life of said console is lowered in comparison to playing other games, although not by too much.

And to the final, deciding factor of a game for me: FUN. I will buy games primarily on how fun they are regardless of graphics/story/anything else, as long as they promise a good time. God of War: Chains of Olympus is one game that has fun in spades, especially for someone new to the series like me. Overall, I feel that my playing of the game so far has shown how much work Ready at Dawn have put into this game, and pretty much the only downer is the annoying difficult spikes. Highly recommended: a solid A rating.

Expect to hear more from me soon, on MGS: Portable Ops, Patapon, SOCOM: Tactical Strike, as well as other games.

FO out.

Return of the Pie

I've been off ill this week, and it suddenly occurred to me that I haven't blogged here at all in ages. Busy? Doubt It. Forgot? Likely. Lazy? Yes.

Anyways, last weekend Aquatic and I decided to do a little meet up. The plan was originally to venture to the capital of our fair and glorious nation to visit the Queen for tea, but unfortunately, we realised we we're completely and utterly skint, so gave up. Instead, we took a quick trip down to GameStation and browsed the used games section. An hour later, we left confidently with 8 games (for £20 too) and Aquatic also grabbed 2 Shadow of the Colossus models, which are awesome. Anyways, here are the eight games (all PS2, because that was the only console we had with us to play that night):

• Crazy Taxi: As good a place to start as ever. Great, fun game though, if beginning to show its age a little. Oh and everything is crazy. Title screen: that's crazy. At character selection, everyone is crazy. Then jump into the game, crazy mode mind you, and it's all "Let's go earn some crazy money!". Just a note. In case you're allergic to crazy or anything. B-
• Goldeneye: Rogue Agent: Now, I know a lot of people hated on this, but I love it. It's great fun to play, and to me that's what makes a fantastic game. Also the Environment Traps are great fun to use in multiplayer, and opening the trap doors on the Golden Gate Bridge before explaining to the Wanderer about said traps was great. A-
• Red Faction: Okay, admittedly we didn't play this for long yet, but the idea seemed sound, story (outlandish but no complaints) seems solid, and the ability to blow the crap out of whatever is in front of you is fun. Probably the only annoying bit is the technological limitations of an early PS2 title: the graphics aren't great, and the gameplay, especially movement, is a little dodgy. Actually being able to shoot someone and they die instantly gives a great sense of satisfaction though. B-
• Deus Ex: This is harsh bearing in mind I played about 10 minutes of it, and you have to remember when this was made (2002 on PS2), but I found serious issues. Terrible framerate, glitchy controls and gameplay, long and very frequent load times to name but a few (ignoring graphics). Having said that, I know that it is supposedly a good game, and it has 90 on Metacritic, so I will try getting into it properly somewhere along the line. C
• Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King: Aquatic and I played this is co-op mode, as Legolas and Gimli respectively, which was great fun. Or at least it was apart from Aragorn's seeming inability to do anything-at-funking-all bar sticking in an occasional sword to get some kill points. Still, combat is perfect, graphics are top notch, voice acting blah blah blah it's all great, kay? A+
• Haven: Call of the King: I'd never heard of this before, but Aquatic told me to buy it and I'm glad I did. I'm a big platformer fan, but there just doesn't seem to be many good ones around any more. Here is one though, it has a little of the Beyond Good & Evil about it, but that's hardly a bad thing. Overall great quirky little game. B+
• XIII: Not the Final Fantasy game silly, the actioner. I absolutely adore the comic book stylings and it is a great fun game to play, it's at the bottom of my pile to play at the moment just due to the amount of games I got, but my play of the first through levels reminded me why I used to love playing it on my mates Xbox 1. B+
• TimeSplitters 2: I loved TimeSplitters Future Perfect, which was one of the first games I got for my PS2 back in the day. The gameplay was the best I'd seen and the game was both fun and hilarious. So finally, I dug out a copy of 2 and it is just as great! The time between the games doesn't appear to have hindered it at all, and it was a blast to play, both in co-op mode and deathmatch - which is insanely fast. A+

So overall, lots of awesome games!

FO