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Scott
04-08-2008, 03:44 PM
Shortly after I learned to crawl, one of the first things I knew I enjoyed was racing matchbox cars accross the carpet. Generally, headlong into each other with explosion noises and one of the cars barrel-rolling into the kitchen. Crashing cars has always been fun.

Hence, many years later and I'm still doing it. Only now imagination has been replaced with the power of next gen consoles that allows us to see every showering shard of glass, twist of bodywork and trail of sparks as our vehicle tumbles down the road and comes to rest in a hissing, creaking pile of carnage.

Burnout has always been about destruction and Burnout Paradise has honed the annihilation of vehicles into the ultimate open world, 60 frames per second crash-test you'd have hopeed it would be. If I were brutally honest, Criteron would have had to have done something really stupid to ruin paradise. Having the reputation as the fastest, most destructive, arcade racer means it would be ridiculous to mess with such a winningformula. Not that the series left many gameplay stones unturned anyway...

So, the addition of freedom seems like an obvious choice. With the whole map available to you from the start, the idea is that you tailour the gameplay to your tastes: you could explore shortcuts, find bonuses and unlock cars. You can concentrate on completing races of a particular style. You can initiate 'showtime' mode and cause as much mayhem as possible. Or you can do what most players will do and take schizophrenic bites out of everything.

But it's the most common approach that highlights my gripe with the new independance. Having to juggle map reading with high speed driving removes some of the focus seen in past Burnout games, while something as simple as swapping cars (you have to drive to a junkyard in order to change every time) or finding the start of a race you didn't complete can be a chore. Especially as it's so easy to get distracted driving from point A to point B. It also means that the single minded nature of previous games has been lost and Burnout Paradise is now stepping on the toes of games such as Test Drive Unlimited, Need For Speed Underground, and Midnight Club as well as picking up some of their niggles,

However it's harsh to be criticising a game for making it use more of your brain. Burnout Paradise still provides some of the fastest, most thrilling and spectacular racing you'll find. It may not be as accessible as before but it now has more substance, more content and more depth. I just miss the purity that made us love Burnout originally.

http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2008/022/reviews/933706_20080123_screen002.jpg

The Good:

- The awsome crashing
- That it still runs at 60 frames per second
- The showtime chaos!

The Bad:

- Getting lost on races
- Having to change cars at the junkyard

Graphics:
Few games can make the art of destruction look so convincing and cool
94/100

Gameplay:

Less focused than previous games but has added freedom instead
89/100

Lifespan:
It wont take long to find all the races but the online modes add longevity
88/100

Overall:

It still has the essence of Burnout but a free roaming city does have some drawbacks
90/100

Raw!
04-08-2008, 05:02 PM
You still make great reviews. Nice to see you back on the team, good review.

Scott
04-08-2008, 05:23 PM
You still make great reviews. Nice to see you back on the team, good review.

Thanks, Btw youll notice I cant post screenshots because Im using the ps3

Raw!
04-08-2008, 05:45 PM
Oh, you're using the PS3? Then it's fine. I hope your internet gets better.

Scott
04-08-2008, 06:03 PM
Oh, you're using the PS3? Then it's fine. I hope your internet gets better.

Yeah my sister still has the computer. But she's coming up at the end of the month so I expect her to bring it then. But I wouldnt be able to use it for the internet anyway since I'm getting wireless internet through the window with the PS3.

blaze4556
04-08-2008, 07:41 PM
This was gonna be my faveriout racing game, it has some awesome music tracks but it got so repetitive for me :-(

Scott
04-08-2008, 07:52 PM
This was gonna be my faveriout racing game, it has some awesome music tracks but it got so repetitive for me :-(

Yeah I thought the crashes were repetitive too. And I never listened to their music I prefer my own.