Burnout Paradise (Xbox 360)
By:
Quo
Criterion Studios released Burnout Paradise yesterday (1/21/08)
. Here’s a quick review after 4 hours in the game. While I won’t call this a
complete review by any means, I think I’ve got enough time in the game to give you a quick breakdown of the best and worst features of the game. Before we get started, it’s important to take care of two things:
- Comparisons to other Burnout series games, and
- How the game plays versus the available XBL demo.
This is the second game in the Burnout Series available on the 360. The lowdown on how much
Burnout Revenge there is in
Burnout: Paradise? Just enough. The high speed, boosting, crashing, and intense racing is all back. This time, though, the channeled tracks that you once raced on are now gone.
Burnout: Paradise is set in an open-world environment similar to recent hits like
Crackdown,
Saints Row and the
Grand Theft Auto series. It’s up to you to set your own course through the city. You just have to make sure you’re there first, no matter how you get there.
Crash Mode is gone, but it’s been replaced with Showtime. Showtime mode can be entered spontaneously anywhere on the map (just select the RB and LB buttons). Instead of a pre-set course you are once again given free reign. Buses you hit give you multipliers. Anything you hit gives you boost. Vehicles spawn like crazy (there’s a little pop-in, we’ll get to that in a minute) so there’s plenty of stuff to smash. You can change direction to keep yourself moving, and you have a little more control than you had in crash mode. Gone though are the mega-explosions and the rapid button-tapping. Personally, I liked the explosions. I can live without the button tapping.
Additional modes include simple racing, takedowns, and “Marked Man”—in which computer opponents (or people, if you’re online) hunt you down and try to total your car before you get to a specific point in the city. There’s also a stunt mode, which was available in the demo, where you need to complete certain tasks and stunts to bank points. Once you reach the allotted points, you win.
What about the demo? A lot of people played the demo and were left with a “meh” feeling. I was one of them, and pre-demo
I was excited about this game so you'd think I went in favoring the game. I can’t really explain what’s different about the demo. I remember it
playing the same… but without all the goals, with significantly limited freedom, and I wasn’t playing online with friends. The online aspect is probably the biggest difference. I’ll give this advice: if you thought you might buy it before the demo, then tried the demo and you’re not sold, rent it (from GYG!) and get online with some friends. You’ll end up buying it.
Okay, on to the game.
General Gameplay
I’ve already told you quite a bit about gameplay, about the open world and the racing. There are many things to do: smash gates, find parking garages, find gas stations, perform jumps, launch superjumps, smash billboards… the list goes on. I really don’t know how to add to the description of the gameplay other than to tell you that it’s fun. The game conveys a sense of pure speed very solidly.
No game is without flaws, so to be fair I should point out a few items. Open world isn’t always without frustration. The map can be difficult to decipher while traveling at better than 180 miles an hour.
Translation: you don’t always end up where you want to go right away. Usually the game AI gives you a chance to make up for your mistake though.
Also, some kind of player marker would have been nice. Say you’re looking for Crawford Street. Unless you already know the maps real well, good luck finding it. You might be driving for a while! There’s no way to mark it on your map and drive there. Finally, there’s no restarting at the start line if you crash and lose a race. You’ve got to drive back to the starting intersection and begin again. These are little inconveniences but these are also the types of little details that separate the good games from the great games. Here’s hoping for an update at some point, maybe in future DLC?
Tech Specs
The game looks great. Most of the soundtrack is bearable, but there are a few obnoxious tunes. I'd say it's above average, both graphically and with regard to audio. Opinions will vary. I mentioned pop-in. If you're looking for it, you'll probably find it (as in most games). From time to time I noticed it during the first portion of showtime, when massive amounts of traffic begin bearing down on you. It doesn't affect gameplay in the least, and you really have to be looking for it. If you're looking for it, you're not going to perform very well in showtime mode.
Game Rage
This is something I really can’t comment on yet. I found nothing other than the above map issues to be frustrating about the game. Oh, and the fact that the room totally dissolves if the host leaves and you’re in the middle of a record-breaking Showtime.
Yeah, thanks Wonder. Dissolving rooms are so…
last year. You’d think they would pass off the host. This is all pretty nitpicky. I’d say Game Rage is very low.
Butt Groove
This game will totally hook you in in short order. I didn’t want to quit, and I can’t wait to fire it up again. I’ve played 4 hours and I’m supposedly 8% done with the game. I think I have roughly 25% of the findable items and locations. I only own 3 of 78 (I think) cars. There’s plenty to do. As of right now, I don’t consider the game short or long, either one.
Bedtime Rating
I have no idea what this game is rated, but it’s good for kids. No worries there. The only thing you potentially would have to worry about is in online play. If you or your opponent has the Xbox Live Vision Cam, the game snaps a picture of you when there’s a takedown. No biggie for me personally, but for some seeing Keezy in his teeny-tiny-tighty-whities can be a little unsettling. So let your kids play, but as always monitor who they play with.
Achievements
This game has a great set of achievements. Some might think many are too easy, but I don’t. I like that I came away with about 200 points after 4 hours in the game. I don’t have hours and hours to play, so I like that I get rewarded as I go instead of all at the end of the game. There’s still plenty to achieve after 4 hours of play, that's for sure.
Multiplayer
Fantasmagorical. Joining a room is completely seamless. Say you’re racing on your own and decide to go online. Click to the right on the d-pad and immediately you’re online. Accept a friend’s invite and a message will come up immediately (in my case it read “Your’e now Freeburning with Wondermonkey"). 4-player online in this open environment is spontaneous and just plain great. I can’t wait to get 8 PGLers in a room. At one point in the game last night we were all at an airfield and the entire place has ramps and stunts everywhere. It was mesmerizing watching the cars fly around… good stuff. Not once in the entire evening did I notice lag. It’s quite spiffy.
Conclusions
No game is perfect. This one’s great though! A few minor problems with maps and restarts keep this game from perfection. It’s not the same as Burnout:Revenge, but so far, I think it’s better… mostly because of this game’s stellar online aspects. It’ll make a fantastic addition to the PGL FNFF lineup. Go get it, and I’ll see you online!
Category Ratings
General Gameplay
5 of 5
Tech Specs
4 of 5
Game Rage
Butt Groove
5 of 5
Bedtime Rating
1 of 5
Achievements
5 of 5
Multiplayer
5 of 5
Overall Couch Count:
4.5 out of 5
Count me in
Linear Mode
