Burnout Paradise events, online focus confirmed

by Jason Dobson { Sep 21st 2007 at 11:00PM }

Burnout Paradise at E3 was something of a love/hate experience. On the one hand, its frenzied high-definition crashes and pyrotechnic displays reminded us why we love Criterion's visceral racing series in the first place. On the other hand, the demo was devoid of any of the modes popularized by previous entries, particularly Takedown, instead spearheading the series into an online free for all that seemed decidedly removed from what what players had come to expect from Burnout.

With such tremendous focus being placed this time around on multiplayer racing, the developers now reveal that they have garnished the Burnout experience with "hundreds" of online challenges and an 'EasyDrive Friends List,' which will be internal to the game. According to the team, this will allow players to pop in and out of online races on a whim without having to fuss with a lobby.

In addition, for those who remain conflicted, Electronic Arts has offered up just what single player challenges players can expect from Burnout Paradise once it ships in early 2008. Specifically, EA has confirmed that the game will feature four types of single player events, including regular races, 'Marked Man,' 'Stunt,' and 'Road Rage' challenges, though sadly it appears that the 'Crash' events did not make the cut. In addition, taking a page from Atari's Test Drive: Unlimited, EA notes that the entire Paradise City game world will be available from the word go, and that players will be able to "start and even end a challenge at their leisure."

Finally, as previously mentioned, Burnout Paradise is among those titles confirmed to take advantage of Sony's upcoming rumble-ready DualShock 3 controller. In addition, as demonstrated at E3, the game will also include support for both the PlayStation Eye and Xbox Live Vision webcams, which will be chiefly used to take candid snapshots of players at the moment of impact.

Tags: burnout, burnoutparadise, ea, openworld, paradisecity, playstationeye, xboxlivevision

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Fernando Rocker (NDF - Water Ring) @ Sep 21st 2007 11:08PM

"... Sony's upcoming rumble-ready DualShock 3 controller... "

Oh my God! PS3 is the best!

blooh (CDF - Ass Ring) @ Sep 21st 2007 11:25PM

think this game will have waggle? lol

sheppy2.0 @ Sep 22nd 2007 12:49AM

Just saying your Avatar gives me the chuckles because of this.... http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com/comic.php?d=20070831

nmezib @ Sep 21st 2007 11:24PM

I remember seeng a video (gametrailers?) of an interview with one of the designers of Burnout Paradise, and he said that the Crash Mode WILL be in the game, except renamed to "Showtime"

Maybe that has changed in the past few weeks, but why that bit of information escaped the press release is beyond me.

modified @ Sep 22nd 2007 12:55AM

It's still not the same. You can't have the same exact scenario for each player like you could with Crash mode. They made a huge mistake doing this. Criterion needs to take a page from the Tony Hawk series and offer up both old and new mode options.

umm....hello??? @ Sep 22nd 2007 12:12AM

never really cared for the crash events anyways, I enjoy the racing....however, based on the current description this has gone from "must buy" to "possibly rent"...thank you EA for fucking up a beautiful series....

m @ Sep 22nd 2007 12:23AM

no crash=no buy

mkoracer @ Sep 22nd 2007 12:32AM

No crash, yeah, what a bunch of horseshit... I mean the whole appeal of Burnout and what made it stand out from other racing contenders was the amazazing crashes! The racing was fun, but it was just a short break from the real point of the game. If you want a damn racing game, go play flatout (which I love) or need for speed, THERE DOES NOT NEED TO BE ANOTHER GENERIC RACER AROUND, DOES CRITERON EVEN MAKE THIS SHIT ANYMORE? BECAUSE: THEY SHOULD.

Cuja @ Sep 22nd 2007 12:52AM

EA sucks. They figure out how much should go into a $60 game and that's it. EA and Nintendo is own the same wavelength. Squeeze as much money out of the consumers before they catch on.

Ska Oreo @ Sep 22nd 2007 8:13AM

Yeah because we know good old Microsoft and Sony would never deceive and try to rip off gamers.

*snicker*

Rob Accomando @ Sep 22nd 2007 1:13AM

I'd buy a "Burnout Paradise Prologue" for $40 if they had it. Someone hold a meeting!!

ThornedVenom @ Sep 22nd 2007 7:45AM

Sadly enough, if I had a next-gen console, I'd buy it. Why? Because it's Burnout and I don't have it yet.

I love the racing and I love the shattering detail.

mietha CAG @ Sep 22nd 2007 9:47AM

3 was great, takedown wasn't as good, this sounds like shit. Without crash, I'm certainly not buying it, and if the achievements are as heavily online as it sounds like they will be, it's doubtful I'll even play it.

m @ Sep 22nd 2007 6:01PM

Online crash mode in Burnout Revenge 360 is the most well paced and social online gaming experiences I've ever had(I've never played an mmorpg). We don't mind the lobby. It's an easy way to meet up with friends and make new ones. It gives the opportunity to remove undesirable players before game play begins and a chance to talk about and look up high scores when the game ends. Who wants to try to invite friends to a game while driving down the road. Being able to take short breaks between matches has always been a plus. Removing crash and eliminating the game lobby seems like a big mistake to me and will most likely keep more of my dollars out of EA's pockets.