If you think about it, box art is a video game's calling card. It makes the first impression, and inspires the consumer, especially those who don't follow game news day to day, to pick the release up from retail shelves for a second look. Because of this, box art often tries to capture the essence of the game in a single picture, which only makes us scratch our heads at EA's newly redesigned cover art for the forthcoming Burnout Paradise. The new cover ditches the previous art, which featured a car being smashed like a twisted metal flapjack, and replaces it with a serene, overly white piece that looks like it just drove off the set of an Ah Ha video.

The new art reinforces the series' change in direction, from a crash-centric racer to something a bit more open. While early impressions of the racer are encouraging, we cannot help but be a bit worried at the game's seemingly constant push to separate itself from its legacy. With a demo slated for both XBL and PSN next month, we'll know soon enough if the game's Jan. 22 release date will be one to keep on the radar, or if the day will be better spent playing Takedown in remembrance of the series that was.