Metareview - Burnout Paradise (PS3, Xbox 360)

by Justin McElroy { Jan 24th 2008 at 10:10AM }

The reviews are starting to come in for Burnout Paradise, and we're beginning to notice a pattern. While most aspects of the game (controls, graphics) are getting slathered with praise, the game's open-world-as-menu system is proving to be fairly divisive. But it seems like even the biggest haters weren't put off enough by it to ignore all of Burnout Paradise's other strengths.

1UP (90/100): "As someone who's closely followed Criterion's racing series for the last seven years, it warms my heart to see it evolve into something as innovative, satisfying, and polished as Burnout: Paradise. ... while the most recent franchise offerings (Revenge and Dominator) feel like playin'-it-safe rehashes, Paradise brilliantly reimagines Burnout as a go-anywhere, do-anything open-world adventure in the vein of Grand Theft Auto."
Eurogamer (80/100): "Once you (reluctantly) adapt to the demands of the game, a massive amount of fun awaits. Burnout Paradise isn't everything it could have been, but what's here is still worthy of serious consideration for anyone hell-bent on demented arcade thrills."
GameTap (90/100): "And driving in Burnout--having the freedom to do nothing at all--is amazingly addictively fun. The open world is an evolution that keeps this from becoming a series that has only minor changes from year to year, and it's executed really well, with graphics that are still gorgeous and a frame rate that runs as smoothly as butter. I love this new format and can't imagine going back."

Tags: Burnout, Burnout-Paradise, BurnoutParadise, Criterion, EA

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

kbomb1upc @ Jan 24th 2008 10:11AM

How does the online part of this game work? Is it different from the demo cause I was too impressed?

robert @ Jan 24th 2008 11:01AM

the online portion of the game is available in the demo, if you really want to know how it works you should just check it out for yourself.

i've actually spent quite a few hours online with the demo and think that it's a lot more fun than the single player. just driving around the city trying to pull off better stunts than the other players and smashing into each other is a blast... kind of reminds me of SSX with cars.

kbomb1upc @ Jan 24th 2008 11:11AM

To clarify my comment, it should say "cause I wasn't too impressed." Darn grammar. I did play the demo online part and I was asking if the demo's online version is the same as the complete games online version?

Fox318 @ Jan 24th 2008 10:18AM

I guess I'm a hater.(from the demo release)

I might pick this up when the price drops.

KushielsScion007 @ Jan 24th 2008 10:24AM

Well I don't know about others but I have several family members (brothers and sisters) who I play my videogames with when time permits and the lack of splitscreen is an absolute joke to me. Yeah online is great and everything but it seriously galls me that they completely got rid of the most basic feature of multiplayer games.

Damn all I want is a great racing game with the basic/common features and extras that make the game perfect. So far I've been disappointed and forced to not buy 2 of the games I originally thought were going to be great...NFS: ProStreet and now Burnout Paradise.

Oh well I don't know what else is coming down the pipeline when it comes to this genre but I really hope its something that delivers.

Marty @ Jan 24th 2008 10:52AM

Split screen is a thing of the past.

KushielsScion007 @ Jan 24th 2008 10:54AM

Personal opinion on your part and not one thats widely held.

I'm not sure if the game is selling well or not (my instincts tell me that it well sell really well) but I don't think its worth the money.

And really since when did gaming become a "solo activity" only?

Pretty sure that a lot of gamers if not most still play games with friends once in a while right?

Jeff @ Jan 24th 2008 11:06AM

The only thing I envy about console games is split screen.

When the Xbox and Ps3 games start giving up slitscreen they're giving the Wii even more right to be called the console of people who have friends IRL.

Marty @ Jan 24th 2008 12:25PM

Of course they do - online. XD

ThornedVenom @ Jan 24th 2008 7:13PM

I agree with you completely: split-screen is becoming more and more neglected on consoles whereas it is (for me) probably the one thing which really separates console-fun from PC-fun.

SLSSNAKE @ Jan 24th 2008 10:25AM

I just picked this game up yesterday, and I've been having a blast. It's not perfect, no, and losing a race can be frustrating, but there's so much to do that I never really feel compelled to drive back to start over. There's always an event close enough that it's not grating to find another one to do. Not a perfect setup, but it works for me (and the open world is a ton of fun to mess around in).

Evan @ Jan 24th 2008 10:46AM

I've been playing the demo, and my biggest complaint is lack of pedestrians!

Being a sandbox game, I feel like I want to step out of my car grand-theft-auto-style. But, there's not even a person inside my car! It's eerie driving in a city with other cars but no people. That's fine in a menu-driven arcade racer, but it feels *incomplete* in a sandbox game. One of the first sandbox racing games was Crazy Taxi, and if Crazy Taxi can handle pedestrians on the Dreamcast 8 years ago, why can Burnout Paradise on the PS3/360?

paragraph @ Jan 24th 2008 10:50AM

Ever notice the lack of drivers?

It keeps the ESRB low... it's a game about driving recklessly, anything bad would give it a T or worse, an M rating, for no good reason...

Ever listen to the EA Trax Version of Paradise City?
"The surgoen general say's it's hazardous to breathe
I'd have another 'nother
But I can't see"

Really? We're Censoring out "Cigarette"..... really?

Anywho, it's a great game, i love it, looks good, plays good, some quirks here and there, but all together a fair rating, 8.5-9.0 area is what i'd agree with.

xGeneral DEATHx @ Jan 24th 2008 11:05AM

@ paragraph:

LOL about the EA Trax version of "Paradise City". I'm going to have to listen for that one when I get home.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be taking my 'nother break now.

robert @ Jan 24th 2008 11:08AM

yeah it's pretty simple, if there were pedestrians they would be walking targets for the cars and that's not the game that they decided to make. it's all about the racing, stunts and crashes... not mowing down pedestrians.

JJ @ Jan 24th 2008 10:47AM

Yeah i picked this baby up for my PS3 after breaking down and deciding to purchase it, I haven't put it down for hours, i personally enjoy it quite a bit and losing a race does suck, but like a previous poster said there's ALWAYS something to do nearby that it doesnt sting all that bad.

I also really enjoy the online component too as its real easy to use, just a couple of clicks on the Dpad away from multiplayer and if the game drops, you get a notice and almost instantly you're just back in single player without messing you up or losing your place, i for one think the online play was very well incorporated in its ease of use.

JJ @ Jan 24th 2008 10:49AM

well probably because its not a "sandbox" game but rather a "Sandbox racer" in a sense, I dont think the game was meant to represent a fully living breathing city like GTA or something but rather its supposed to focus on the cars/driving/wrecking etc.

Jtenma @ Jan 24th 2008 10:50AM

So far, those who have not played the final game say it sucks, those who HAVE love it...hmmm.

I highly recommend you all give the game at least a rent...

Criterion wanted to make a seemless experience and that they did. I understand you all want the closed tracks and all...but thats what revenge is for. The game is gorgeous all at 60fps. Another thing people like to point out (again those who have not played the final build) is the "no-retry-system". This was done on purpose. Their are literally 100's of events and challenges, so everytime you fail one, your right on top of another one...really. They want you to try different types of events all the time, with tat being said this game never gets old...

For the first time in a long time I felt like the good ol' days(when I was a kid) where I would sit for HOURS and game till my eyes "bled". Don't get me wrong, I love my Callls ofs dooties nd mah socoms and my BIOSHOCKERSZ...but I was on and off with those games, they cant keep my attention for as long as I used to game (ps2 era).

I, for a moment, thought I actually was losing interest in gaming, often questoning, is this game really 9.0 for me?

Games kept losing my attention, I still go back to OBLIVION, but I just...IDK put it down sometimes...I have a pile of shame (ff12 ahem*) I need to get to.

Oh yeah and the online gives you that Warhawk type of feeling when you get a good team of people...you kmow when it gets to the point when nothing is said, sort of that "silent nod". BTW coop stunts rule ex: 7 cars lined up under a ramp, one guy jumps over them all= epic moment. Great coordination = great fun!

What I'm trying to say is Burnout Paradise gives me that feeling, like games used to...

William @ Jan 24th 2008 10:54AM

This is definitely way different from the previous Burnout games. What attracted me to them was the amazing crash mode. This, obviously, lacks that.

But the move towards an open city and the amazing control (best I've ever seen in a racing game) definitely make this a worthwhile game. It's like TDU with good control, amazing crashes, and fun races that don't involve just speed.

deaftly @ Jan 24th 2008 10:57AM

This game is a blast and the Showtime mode is addicting as hell. The only bitch i have is trying to navigate the city and drive at the same time because its so damn fast, once you take your eyes off the road to peek at the map there a good chance you're going to crash. Other then that, excellent game and great sequel to revenge. 3 thumbs up.

Marty @ Jan 24th 2008 11:00AM

I want to like this game, but am I the only one who finds it extremely annoying that, in a game that absolutely requires you to see obstacles ahead, the overhead camera always reverts back to a view that only gives you about 2-3 pixels of road above your car's rooftop?

Bucket @ Jan 24th 2008 11:15AM

Adjust the camera angle with the right stick.

Marty @ Jan 24th 2008 11:22AM

What, and hold it there while I play? Impossible!

riggs @ Jan 24th 2008 12:24PM

then you sir, are not an EHL33T

ThornedVenom @ Jan 24th 2008 7:15PM

When you've got so many buttons and only so many fingers, it screams the need for motion controls. ;P

Mike @ Jan 24th 2008 11:39AM

I was a big fan of Burnout 3 but was a little disappointed in the demo. Two of B3's most unique features, the crash mode and the Aftertouch (and the Aftertouch takedowns) were noticeably absent. I decided to pick up Burnout Paradise anyway and find it a lot more enjoyable now that I can compete in events at every intersection instead of having to hunt around for the three or so available in the demo.

Also, the online mode is a blast. I didn't try it out in the demo, but decided to take a peek last night to rack up a few easy achievements and ended up playing it until midnight. There are a lot of race types and special challenges as well as the Freeburn mode. At one point we even invented our own game of tag (takedown the guy who's "it", and that guy can't use boost) which was a lot of fun.

I guess my point is, if you're a fan of previous Burnouts, you might be a little disappointed, but if you look at Paradise on it's own it's a lot of fun and definitely worth checking out.

AdamW @ Jan 24th 2008 12:00PM

If you don't like the open world or the lack of split-screen...DON'T BUY THE GAME!! The game that was made and is available for purchase is an open world game without split-screen and it is fantastic.

I haven't even played the retail game online (just the demo) and already the single-player is worth the price of admission.

Really, the game plays amazingly. It's designed brilliantly and is just fun. If you have a console with online capabilities (even if you don't), buy the game.

Crazy 88 @ Jan 24th 2008 12:04PM

I was so disappointed with the demo that I almost cancelled my reservation for the game. I am so glad that I did not do it. It is one of the best racers that I have experienced. Yes, the map is huge and will take time to learn which will make the game last for months on end (we will learn the city). The demo sucked because there were only three events and you HAD to drive back to it. In the actual game, there is almost an event at every street light. You can literally end a race and start one up within seconds. However, the major fault to the game is the lack of crash mode(fingers are crossed for a download).

Best feature is the online play. If you have the game, go online and create a race. The possibilities are endless. As the host, you pick where the race starts and ends in the city. You can literally influence the style and difficulty of the race by which points you choose. I hosted a “race” game which turned into a road rage event by accident. I picked one point in the mountains and the finish line where the demo was located. I forced only two major options for the player to go which made the race very accessible to everyone. It made for an extremely close race. If you want a more difficult race, place the starting point in the Northeast corner and the finish line the Southwest corner. It will force you to know the whole middle portion of the city which is very hectic. I was pleasantly surprised how the host can determine the difficulty of the race by this simple process.

For those who don’t own the game, there is loading online for a race event. The host chooses when to start the race and all racers are taking to the starting point. It would have been a huge let down if everyone would have needed to drive there.

Jtenma @ Jan 24th 2008 12:22PM

That's what I forgot to mention...you can basically customize the entire race to your liking, or completely start a new one.

Mr. Nosuch @ Jan 24th 2008 12:28PM

It's great fun, but it's not just a rehash, so prepare to adapt a bit.

I'm deeply saddened there is no online road rage event, something I spent man-weeks playing on Burnout: Takedown. (Burnout Revenge utterly ruined online road rage with cars made of glass.) The improved car feel and casual freeburning takedowns let me know an online road rage event would be blast. So why not?

I can already tell this one has more online "legs" than Revenge did, at least for my style of play (mostly with friends.)

Adam @ Jan 24th 2008 12:31PM

Picked it up yesterday and no, it's not perfect, and it's not as good as B3 but it's still damn amazing and very impressive.

The city is... OK. It's not the gigantic behemoth that the hype would like you to believe. It's big, yes, but it never takes too long to get from place to place. The drive-thru concept is absolutely insanely brilliant. Road Rage events can seemingly go on forever, no matter which direction you go in the AI cars show up, and if you're badly wrecked you can hit up an auto-repair and be golden... instantly. I hit 47 takedowns in one RR.

I can't take it online because I don't have a hard drive? Bahh, wish I knew that before I got it.

Deck @ Jan 24th 2008 12:36PM

I may have to give this game at least a rent to try. I've never been big into recent racing games with the tracks, all races etc. But that fact that this is open ended, able to explore, sandbox type game, this very well may be the racing game for me.

It sounds really interesting and the reviews are good which, has got to mean at least a little something. Love the open-ended possibilities though!

Juice @ Jan 24th 2008 12:42PM

Does this game still blur the screen? I hate that. Don't blur my f'ing games please! I'd like to see all of my games at full clarity at all times thank you.

creid @ Jan 24th 2008 1:53PM

I guess you aren't playing on a flatscreen.

Pixelantes Anonymous @ Jan 24th 2008 1:32PM

I've played the game for two days now, and I love it. I do think it'll lose some of its initial glow as the days go by because there really isn't that much DIFFERENT things to do, at least without going online, which I haven't done yet.

What Burnout Paradise has done though is done really, really well. The gaming experience is just perfect. You may dislike the way the menu works and the fact that you can't put waypoints to reach places (at least I haven't figured it out yet), but when you go drive around the city it's just awesome. Criterion nailed the feel of the game. It's like Test Drive Unlimited but with fun :)

My buddies who have played online say the game is even more fun online.

Billy @ Jan 24th 2008 1:57PM

Sounds like most people in agreement: the game rocks, don't let your opinion of the demo ruin your chances of enjoying this game.

I thought they demo sucked, I really think they should have just not released it, because it does not do justice to this game. With the open ended nature of the world and the "evente at every intersection", the demo limits you to whwat 3 events? And only a very small portion of the map? I was with everyone when they said the demo was horrible. But I still thought the game looked awesome from all the previews and videos I'd seen so I had a feeling it would still be fun.

It is hella fun. I am so glad I got it. Do yourself a favor and pick it up, if were at all interested in it before the demo left a nasty aftertaste in your mouth. It is different for sure, but you'll get used to it quickly and enjoy the hell out of it. I love what they did with this game.

superberg @ Jan 24th 2008 2:04PM

"...Paradise brilliantly reimagines Burnout as a go-anywhere, do-anything open-world adventure in the vein of Grand Theft Auto."

And in doing so, ceases to be Burnout. Look, I'm fine with innovation, but it's stupid to completely forget a good thing simply because "open-world" is the big buzzword.

And I'm sorry, but I didn't like Grand Theft Auto. The fact that so many games are trying to emulate it in some way drives me up the damn wall.

Tom @ Jan 24th 2008 8:29PM

Sweet. Mine's on the way. Hopefully I can get into an online race without getting dropped out of multiplayer (like every single time I try TF2).

When's the Nega-review coming? Let's hear the critics!

drun @ Jan 24th 2008 10:18PM

I played the demo, it was fun but not a 9.0 fun. These review scores really surprise me. To me it's just a crashing version of NFS. I didnt play the predecessors but I think Paradise is similar to NFS and that lessens my interest.

Since PS3 doesnt have many good racing games, I might consider buying this one. But uh...next time.

Coreburn @ Jan 27th 2008 7:34PM

Wish I could at least play it.. on my 360 after putting the disk in the screen goes black and it locks up. :( Guess I'll be sending it off to be fixed, again..

deathcab1 @ Jan 28th 2008 4:19AM

the demo annoyed me so much. im still going to pick it up but things that annoyed me:

--the open world!! omfg why? the whole point of burnout is to not blink ever as your driving otherwise you'll crash, but now they expect us to try and look at a mini map while driving 238978mph!!?

-- online! i only played it once, but basically all 5 cars stayed on one road and drove up and down trying to crash. basically, medieval jousting.

gah