When Criterion Games announced that it was building a version of Burnout Paradise "specifically" for the PC, our minds raced with ideas of what the devs might have in store of armchair racers unable to break away from their keyboard and mouse. While we're still in the dark concerning the port's "expanded multiplayer, enhanced online features, and community driven content," Criterion has softened those shadows by announcing that the PC version will support some fancy techno-babble known as 'ambient occlusion.'
Wondering what this will mean for you as you're barreling down the streets of Paradise City? We'll let Criterion explain: "It's an effect that uses soft shadows to add extra depth. Enclosed spaces naturally receive less light than open spaces and look darker – that helps us to see how close objects are to each other." We'll be honest, just judging by the above comparison shot it's difficult for our eyeballs to tell much of a difference, though admittedly Burnout Paradise was already easy on the eyes. Besides, shadows are the last thing on our mind as we smash headlong into the concrete median.
Burnout Paradise's forthcoming "Cagney" patch will peel out on Thursday, July 10 according to developer Criterion Games, finally letting Paradise City motorists take the game's Stunt Run, Road Rage, and Marked Man events online in FreeBurn.
The previously announced update will also introduce 70 new FreeBurn challenges, a handful of new liveries, a trunk full of bug fixes, and a pair of new vehicles just waiting to be wrapped around a light pole. Once applied, PS3 drivers can also look forward to finally being able to orchestrate their crashes to custom soundtracks. As the first of three new expansion islands, "Cagney" looks to include plenty to keep our four wheels spinning, at least until August when we begin to send motorcycles careening onto oncoming traffic.
Console sandbox racer Burnout Paradise will soon be careening into oncoming traffic for PC, as developer Criterion announced this morning that it is rebuilding the title "specifically" to be played on a computer.
As the the first Burnout title to make the leap to the kingdom of the keyboard and mouse, Criterion is keeping mum on exactly what about Burnout Paradise is being tweaked in the move, stating only that the version will include "expanded multiplayer, enhanced online features, and community driven content." More information is expected to be announced later this morning as part of a live webcast on the Criterion Games website, so look for more PC-centric street carnage soon.
For the second time in as many weeks the developers at Criterion have given players of the PS3 version of Burnout Paradise a little extra hug. However, this time, instead of simply leveling the playing field, the devs have announced that they're working on what's called the Save Game Analyser -- a fancy way of letting perfectionists look at what they have and have not accomplished in the game.
The feature will let players import Burnout Paradise saves from the PS3 using a USB drive or Memory Stick and onto the official Criterion website in order to view all of their unfinished business on the streets of Paradise City. A post on the Criterion website points out that the developers are putting the final coat of paint on the feature, and while no release date as been announced the post notes that it's expected to go live "imminently," which if we're lucky will give us just enough time to get our Hunter Citizen out of the shop.
On top of the previously announced three new online modes to be introduced in Burnout Paradise's so-called "Cagney" software update, developer Criterion has revealed that the forthcoming download will also level the pavement between the open-world racer's two console versions, finally bringing custom soundtracks to Burnout Paradise for the PS3.
After the update, PS3 owners will be able to get at their own music using the game's Easy Drive in-game menu, allowing them to cycle through their own collection of tunes while trying to avoid careening into oncoming traffic. Even better, this update, welcome as it is, is just one of several Criterion has planned this year, ensuring many repeat visits to the junk yard in the months ahead.
With about seven days until Burnout Paradise's second update, codenamed Bogart, and just over a week since promising to transform the game's crash-centric Paradise City through a series of downloadable content updates, Criterion has announced that it is currently kicking the tires on three new FreeBurn game modes, adding online flavor to Stunt Run, Road Rage, and Marked Man.
According to Criterion, the online variants of both Stunt Run and Road Rage will support up to eight players at a time, while the number of drivers supported by Marked Man has not yet been specified. The trio of modes will be lumped in with the first of three previously announced expansion islands, codenamed "Cagney," and while no release date has been announced Criterion has confirmed that we can expect all three to pull up to the stoplight over "the next 12 months."
Talk of new downloadable content for Burnout Paradise has been burbling around the Criterion Games website. On the forums, creative director Alex Ward has revealed that new cars will be made available as downloadable content in both the Xbox 360 and PS3 version. More exciting, though, is news of the expansion of Paradise City, with the introduction of several islands to the map. Perhaps even more exciting, however, is news that the islands will be offered as a free update to the game.
Details are still scarce at this point, but Alex Ward states that bridges from the main section of Paradise City will lead out to the new islands, each of which will offer "a different type of gameplay." Whether this means that islands will depart from the open-ended style of Paradise, or whether the terrain of each will be suited to certain play styles remains to be seen. The islands themselves will be offered as free, mandatory software updates, while the new cars will be sold via the traditional microtransaction system.
Zero Punctuation takes a spin in Burnout Paradise this week and discovers that cars have taken over Paradise City and people are nowhere to be found. The main sticking point Yahtzee has with the game is that while Burnout Paradise has an open world like Grand Theft Auto, requiring the player to look at a map during a high-speed chase is a bit awkward. He realizes the game isn't designed for him, but rather for people who don't have time to play games and are too busy having carnal relations.
This week's NSFW review of Burnout Paradise, involving a joke about female menstruation and biscuit mutilation, can be found after the break.
Hoping to diffuse some of the resentment felt by Xbox 360 Arcade owners who only recently learned that they can't race online in Burnout Paradise, Criterion has issued a public statement on the game's official website, clarifying the reasons for the hard-drive-only requirement.
The Burnout team explains that it was a priority to have the offline and online modes of the game transition seamlessly into each other, something that wouldn't be possible using the limited space of a memory card. Criterion states that they had been in talks with Microsoft to work out a solution for Core and Arcade owners, but when none could be found they opted to not limit the robust online gameplay experience in order to facilitate HDD-less 360 owners.
While this does leave Core and Arcade users in the lurch, Criterion does point out that the online leaderboards for Burnout Paradise are fully accessible without the hard disk drive, meaning players can compete for best times with their friends, just not during the same race.
Xbox 360 Arcade owners will be saddened to learn that the online mode of Criterion's Burnout Paradiserequires the Xbox 360 hard drive, leaving HDD-less console owners to explore the streets of Paradise City by their lonesomes.
Reports that this information was not presented on Paradise's box are false, as the back of the box lists the hard drive requirement for online multiplayer under the game's features (as seen above). EA support representatives state that the temporary storage space required for online play exceeds that available on the Arcade's included memory card, making the hard drive necessary.
Of course, this isn't new information by any means. Several already-released games require the 360's hard disk drive for online play, including Crackdown and Final Fantasy XI. The problem is that while this information is presented on these games' boxes, it's not presented as clearly as it could be. And for online shoppers, the hard drive requirement isn't listed at all. Sites like Amazon.com and EBGames.com fail to list the hard drive requirement in their product descriptions of Burnout Paradise, and never include images of the back of the box as part of their product pages.
While EA can likely not be held accountable for the hard drive issue, online retailers should be responsible for sharing all relevant information about products. That Amazon and GameStop/EB fail to mention the hard drive requirement is a serious problem, and while consumers should be more careful about researching before purchasing, this process should be made easier by sellers, and not more difficult.
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."
Still not convinced Burnout Paradise was "THE best demo released" last year? Criterion has rubbed some grease on frontman Alex Ward's heaping helping of self-praise by doubling the maximum number of online players (from 4 to 8) and adding 13 new Freeburn Challenges. So does this mean that Burnout is now the best demo of 2008? Quick! Somebody give these guys an award!
(Note: The multiplayer boost will take effect on servers between today and Jan. 14th. The demo is available on PSN and Xbox Live.)
The PS3 and Xbox 360 demos for Burnout Paradise seem to have been met with largely positive reception, but Criterion is not content to let the few small criticisms fall through the cracks. They're also not content to do so without a little pomp and self-importance, either.
In between references to the "experience" of Burnout Paradise, and claims that it's the "best demo released all year," Alex Ward addresses concerns regarding the lack of a "retry" option in the game's races, stating that the game is better off without one, as it would require a load screen, and the Burnout Paradise team "hates loading with a passion."
In addition, Ward brings up the former Crash Mode (now called Showtime), promising that it's better than anything ever, and also makes sure to point out that feedback on the demo will in no way affect the final game, as work on Paradise has already wrapped up. Good to know Criterion's open to constructive criticism, eh?
We're just one day away from the new demo for Burnout Paradise, and we couldn't be more excited. We've stocked up on insurance, filled every part of our cars but the driver's seat with pillows and, of course, told our families goodbye. Now, there is only the waiting, the awful, awful waiting. ... And trying to come up with a good reason why we're wearing a helmet indoors.
If you're like us (and millions in market research says you are) we're going to help you ease the waiting with this new clip from the game. Well, it's a clip of the demo of the game. ... OK, fine, we know it's not super-substantial. But if you're counting the seconds to tomorrow, it may just be the scrap of hope you need to live through the night.
We don't know if you've done your holiday shopping yet, but take it from us: You'll want to get it out of the way before Dec. 13. Because after that day, the roads will be littered with psychopaths actively trying to get in collisions, all thanks to the new demo for Burnout Paradise.
You can check out the countdown on Criterion's site, but don't expect to get any more details or even learn what systems the demo is coming to. Of course, with PSN getting updated on Thursdays (which the 13th is) we expect both 360 and PS3 owners will be making auto body shops very happy next week.
