Burnout Paradise

Game Info

Publisher: Electronic Arts

Developer: Criterion Games

Platform: PS3

Genre(s): Racing, Driving

Players: 8

ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older)

Release Date: January 21, 2008

Intro:
Burnout Paradise begins with an inviting look into Paradise City.  Some of the coolest cars are seen racing down the street, taking down other exciting cars, crashing into cars, flying through the air, and cartwheeling through traffic while Paradise City by Guns N Roses plays in the background.  Welcome to Paradise City.

Getting Going:
DJ Atomika comes on Crash Radio to introduce the player to Paradise City.  First, the player is introduced to their new driver's license.  If a camera device is detected on the PS3, the player will have the option of taking a photo for their license.  If not, the game uses the PSN avatar and gamer tag on the license.  Next, the player is taken to the junkyard to find a car and told to get it repaired at a repair shop.  Only one car is available to start and the repair shop is close by.  A brief press of the R2 button and the player is on his way in his "new" junker.  Repairs are made by driving through the drive-through car port at the repair shop.  Paints and boost will become available in the same manner, but you cannot get a new paint job if the car is in dire need of repair.

Fun:
Criterion has turned Burnout into a sandbox game.  From the very beginning of Burnout Paradise, players are tasked with finding junkyards for new cars, gas stations for boost, paint shops and repair shops.  Every stoplight is an event; winning a given number of events increases the class status of the driver's license.  Sandbox games are immersive in their own way and Burnout Paradise fits well in this category.  It offers ease of control and a multitude of things to do, allowing the player to lose hours easily in this fairly large game.

Visuals:
The cars alone are worth the price of admission in Burnout Paradise.  There is a visually stunning array of cars to choose from with each car offering three paint job styles while still in the junkyard.  The crashes are not as spectacular looking as previous iterations in the franchise.  The fiery explosions are gone and wheels are not seen rolling down the street.  But, crashing into a wall still yields a satisfying crunching of the car and taking down another car still brings an exciting crash visual.  A car will zip past you just as DJ Atomika announces that one is seeing running the streets.  At it's speed, it's rather easy to spot and keep an eye on.  Players can chase down and take out these cars to earn them in the junkyard.  Cars are no longer kept in a garage, but can be driven out of the junkyard at any time once they're earned.  There are fences to crash through with signs on them which reflect brightly from quite a distance.  Super ramps are lit with flashing blue lights providing very high jumps.  However, at certain times of day, the cars coming at you look to have the same blue lights, which can be confusing at high speeds.  There are street signs, billboards, and ramps on the sidewalks.  Off-road areas, railroad tracks and freeways all give the player visually stunning places to explore.  Updates of the original game also change the time of day and offer motorcycles instead of cars.  On the motorcycles, the driver is animated, turning to check traffic and moving to pull a wheelie.  My only complaint here is the frivolous use of barrels in odd places around the map.  They don't seem to do much damage to the car and aren't really worth going around, but don't seem to serve a real purpose, either.  They don't even seem to be in places one would expect to find them.

Sound:
DJ Atomika updates the player on things happening around the city and gives instruction at the beginning of events.  Crash Radio is an interesting mix of classical and rock music although, especially in the case of the classical music, it was occasionally more irritating than interesting.  It should have been easy to change on the fly, but I didn't find that to be true.  The cars had a difference in engine sounds, although this was not immediately noticeable.  Overall, the sound didn't play as much a part in the player experience as I would have expected.

Intelligence:
The Marked Man event pits all of the other racers against the player as they race toward a goal.  Other racers will try to take you out.  Certain cars provide more "tank" and less speed.  You won't get to the finish line quickly, but the other cars will have a more difficult time taking you out on the way.  Repair shops can be driven through during the event, repairing your car and upping your chances of making it to the finish line.  Gas stations can be driven through during races to refill boost, giving the player an edge.  Blinking traffic signs above the compass help the player to get back on track if they miss a turn during an event, while a compass and mini-map help show the way.  There are no fly-overs of the course and no glowing arrows forcing the player to take a turn.  Some events may only be completed with certain cars.  Players always have the option of choosing which stoplights and which events to participate in.  They can stop at any time, but usually will have to find the stoplight again to replay the event in the case of failure.  Crash events, now called "Showtime", are triggered by pushing on the L1 and R1 buttons while in Showtime mode. 

Immersion:
As stated in "Fun", Burnout Paradise is a sandbox game with all of the immersive qualities that go into those.  The action never stops.  Every street has events, so play is no longer limited to a set of unlockable events.  Nothing is locked or limited except for the events that require certain cars or motorcycles.  Players can reach the top of all of the parking structures and jump off.  There are 400 gates to break through.  There are lit ramps to be jumped and Paradise billboards to crash through.  All-in-all, there is plenty to keep the player busy here.  The one thing that totally ruined the immersive quality, however, is an update that I received on my second play-through which added online scores to the mix.  It ruins the immersive quality, because every street is now a competitive run with some online player.  A clock starts running which is both seen and heard.  Whether or not you participate, the game stops briefly to let you know that someone else still holds the title.  It's very distracting and detracts from the otherwise immersive quality of the game. 

Rewards and Punishments:
Criterion has made the interesting, and confusing, decision to take out many of the rewards of playing found in most of the other Burnout games.  Since events don't need to be unlocked and cars don't have to be bought, there is not a lot to open up here.  There are no longer medals for winning events.  Cars are earned for some events.  Trophies are earned for various activities throughout the game such as driving through a repair shop while doing a Marked Man mission.  Burning Routes apply to certain cars; winning this event earns the player an upgraded version of that car.  Winning a set number of events upgrades the player's license.  The use of extrinsic rewards over intrinsic ones makes the winning of events rather anti-climactic except when a new car is earned.  Showtime events, once the cornerstone of all of the Burnout games have been downgraded to a laughable cartwheeling of your car down the street.  The car can be turned down side streets or reversed in flight to try to take out certain vehicles along the way.  There is no real lose state.  The player wins or loses an event and moves on to the next event or simply drives around although some crashes allow the player to drive away without wrecking the vehicle totally now, thus having to wait for it to reset.

Cameras:
Players can look behind them while racing using the L1 button or watch where they're going. 

Controls:
The controls are easy enough to use and intuitive enough to keep the player's head in the game.  The HUD gives the player a decent visual of what's going on with the use of street signs, blinking street signs at crossroads, and a mini-map in the corner.  It is rather enjoyable at times to simply race down the street and hit the brakes, doing a 180 and traveling in the other direction.  Drifting around turns is also entertaining.  There were times, however, when I wished the map would tell me where I've been and where I've missed.  I also wished I could find specific events easier.  The physics are perfection, making travel a breeze while stunts are as fun to perform as they are to watch.

Ideas:
I'm usually a fan of sticking to what makes your franchise great and improving on that.  Up until now, Criterion has done an excellent job of that.  With Burnout Paradise, this changes.  They've completely destroyed the rewards system and utterly changed the way the game is played.  Crash Mode, now in the form of Showtime, is simply not the same.  Despite this, the complete reversal from mission-based play to sandbox creates a totally new and still enjoyable play experience.  Burnout Paradise uses Criterion's experience with perfect physics and player desire to play with the coolest cars in a sandbox game that deviates from the franchise so far that it becomes a stand-alone game.  The idea of building on what you know you do well to create a totally new play experience was a brave choice that panned out.  It's a franchise, but a new IP as well. 

Memory:
I'm still on the fence about Burnout Paradise.  When I'm playing, I think I want to buy the game and add it to my Burnout collection.  But, when I get away from it, I'm not as sure.  The update, which interrupts play constantly, irritates me, and the crash mode that I love in the other Burnouts is disappointing in this version.  On the other hand, I love the sandbox quality and find myself drawn to the side quests.  The controls are so amazing and fun to play with; the cars are the coolest.  As a stand-alone member of the franchise, I think it's worth the purchase, but if I compare it to the others in my collection, well, it's just not really Burnout, at least not to me.