[Munkey Boy]

What do you think of the new game in the Burnout series then? New life, or ruined a good format? Please leave a vote based on the description best fitting your opinion after you've played the game enough to comment (votes cannot be changed at a later date).

Note the scores have gone now (but still used to calculate the average rating), but we've retained the descriptions. Don't feel a game has to be perfect for it to be genre defining (nothing is ever perfect), but by the same rule an average game should receive an average vote.


The Positive

Originally Posted by Paul_T

Burnout should be applauded not just as great fun game, but also as a technical achievment, what Criterion have managed to coax the 360 into doing is amazing, the detail of the living breathing city centre would have been easy to tone down but they've not had to do so, and considering the speed at which you travel through it, there's no po-up, no tearing even with the super smooth frame rate.

I think "Genre Defining" is a fair description of the game, its now the benhmark arcade racers and I expect its peers such as Ridge Racer, PGR & NFS will all start pinching elements from Paradise in the future.

Originally Posted by CAS FAN

It really does define the genre and although some folk moan about the lack of an instant retry, I quite like it as it puts that added pressure on getting the win.

It looks amazing, runs very smoothly and plays like an absolute dream. Lastability with the road rules, showtime and other online stuff is almost infinite and the single player will probably take a good 40 hours anyway.

Everything is done so well and works so well and the buzz you get from getting in the zone and flying through Paradise City with multiple burnouts is just amazing and is unmatched by any other racer.

Originally Posted by fluffrick

Looks amazing, is technically superb, can be finger-gnawingly frustrating when you take a wrong turn or plow into something at high speed during a race and possessed of the most irritating voiceover ever - but still a fantastic game and one which is at least trying to do something new in an overcrowded genre.

Originally Posted by Thekop

There is so much depth for a racing game, it is quite amazing.

This is with out doubt the best car racer i've played in recent years - on any platform..

Originally Posted by durera

This is simply the best arcade racer I have ever come across, it's so much fun to play, and the free roaming nature of it really encourages you to explore the city inbetween the main objective of getting your burnout elite license.

Online Freeburn is the most fun I've had online on any game on the 360 so far, without a shadow of a doubt!

Originally Posted by rio1981

I really take my hat off to Criterion in creating something familiar, yet having the balls to actually change the complete structure of their game. It took a while to sink it's teeth in but now I really don't want it to finish.

Congratulations to Criterion, best Burnout of the series for me

[Paul_T]

I've never been compelled to do this before, but I'm gonna have to go with 10/10...

I was concerned when I first heard that Paradise was going to be an open world affair, but I think its a change for the good - sure there isnt the huge change of scenery of the previous game but there's enough of a change, and it doesnt seem to matter too much anyway as the scenery plays 2nd fiddle to the gameplay.

Burnout should be applauded not just as great fun game, but also as a technical achievment, what Criterion have managed to coax the 360 into doing is amazing, the detail of the living breathing city centre would have been easy to tone down but they've not had to do so, and considering the speed at which you travel through it, there's no po-up, no tearing even with the super smooth frame rate.

Its not just a racing game either, there's lots of "collectables" to keep you occupied if you just fancy going for a sunday drive, and some need a little bit of thinking about if you want to be able to tick them off.

Online has plenty to keep you occupied, although many of the 350 challenges are a little mundane and aimed at those completely new to the world of Burnout driving.

I think "Genre Defining" is a fair description of the game, its now the benhmark arcade racers and I expect its peers such as Ridge Racer, PGR & NFS will all start pinching elements from Paradise in the future.

[Craigy]

Gone for the 9/10 but really it should be 10/10, it does define the racing genre.

[Munkey Boy]

Originally Posted by Craigy

Gone for the 9/10 but really it should be 10/10, it does define the racing genre.

You've confused me there... If it defines the genre, why not vote for that description?

[Craigy]

Originally Posted by Munkey Boy

You've confused me there... If it defines the genre, why not vote for that description?

Because I chose outstanding but then thought some more about the game and how it implements, never seen anything like it before, so in short I made the wrong choice.

[Munkey Boy]

Originally Posted by Craigy

Because I chose outstanding but then thought some more about the game and how it implements, never seen anything like it before, so in short I made the wrong choice.

Wish you could change the vote, I've done that myself in the past!

[EEC3]

I'd say it defines the sandbox genre more then it defines the racing genre.

I hope GTA4 works the same way. i.e. you can be playing your SP game and people can join and do co-op missions while you keep collecting things and doing side missions.

[CAS FAN]

I've got this on the PS3 (played about 15 hours so far), but have played the 360 version and it seems identical to me so i'll stick a vote in here.

10/10 no question - you have Burnout Paradise here and then a big gap to the likes of PGR, Sega Rally, Ridge Racer and every other arcade racer (including other Burnout games). It really does define the genre and although some folk moan about the lack of an instant retry, I quite like it as it puts that added pressure on getting the win. I feel that you need a downside to a loss to make a win feel sweeter and having to drive back to retry does that perfectly IMO.

It looks amazing, runs very smoothly and plays like an absolute dream. Lastability with the road rules, showtime and other online stuff is almost infinite and the single player will probably take a good 40 hours anyway.

Everything is done so well and works so well and the buzz you get from getting in the zone and flying through Paradise City with multiple burnouts is just amazing and is unmatched by any other racer.

If there are some minor niggles then sometimes you get stuck on the scenery when you crash and i'd prefer it if it was just a little bit more forgiving in that department. That's an extremely minor thing though.

[fluffrick]

Looks amazing, is technically superb, can be finger-gnawingly frustrating when you take a wrong turn or plow into something at high speed during a race and possessed of the most irritating voiceover ever - but still a fantastic game and one which is at least trying to do something new in an overcrowded genre.

Would dearly love to be able to play two-player offline, though - I'm not really that into the online multiplayer aspect at the moment...

[MANGABOY]

EA you need to sort out your crap servers!, Everytime I try to create a ranked match it freezes my damn xbox!

[Thekop]

I'm thoroughly enjoying this game. A surprise as i didn't care much for previous Burnout games - or the demo... I've got to class A so far - not played online yet - but it's got that one more go addictiveness... The speed and the action is great, and the whole Paradise City is just incredible to mess around in. The graphics and sounds are all top notch, and the free roaming works suprisingly well ...

An early 2008 hit release, which know doubt I'll be playing for weeks to come ...

Excellent

9/10...

[TankTopLover]

Am going to get this after playing it last niht at a friends house,my xbox is being fixed atm so i will have to wait! Will go for the 360 version as it is superior in regards to music.ie : you can have custom soundtracks and get rid of the awful music

[samhain]

I downloaded the demo and am having great fun with it, based on the above I am thinking of spending some hard earned cash on it.

[Sword]

Guys - I have a copy of this game coming off of eBay just because of this thread, lol!

But does it do more than TDU in terms of open world - that was/is GREAT!

ta,
Sword

ps - almost makes me wish I hadn't just listed me retro-fitted racing wheel.

[nutter45]

Originally Posted by samhain

I downloaded the demo and am having great fun with it, based on the above I am thinking of spending some hard earned cash on it.

The demo is utter compared to the full game.

Outstanding game

[CAS FAN]

It just gets better & better! Was playing online for ages tonight and it's amazing how much fun it is just trying to beat each others road rules times.

There's just so much to this game, it's amazing and i've already put 20 hours into this since last Saturday!

[Thekop]

Originally Posted by CAS FAN

It just gets better & better! Was playing online for ages tonight and it's amazing how much fun it is just trying to beat each others road rules times.

There's just so much to this game, it's amazing and i've already put 20 hours into this since last Saturday!

I can't stop playing this also.. There is so much depth for a racing game, it is quite amazing.

I love the varied styles and particulary Road Rage - where i had a 70 car take down streak It's fast and furious, and manic to say the least

This is with out doubt the best car racer i've played in recent years - on any platform..

It does raise the blood pressure a bit though !

[mikerblade]

Bought it on a whim last friday, COD4 hasn't been in the drive since.

I havn't been a fan of burnout since the 2nd one but this one has redeemed the series for me.

[j_s]

I am another who was not impressed with the demo but picked it up due a friend badgering me to get it (you know who you are ) Awesome game and online is very adictive.

[durera]

I've rated this Genre-Defining. This is simply the best arcade racer I have ever come across, it's so much fun to play, and the free roaming nature of it really encourages you to explore the city inbetween the main objective of getting your burnout elite license.

Online Freeburn is the most fun I've had online on any game on the 360 so far, without a shadow of a doubt!

I didn't enjoy the demo at all, but after reading the glowing reviews here I took the plunge, and I am so glad I did right now.

[rio1981]

For me it's genre-defining.

I really take my hat off to Criterion in creating something familiar, yet having the balls to actually change the complete structure of their game. It took a while to sink it's teeth in but now I really don't want it to finish.

I've got 110 events to get my Elite license, have got all of the discoverables and found all of the events - then it's playing online all the way.

Put it this way it's been the perfect stop-gap between the great games before Christmas and the upcoming games on my list (Condemned 2, Rainbow Six 2, UT3, GTA 4, etc)...

Congratulations to Criterion, best Burnout of the series for me

[Inj]

It's Outstanding for me, but like others once I take this online I fear it will take over my life. I'm a single player at heart and have always found the online community a bit of a cruel beast...but then again, this game is all about being cruel, so it's a happy fit.

It takes patience to trust your own instincts, especially when it comes to map reading as it takes a while to get used to the city, but once you have it's rather amazing. It's even nice just to pootle around and find things you've never noticed. I found quite a few smash gates just by wandering at 30mph (ish!)

The only gripe and it's a minor-minor point is that the ends of races are seemingly at the Wildcats Stadium or the Windfarm, never in the centre of the city, so you do have to travel a distance to get to other events. It's really no biggie as it makes you work for your success, just a bit of a variation would have been nice.

The added searching for gates to smash, billboards to find (and work out how to smash them) gives it a good 'Crackdown' feel which I personally love in a game. It's largely irrelevant but it certainly helps to bring the world to life and make you explore. Top marks to Criterion for making an almost perfect game. Though once I go online I think I could go with a ten.

[goldenone]

I had previously dowloaded the demo twice and hated it

BUT last week i took the plunge and rented it and i've got to say that this is one game where the demo really doesn't do the game justice.

It's by no means perfect and has it's frustrating moments (not even played online yet) but it really is a good game!

My rental copy goes back tomorrow so i've ordered my own copy

[Codehead]

A staggeringly good game.

However, only 9/10 because one thing is missing, a replay theatre.

I've seen eec3 doing a backward (ie in reverse) barrel roll over one of the bridges, Spammy performing a perfect double twist off the ramp by the quarry, and so many other 'zOMG' moments. If the game had a replay mode and maybe a publishing system it would be fantastic for bragging rights.

Burnout:Revenge had replays, so did Skate (another EA, sandbox game) why did they leave it out of BO:P?

[daveon]

I voted 10.

My reasoning is that I believe this game is genre defining, it takes the fast paced action of the older games and puts them into an open environment, to my mind it does this on a whole different level to TDU.

There have been so many moments when I have genuinely whooped with delight after performing a stunt, takedown or overtaking manuvour.

Added to the enjoyment I have already got from the game, the community support for the game, Road Rules, Podcast, website letting us know what they are doing and why, this makes the whole packages outstanding.

Oh and they are already talking about three upcoming lots of DLC and even showing beta videos on their website.

[daveon]

Originally Posted by Codehead

A staggeringly good game.

However, only 9/10 because one thing is missing, a replay theatre.

I've seen eec3 doing a backward (ie in reverse) barrel roll over one of the bridges, Spammy performing a perfect double twist off the ramp by the quarry, and so many other 'zOMG' moments. If the game had a replay mode and maybe a publishing system it would be fantastic for bragging rights.

Burnout:Revenge had replays, so did Skate (another EA, sandbox game) why did they leave it out of BO:P?

Have you emailed this idea to them, they are openly asking for ideas from the community so let them know.

[Paul_T]

Originally Posted by daveon

Have you emailed this idea to them, they are openly asking for ideas from the community so let them know.

I agree - would be a great feature, it was present in Revenge. There have been many moments in Paradise where I couldn't drive for laughing at some rediculous takedown, even when I've been the victim.

[bendanuk]

I agree - saving replays would be great. I remember it from the original burnout and it is a great feature to show your greatest achievements and also your best/worst? crashes!

I'm gonna email them - you never know they might listen!

[NewBeetle]

Been playing this all day and all I can say is. Thank god I only rented it!!!

Hate it hate it hate it! When I want a race I want a race track/course no some huge map where one wrong turn screws you over for the whole race. Its almost like you have to learn the whole map before being confindent in your route for any given race. To me this not arcade racing, which is what the burnout series has always been about, they have turned it into some deep exploration type game and its just plain awful. I would have been more than happy with Revenge 1.5.

Sorry if I sound so negative but Revenge was my all time favourite game and I clocked up literally 100's of hours on it, this pails by comparison.

[CAS FAN]

Originally Posted by NewBeetle

Been playing this all day and all I can say is. Thank god I only rented it!!!

Hate it hate it hate it! When I want a race I want a race track/course no some huge map where one wrong turn screws you over for the whole race. Its almost like you have to learn the whole map before being confindent in your route for any given race. To me this not arcade racing, which is what the burnout series has always been about, they have turned it into some deep exploration type game and its just plain awful. I would have been more than happy with Revenge 1.5.

Sorry if I sound so negative but Revenge was my all time favourite game and I clocked up literally 100's of hours on it, this pails by comparison.

It's horses for courses really. It's not a track based racer so if that's what you're after then naturally you will not be happy. Still, I thought that there was enough common knowledge as to the fact that this was a sandbox style racer (ala TDU) so i'm not really sure why people expect it not to be.

I really enjoyed this game and found that you soon learnt the routes so that you could race the various challenges effectively. You have to race a track at least once in a track based racer before you get to know it to some extent and I found that because the various challenges share the same road sections they were easier to learn than brand new tracks.

To me this game is arcade racing at it's very best. It doesn't stick to the same old, tired formula (personally i'm sick of playing the same old games over and over) yet remains fast, furious & fun. A whole extra level of game is added by having the map to explore and all the bill boards, jumps etc. to find.

Anyway, it's each to their own though and I found the likes of Revenge & Takedown well produced but rather boring, adding nothing really to move the series forward too much. I've put a lot of time into Paradise though and have found it to be the only Burnout that i've really enjoyed since Burnout 2.