The Drive of Your Life

Sandbox, high-speed, hi-octane arcade racing? Hell yes! Burnout: Paradise had me grinning from the outset and kept the expression fixed for a good while after. Burnout: Paradise feels like a pleasuredome, encompassing everything that’s great about the series. At the same time, this is a radically different approach, a monumental redefinition of gameplay, not only in terms of the Burnout series, but also in terms of arcade and online racing in general.

The first and most important thing you notice is that there is absolutely nothing to stop the action, and aside from boot-up and much improved event introductions, loadtimes are virtually non-existent.
This is because the action takes place entirely within the sandbox environment of Paradise City, a sprawling metropolis

Paradise City itself is a large open region with 64 main roads and 120 events. The events are almost entirely non-linear, and are placed at each set of crossroads. They include Road Rage, Race, Burning Route, and the creative new Stunt and Marked Man modes. To begin an event you pull up near the crossroads and perform a wheelspin by holding brake and accelerate in what becomes a simple and satisfying ritual.

The next thing to take note of is that the different cars (75 in total, but around 30 types, each with an upgraded version available) have unique properties (acceleration, speed, handling and strength vary considerably). They also have different boost modes. Stunt and Aggression types can boost at any time, while Speed types can only boost when the bar is full, but are the only cars that can perform burnouts (using all the boost in one go). These things not only influence how you drive or what event you select, but often also the route you take, adding depth to the game.

Aesthetically, there are a couple of jagged edges but generally speaking the visuals are very sharp indeed. Likewise the in-game music is a much more solid and impressive selection than recent EA Trax compilations . Most significantly, the sandbox environment allows you to hear songs in their entirety, rather than just the first 20 seconds over and over.

Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5