Gamernode: Reviews - Burnout Paradise

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• Burnout Paradise
• PlayStation 3
• Criterion Games
• Electronic Arts
• January 22nd, 2008

Despite the fact that the driving is as furious and fun as previous Burnout titles and an online mode that is one of the best and most intuitive I've ever seen in a console game, Paradise isn't without flaws.

My biggest disappointment is the lack of Crash Mode. While it had to be removed to make the new Burnout format work, it's sad to see such a fun mode (and great time waster with friends) vanish. Instead you're able to crash on streets for a high score, but it just involves your car rolling endlessly into traffic until you get bored and want to stop; it's not hard at all to keep a crash going for 5 or 10 minutes on longer streets.

Another problem I had is what I like to call Capcom Syndrome. On some SDTVs, the minimap is just hard to read without sitting a foot away from the screen. It makes figuring out what each intersection is a pain, and it makes hitting those quick, sharp turns in the middle of a race difficult. It doesn't happen on every SDTV, but two of the three I tried playing the game on suffered from that fate.

The other issues with Paradise involve the realtime nature of the game. It's understandable what EA wanted to pull off, but the inability to quit or restart a race is just annoying. When you play a longer, cross-city race into the mountains and take a wrong turn, thereby solidifying the fact you're going to lose, it would be nice to restart or quit. Instead, you have to finish the race, then drive back to the starting point to try again. It's also frustrating when you can't see the map (if you're on an SDTV) and accidentally play an event you've already cleared on this license, and have to finish it rather than just quit.

It's a testament to how fun Burnout Paradise is that the only complaints are a lack of an extra mode and the ability to end or restart races. The fact of the matter is, Burnout Paradise is the best racing game on the Xbox 360 or PS3, period. It's also arguably the best online experience of any console game on the market. If you were worried about the changes to the Burnout formula, don't be; it's more fun than ever, and it's an absolute blast to play. Burnout Paradise lived up to the hype surrounding it, and delivers as the first must-own game of 2008.

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