Burnout Paradise Xbox 360 Review

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January 24th, 2008 Rich Reed Leave a comment Go to comments

The Burnout series has seen many changes since the first game made its way to the original Xbox console. I don’t think even the developers knew what they had on their hands and the first game showed this. A mix of high speed racing mixed with rewards for crashing? Talk about a confusing game, but after the second and third installment Burnout finally found the right balance. Then Burnout Revenge promised to be the ultimate game of the series but was plagued with several issues including the loading times. In the crash events you would sit for 20 minutes waiting for the server to sync up. This hurt the game. The game’s formula needed something different. The question is this: Does Burnout Paradise have the right formula to make it the ultimate game of the series? Read the full review and find out.

Gameplay

Burnout Paradise takes the game to another level making the game now a free roaming game where you decide what events to race and in what order. It also changes the formula of the old crash and burnout events which will take a little time to get use to. Now gamers must cruise the massive world of Paradise City finding events, smashing roadblock and finding extreme jumps. Yes, at first fans may get a bit overwhelmed and wonder where to start, but after a few minutes the new changes make the game better and add a new spin on the gameplay. The ultimate goal is to get your Paradise license. You’ll start with a learners permit and then try for the first level and move up. After each level, you get rewards in the way of new cars. After a few wins, you’ll get a chance to win cars by hunting them down and taking them out. When you do this, the next time you visit the junk yard the new car will be there.

The free roam aspect adds a challenge since you’ll need to make the right turn onto a road at high speeds and at split second timing. I love this and it really improves the overall gameplay. Also new this time is the Showtime events AKA “crash events”. You now can enter a Showtime event by hitting both bumpers and try to set a record on that road. The best part is no load times! No waiting around and no endless load screens. The scoring is the same for the most part and the rules are pretty much the same as well, but the new twist makes a huge difference. You can go to the junk yard and select a car for a stunt run, takedown or race, then go back to the street light and start the event. The massive size of the city adds a new level of difficulty. As much as I loved Takedown and even Revenge, the courses got a bit old and very easy to memorize. Now you have multiple ways to the finish line including rooftops, side roads and shortcuts or super jumps as long as you can find them quick enough.

Another trick for die-hard Burnout players was that you could be on critical damage and still maneuver the same way. No damage effects really. It was more for looks. Now wreck and the car will spin out more or won’t drift the way it should. You will have to find a repair shop to dive through while still trying to win the event. I love this and it makes much more sense. The best part of the gameplay style now is you can cruise and find all the billboards and discover shortcuts or just go for it and at each light take on the next event. Criterion added some nice twists though you may have the wrong car for what is needed and will have to drive back to the nearest junk yard that you have unlocked and get the right car and then drive all the way back. You’ll also need to know what cars are good for stunt runs, Road rage and race events. You will then need to complete the 300+ events online before finishing the game. Burnout Paradise is everything EA promised and more for arcade racing fans and certainly a great change to the already great franchise.

Control

Long time players of the series will get the controls right away and those new to the franchise will learn the controls pretty easily. It takes a little time to get used to hitting both the gas and brake to start or enter an event. The controls are well set-up for the Xbox 360 controller. Learning the basics well take about 15-30 minutes and the new things like the stunt parking and Showtime controls will take longer. The game also works well with the wireless controller. I need to point out that some of the achievements require the use of the Xbox live Vision camera. You can still play the game but it adds more to the online play.

Xbox Live

The biggest change other than the free roam element is the fact you can hop online and offline almost instantly. The two modes are separate but really work together. You can take on a few races offline or earn the next license and then decide you want to play online by hitting the D-pad. You click what type of room ranked or unranked or make your own for friends only and send invites and you start exactly where you were offline. You can cruise around with friends, race or try and complete the challenges. It’s totally up to the host and the others in the room. The Xbox live Vision Camera comes into play in a few ways online. First it takes a photo for your license, then after a takedown it sends a new photo to the person or to your collection of mug shots. It’s the first time I actually wanted to have the camera hooked up since I have owned the thing. It adds a way of adding another angle to the online play. You can also set the room up for Showtime events or turn it off. They really thought of everything for the host.

Picking events is simple and, at first, it takes a little time to learn but is a major improvement over the last sit and wait online crash mode sessions. They even have challenges for 2-players to beat and up to 8 players. You can lock a car class or set a limit and even pick a car for everyone to make it fair. Just remember Burnout Paradise has the same rules. When it comes to racing, takedowns are encouraged and will happen. I say this because those new to the game are quick to yell or complain. If you’re not into that, you may just want to try and complete the challenges and not race online. Also shortcuts are a huge part of the new formula of the game but can come back to bite you. I have to say the way the two modes seamlessly blend together is amazing, which proves that EA can make a great racing mode online. Not to change subjects but I hope the Need for Speed team is playing this game and taking notes! Overall the best online mode I have seen for an arcade racer yet. I am strongly tempted to say this may be the best online game of the year but man it’s the first major game of the year.

Graphics

Burnout Paradise Screenshot

Graphically, the game is great looking and gamers will get the feeling of being in the created world of Paradise City right away. Long time fans will notice they paid homage to certain tracks from the series and I loved this. They also added a ton of new events as well as there are 70+ vehicles and a ton of paint jobs. I was afraid with all the action there would be issues with slowdown and glitches.

Burnout Paradise Screenshot

I was surprised that there are no issues and the game looks great. You may need to adjust the settings like brightness during certain areas of the game. The different sections of Paradise city change which really adds to the overall game. The damage effects look great and really are well done this time. I also think they really did a great job with the effects for the Showtime modes. Overall great graphics all the way around and really makes the game stand out.

Burnout Paradise Screenshot

Audio

They use songs from the entire series on the EA trax list. I liked the mix of songs but would have loved more songs added. It tends to repeat a bit and even though you can select the next song by hitting the right bumper while in a hot race or a takedown event, you really don’t want to get distracted selecting a song. The DJ is alright and adds a certain feel of being in a real city but can get a little old. At least he doesn’t give away everything like in Takedown. That drove me crazy. Overall the audio is good and sounds realistic but needed a little more added.

Replay Value

If you plan on unlocking everything and beating the entire game, this is going to take a long time. There absolutely is a lot of replay value in this title. Those willing to go online and play in open rooms are going to get more replay value and possibly a few more headaches. I have noticed that Burnout players are not as cocky as they used to be or maybe with the change to the game their too busy concentrating on the game than smack talking. You’re going to run into some. Trust me, its part of the game. I have enjoyed most of the rooms, but I hate public rooms. I do like the fact you can play with friends and still beat the challenges. This will be my choice for the most part. The fact the two modes switch so easily will certainly draw more players to the live mode. Unlocking and finding everything will take a while. Then you can also go back and beat scores, go for records and this certainly ups the replay value.

Bottom Line

Overall Score: 9.2/10.0

Additional Comments

Burnout Paradise is not perfect but they really impressed me and I love the game. I hope the next game will add new events. They really need to beef up the sound track and audio since the game is so large. I like the angle and it seems perfect for the series to move to this formula. It also shows that games can switch from offline to online mode without effort if done right and this may be the best part of the game. It may push other developers to come up with new ways to bring the single player and online modes together more. Burnout Paradise is a great game, well made and a blast to play.

XBox Solution