Burnout Paradise (Page 2 of 2)

Marked Man races put you in the hot seat. You've got to race to a specific landmark in the city with some psychotic opponents constantly trying to take you down. I would say these are the weakest of all the events, though they are still pretty fun. The nice thing about the new license system is that you don't necessarily have to play every event to advance.

Burnout Paradise is all based on building up your license class. It's very simple, really. You start as a "D" class and work your way up. To rank up to "C", all you have to do is complete a set number of events and you rank up. In Paradise, there's no second or third place. It's only about first place, and that keeps things simple.

Crash Mode can in Burnout Paradise can now be activated during any in-game crash. Simply press both bumpers and you seamlessly turn any intersection into a mess of metal. The game gives each car a dollar value and the more cars you hit, the more boost you get, which lets you bounce around from car to car. Buses add one to your multiplier.

Road Rage events can last a long time if you keep repair shops in mind.

Road Rage events can last a long time if you keep repair shops in mind.

Running takedown challenges present themselves while you're cruising around the city. As you progress through, you'll acquire what are like bounties on different cars. If one speeds by you when you're not in an event, you can opt to hunt it down. Take the car down and it's delivered to a junkyard (your garage).

Drive-through auto repair shops, gas stations and paint shops work on-the-fly at any time during the game. Say you're in a Road Rage event and you're car's about to crap out from too much damage. No sweat. Just locate a repair shop on the map and drive on through. It will seamlessly repair your ride to pristine condition. Gas stations fill boost and paint shops spray on fancy new jobs. There are a handful of each shop in Paradise City, and once you locate one, it's permanently highlighted on the map.

The game engine is incredibly impressive. It produces 60-frames-per-second racing and mind-bending crashes unlike any other racing game. Cars literally implode with independent pieces of each ride getting damaged according the context of a crash. It's non-stop action, too.

Going online is seamless. A couple taps of right directional pad button and you're up and running from exactly where you were in single-player.

With the exception of a few minor issues, such as not having the option to replay races, Burnout Paradise is looking more like the racing game to get in 2008. Better yet, it's right around the corner.

Choose your weapon wisely; heavier cars are better for Road Rage.

Choose your weapon wisely; heavier cars are better for Road Rage.

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