Get Your Motor Running: The Next Burnout Truly Is Paradise (Page 3 of 5)

Picture Finish

You can drive through gas stations to get a boost refill. Too bad you can't stop for some Slim Jims and a Mountain Dew too.

You can drive through gas stations to get a boost refill. Too bad you can't stop for some Slim Jims and a Mountain Dew too.

Crash In To Me

And yet, while the events and side objectives will keep you busy, it's the crashes that clearly steal the show. The Burnout series has always been home to spectacularly visceral fender benders and while they were impressive in the past, it's nothing compared to how severely you can wreck a car in Paradise.

While playing the game, I was constantly amazed by the care and attention to detail that Criterion put into the crashes. Vehicles deform and break apart realistically and best of all, the pile-ups do not affect the frame rates. The collisions are almost always jaw dropping and they easily trump what other racing games have done in the past. While there is no dedicated Crash mode, you can trigger a crash sequence by pressing the shoulder buttons.

Touch Up Paint

Of course, sometimes, you want to try and keep your car in tip-top shape and that's where the new repair mechanic comes into play. There are drive-through auto repair shops positioned around the city that can save you if your car is close to being totaled; this is especially handy during Road Rage events where a quick trip through a repair shop will restore your beat-up ride to a pristine condition. There are also gas stations that will instantaneously fill up your boost meter and once you find one, it is permanently added to your world map. Smart Burnout players will commit the locations to memory and use them for an extra edge, especially in the game's amazing online mode.

Pull off nifty manuevers and you'll get point boosting multiplers in the Stunt Runs events

Pull off nifty manuevers and you'll get point boosting multiplers in the Stunt Runs events

Speaking of which, Paradise features a fully integrated multiplayer component that never takes you away from the action. It's seamless and painless: By tapping the directional pad, you can jump online at any time during play. With the press of a button, the city switches over to online mode and you can set up races and other events against your buddies. While I wasn't able to take full advantage of it, it definitely has a ton of potential. We'll definitely update GamePro.com with more impressions of the multiplayer once the game has released and the servers go live but for now, I'm cautiously optimistic.

Bumper To Bumper

Now, before I get ahead of myself, I will admit that Paradise isn't perfect. For all its strengths, there are a few small quibbles that mar an otherwise showroom shine. First, Paradise isn't as easy to navigate as past Burnout titles; there is definitely a learning curve in place. The absence of menus is also two-way street. It makes everything cleaner but it can be intimidating for gamers who need a little handholding to get accustomed to everything the game has to offer. The saving grace is that there is an excellent tutorial that introduces new concepts as they occur. I also noticed an overabundance of in-game ads on the billboards and shops, which was distracting. One more thing: I found myself constantly pining for an instantaneous "restart race" option as I usually wanted to jump right back into the same event after I'd failed it.

And yet, despite these minor imperfections, there is no doubting that Burnout Paradise offers once of the most intense racing experiences around. It won't wow you with a high degree of realism like Gran Turismo will but for pure racing action, it is one of the best titles ever produced. Give it a chance and you might find yourself having the most fun you've ever had in a virtual car.

Well, that's one way to get through the gridlock

Well, that's one way to get through the gridlock

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