If there's one racing game that deserves that "Must Own" tag, it most certainly is Burnout Paradise. Throughout the years many have wondered how Criterion could possibly one-up themselves year after year, and this is certainly no different. In fact, Burnout Paradise may just be one of the most impressive arcade style racers ever created.
Graphics: Let's get this out of the way. Burnout Paradise is absolutely gorgeous. The game runs at an ultra smooth 60 frames per second at at all times and we've yet to experience any sort of slowdown. This goes for online play as well as you'll experience little to no slowdown even with eight players boosting right along side you. The cars are incredibly detailed, and boy do they have to be as you'll practically disintegrate your ride on some occasions as you bump, grind and slam into guardrails, other cars and pretty much anything else a player could think of. Pretty much every single part of your ride is destructible. Paradise City itself is simply beautiful and super detailed. Every crack in the asphalt is accounted for. Every area from Downtime Paradise all the way up into the mountains of Silver Lake all convey their own unique style and artistic touch. This is made all the more brilliant with Criterion's addition of nightime. Nothing beats taking a fast drive with nothing but your headlights and the midnight moon illuminating your path.
Gameplay: If you could describe Burnout Paradise's gameplay in one word... well... you couldn't. This game throws more adjectives at you than you can handle. The gameplay is not only fun, but is an absolute adrenaline rush that will have you coming back for more, time after time.
Every intersection is Paradise City holds an event which you activate by simply burning your tires at the stop light at each one. These events are dvided into four different categories: races, which are simply Point-A to Point-B races to see who can make it to the finish line first, stunt runs, which alot the player a certain amount of time to rack up a set amount of stunt points before the timer runs out, marked man (really fun), where the player must survive and make it from point-A to point-b while being chased by suped up Hunter Civilians which are incredibly fast and incredibly strong, and of course, road rages, where the player it pitted against several opponents and must cause those opponents to crash or be taken down a set number of times before the timer runs out.
As players complete events they earn new cars (earned bu taking down said car as it's cruising Paradise City) which, in turn, unlocks burning routes, which are basically time trial runs. If the player can beat the set time, they are rewarded with a suped up version of their current ride. Each time any one of these events are completed, including burning routes, a player earns a mark on their license. Each license requires a set amount of event wins in order to upgrade to the next license level, which also gets you bigger and badder cars.
Next up is the online portion of Burnout Paradise which is, needless to say, awesome. Entering the online portion of Burnout Paradise is absolutely seamless, as you are thrown online in the exact same position that you're in in the single player mode in real time. Up to eight players can freeburn online at once, as well as take place in online races, marked mans and road rages. Also, as an added bonus, anytime you take a player down, if that player owns a PlayStation Eye or Xbox Vision Camera, a picture of that player is taken and sent to the victor of the takedown in the form of a mugshot. All mugshots and smugshots are stored in-game and may be exported or deleted at any time.
Another added feature is the ability for players to compete in online challenges where anywhere from 2 to 8 players must work together to achieve a common goal. Conquering certain numbers of these events will earn you new cars as well as add to your game completion percentage.
Sound: As you'd expect, there is a variety of licensed music as well as a number of original tunes from previous Burnout games. The music is ok, but overall is pretty lackluster. This is, more or less, the reason Criterion decided to add custom in-game music in their first major patch. When it comes to the game's sound effects, you get what you'd expect in a Burnout game, lots of crashes, screeches and, of course, burnouts. Every piece of destruction within Paradise City is meticulously accounted for whenever you crash or slam into an opponent.
Overall: Go out and snag this game now or log on and purchase it as it's now available for only $20 in stores and in the PS Store. It's a tremendous value for all the content you're getting and is a definite "must have" for any racing fan, whether they prefer arcade or simulation racers. Burnout Paradise ROCKS.
**NOTE: The Davis/Motorcycle Update isn't included in the review, but you can rest assured that it only adds to this already stunning piece of work.**
