Burnout Paradise Update
Last week we brought you a look at the forthcoming downloadable demo for Burnout Paradise, set to hit the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live on December 13th. While the demo is great fun, it's nothing compared to what you'll find in the full game, which we've been burning through ever since.
It's no secret that Criterion Games likes to reinvent things every time out. Though many deemed Burnout 3: Takedown to be pretty much perfection, the studio went ahead and changed a lot of things with its follow-up, Burnout Revenge. And now with Burnout Paradise, the studio has made even more sweeping changes to the design.
For starters, the entire game is set in the open world of Paradise City, and the whole thing is unlocked right from the start. You can partake in any race or event that you want, and there are no off-limit sections of the city. You'll have to work your way through the game to get better cars, of course, but the city is yours for exploring right away.
Speaking of the cars, Criterion has taken a "cat and mouse" approach to unlocking them. When you win an event that "earns" you a new ride, it doesn't go straight into your junkyard for selection. Instead, you'll be able to see said vehicle racing around Paradise City and it's then your job to take it out any way possible. Once you've performed a Takedown on the vehicle, it's yours. If you choose to let them run free like marmots in the wild you'll soon find Paradise City filled with exotic cars for the taking.
Career progression works by way of a numbers game. That is, the more races you complete, the better and faster your opponents will be. The more Road Rages you complete, the more cars you'll have to take down in later events and so on and so forth. You start off with a learner's permit and after completing a handful of races you'll be given your D license. A while later with more races under your belt and you'll work up to your C license, and so on.
Something else that's changed quite a bit is Crash mode. Rather than having individual intersections set up and awaiting your destruction, you instead start a Crash Showtime at any point by pressing two shoulder buttons at the same time. Your car will then begin tumbling down the highway, taking out whatever you can manage to smash into. You earn boost for each vehicle you hit, which you can then spend to bounce your car a bit, keeping you on the move at all times. Busses are the only vehicles that will give you a multiplier here, which makes sense considering that we've been able to rack up a 430+ car Crash Showtime outing. We weren't sold on this new design at first, but it's getting more enjoyable as our skills increase.
One element of the design that we're not too fond of so far is the inability to jump to the start of a race. If you enter a race that takes you halfway across Paradise City and wind up failing, in order to try again you'll have to drive yourself back to the start. There is no quick skip option, which is a trade-off for having no load times once the game begins.
What's awesome, however, is the online interface. Pressing right on the D-Pad will bring up your online display, letting you invite friends into your game. When you've got a group together, you have a number of options at your disposal. You can create a custom race where you'll be given an overhead map of Paradise City, allowing you to place the start and finish and any checkpoints you'd like in-between at any intersection on the map.
Alternatively, you can begin any number of challenges that are specifically designed for the number of cars that you have. So, for instance, the challenges for two players are different than challenges for three, and all of the challenges that we tried were pretty awesome. One had two of us approach a raised bridge from either side and crash head-on while airborne. Another had us perform a series of barrel rolls, while a third had us run through an airfield and take a giant jump through a hanging ring. This last one was cool because getting through the hoop requires a bit of planning and acts as something of a small puzzle of sorts.
We've had a great deal of fun with Burnout Paradise so far. The game runs smooth as silk and retains the blazing-fast speed and spot-on controls of its predecessors. The game ships next month, but the demo is but mere days away from its December 13th release, so stay tuned.
source: http://ps3.ign.com/articles/840/840945p1.html
It's no secret that Criterion Games likes to reinvent things every time out. Though many deemed Burnout 3: Takedown to be pretty much perfection, the studio went ahead and changed a lot of things with its follow-up, Burnout Revenge. And now with Burnout Paradise, the studio has made even more sweeping changes to the design.
For starters, the entire game is set in the open world of Paradise City, and the whole thing is unlocked right from the start. You can partake in any race or event that you want, and there are no off-limit sections of the city. You'll have to work your way through the game to get better cars, of course, but the city is yours for exploring right away.
Blink and you're toast.
Career progression works by way of a numbers game. That is, the more races you complete, the better and faster your opponents will be. The more Road Rages you complete, the more cars you'll have to take down in later events and so on and so forth. You start off with a learner's permit and after completing a handful of races you'll be given your D license. A while later with more races under your belt and you'll work up to your C license, and so on.
Something else that's changed quite a bit is Crash mode. Rather than having individual intersections set up and awaiting your destruction, you instead start a Crash Showtime at any point by pressing two shoulder buttons at the same time. Your car will then begin tumbling down the highway, taking out whatever you can manage to smash into. You earn boost for each vehicle you hit, which you can then spend to bounce your car a bit, keeping you on the move at all times. Busses are the only vehicles that will give you a multiplier here, which makes sense considering that we've been able to rack up a 430+ car Crash Showtime outing. We weren't sold on this new design at first, but it's getting more enjoyable as our skills increase.
One element of the design that we're not too fond of so far is the inability to jump to the start of a race. If you enter a race that takes you halfway across Paradise City and wind up failing, in order to try again you'll have to drive yourself back to the start. There is no quick skip option, which is a trade-off for having no load times once the game begins.
A crash at these speeds would end you.
Alternatively, you can begin any number of challenges that are specifically designed for the number of cars that you have. So, for instance, the challenges for two players are different than challenges for three, and all of the challenges that we tried were pretty awesome. One had two of us approach a raised bridge from either side and crash head-on while airborne. Another had us perform a series of barrel rolls, while a third had us run through an airfield and take a giant jump through a hanging ring. This last one was cool because getting through the hoop requires a bit of planning and acts as something of a small puzzle of sorts.
We've had a great deal of fun with Burnout Paradise so far. The game runs smooth as silk and retains the blazing-fast speed and spot-on controls of its predecessors. The game ships next month, but the demo is but mere days away from its December 13th release, so stay tuned.
source: http://ps3.ign.com/articles/840/840945p1.html
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