By Stevie Smith Feb 16, 2008, 13:28 GMT
Without straying too far from the profit-assured safety of rinse and repeat formula, third-party giant Electronic Arts has at least tried to juggle the essence of its driving franchises as of late. Specifically, Need for Speed ProStreet saw the series abandon sprawling citywide street racing in favour of organised track-based events, while, in the case of Burnout Paradise, the more linear approach usually adopted by the series has been replaced by a distinctly more open-ended racing experience.
That suddenly expansive access arrives in the form of Paradise City, a coastal metropolis that offers up races galore on more than 250 miles of dense city streets, winding country roads, and speed-friendly highways. While not living up to its name in terms of presentation and visual impact (there’s very little about it that could be described as paradise), the city is most definitely a paradise for street racers. Indeed, although Burnout Paradise can be cruised and explored freely for as long as the player chooses, the real action starts whenever the player pulls up at a stop light and spins out their wheels, at which point they are thrown into one of many different race situations.
These events arrive in the form of: Race, a point-to-point speed run against other drivers; Road Rage, a timed Takedown session with the object being to smash opposition out of the race; Marked Man, a point-to-point event where formidable opponents are charged with hitting the player with a Takedown before the finish line; Stunt Run, where using boost, drift, jumps, barrel rolls and more gain the player points against the clock; and Burning Route, which involves vehicle-specific beat-the-clock races that can only be accessed as the player widens their collection of cars.
Ordinarily, that might be enough variety for some games, but Paradise has more to offer. While cruising the streets, or in Freeburn as the game prefers to call it, players can occupy their time by hunting down and smashing through a huge selection of marked barriers and Burnout Paradise billboards, they can perform breathtaking, boost-fuelled slow-motion super jumps, or even perform some Hollywood-inspired power parking between stationary vehicles.
Wait, there’s more. Racers making a name for themselves in Paradise events will also be given the opportunity to Shut-Down opponents of note located somewhere in the city. Essentially one-on-one Takedown brawls that get progressively more difficult as the game goes on, success in these sweaty-palm situations secures the defeated car and bolsters the player’s street abilities.
Then there’s Road Rules and Showtime. In Road Rules, the player is able to break two driver-set rules on every single street in the game, which are the Time Road Rule (quickest time down the street), and the Showtime Road Rule (glorious slow-motion crashes). Showtime is also an event in itself and involves the player racking up points by crashing into vehicles in order to gain boost, before then unleashing it in a Ground Wreck move that slows the game and allows the player to ‘steer’ their disintegrating ride from one onrushing car to the next. All in all, there’s a lot to do in Paradise and absolutely no pressure to do any of if.
The choice-led blueprint of Burnout Paradise is certainly appealing and players will soon find themselves searching for favoured events in order to quickly upgrade their license, which, in turn, provides access to a greater wealth of cars (courtesy of the Junkyard). Initially wrecks when first added to the player’s garage, a quick visit to one of three different types of Drive-Thru establishments soon has rides looking shiny and new -- before being swiftly wrecked again during events. Whether roaming or in a race, Drive-Thru Gas Stations provide a handy boost refill, Auto Repair shops help avoid or delay Takedowns by removing sustained damage, and Paint Shops provide a fresh lick of colour.
Unsurprisingly, given the rather destructive nature of the game, none of the available vehicles in Burnout Paradise are real-world rides but rather convincing look-a-likes without identifying badges and insignia. There are plenty of vehicles to choose from once the player gets a few license upgrade into the game, and they are defined by three separate self-explanatory boost and handling categories, namely Aggression, Speed and Stunt. Aggression vehicles are built to inflict and absorb Takedown punishment, offering quick boosts and heavyweight collisions. Speed cars allow players to boost-chain for maximum race effectiveness, although successful chaining does require the application of near-constant dangerous driving. And Stunt rides are perfectly suited for rolls, drifts, jumps and spins in order to quickly max out the boost meter and rack up the style points.
As already alluded to, Burnout Paradise may not be the prettiest racer on the market, yet the game is vast, it’s traffic variable, and it offers well over 100 events to participate in. Similarly vast is the selection of cars, which ably manage to retain their individuality and appeal despite not being licensed offerings. More importantly, however, is that Burnout Paradise is frightening fast to play and, from a gameplay point of view, that’s where the game succeeds in eclipsing its graphical shortcomings. That’s not to say that Burnout Paradise is ugly, because it isn’t. The game engine rarely betrays any sign of struggling to handle the intense on-screen action while always maintaining an impressive frame rate, but the word ‘Paradise’ in the title hints at a gorgeous racing environment that never materialises.
Yet, although pixel whores would be well advised that Paradise is no Project Gotham Racing 4, the core attraction of the Burnout series has long been its unrealistic arcade speed and its truly phenomenal, over the top slow-motion crash sequences. In that sense, the environment may not really deliver the goods, but developer Criterion’s loving penchant for bone-jarring, metal-shearing action certainly does.
Beyond the lack of wow-factor in the visuals, detractions of note in Paradise include EA and Criterion’s understandable, but no less disappointing, decision to not include drivers in any of the game’s cars. While hugely detailed and slow-motion crashes might have made for some particularly sickening in-car consequences -- and we’ve no real desire to see rag doll corpses being hurled through windshields -- it is still somewhat odd to know that the vehicles in Paradise (including the player’s) exist as little more than autonomous shells.
The only other point of contention worth bleating about arises from the HUD navigation system, which is about as much use a sugar-glass riot shield when barrelling down cramped city streets while trying to avoid traffic and the attentions of other Burnout competitors -- all of whom always seem to know just where they’re going and how best to get there. Laughably, to aid direction, the HUD combines to offer a tiny map, flashing indicators on the player’s car, and an ineffectual street sign system whereby upcoming left or right turns necessary in relationship to the race begin flashing and chiming when the turn is approaching. Ultimately, while navigation systems worked in prior Burnout games thanks to predominantly linear races with integrated shortcuts, the open accessibility in Paradise actually renders navigational assistance almost moot as one city block looks the same as the next when travelling at light speed, and missing turns becomes a painfully frustrating exercise.
Of course, fully familiarising yourself with the environment is part of the challenge, but with 250 miles of roads to absorb, that’s an awful lot of invested game time that only the unflappably hardcore are ever likely to consider.
Beyond the sprawling single-player mode, racers wishing to take Paradise online in order to trade blows with other crazy drivers around the world can do so in Unranked and Ranked Races. Multiplayer fans can also get together with others to cooperatively complete online Challenges, while up to seven players can charge around the city in Freeburn Online mode, which includes all the usual content found in single player but also factors in the ability to beat Today’s Best stats set by other drivers.
Ultimately, Burnout Paradise struggles to justify a somewhat disappointing makeover that cripples it to a degree because the series simply doesn’t sit well in a more open-ended Need for Speed environment -- much in the same way Need for Speed ProStreet felt uncomfortably out of place portrayed through linear organised events.
The draw to drive around in Freeburn for hours, just mindlessly smashing through barriers, finding shortcuts, and performing stunts is a definite plus in terms of accessibility, but the race events themselves, particularly those that don’t involve Takedowns, are messy, unrewarding affairs that are often decided on sheer luck and not skill. Only in multiplayer will racers find some sense of genuine satisfaction, but only because they’ll be driving against live opponents just as likely to get temporarily lost as themselves.
It’s safe to say that, when it comes to the Burnout series, a high-octane mix of breakneck speed and riotous destructive gameplay are usually enough to lift it to worthy heights. However, an unnecessary and unrefined shift of environmental focus hasn’t helped Paradise to carry forth the mantle of excitement inherent in Burnout titles. It’s nowhere near broken, but it’s nowhere near perfect either. There’s tons of variety, plenty of speed, countless crashes, and the always outrageous slow-motion destruction to provide all the prerequisite thrills racers will ever need, but sadly it’s all tainted by foundations comprised of confusing navigation and lacklustre city design, which conspire at every (missed) turn to sully what could have been a truly standout title.
Verdict: 83%
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