Nine times out of ten when an entertainment commodity completely retools and tinkers with its proven formula, it indicates the entity has “jumped the shark” and production team has begun to grasp at straws. You see it all the time in Hollywood when failing TV shows introduce new a character (usually a cute child) in what usually ends up to be the final season. When extrapolated to the realm of video games, logic dictates that a major overhaul is likely alienate fans of the franchise while not garnering new players due to the negative feedback and reviews. Video game developers need to tread carefully lest their revamping efforts spell doom and gloom for their franchise.
The term “open world” gets tossed about so much lately that it is often met with skepticism from discerning gamers. Criterion’s decision to abandon the linear formula of old in favor of an open world, however, proved to be a stroke of genius. From the first time you load up Burnout Paradise a massive city is opened up for exploration. From the traffic congested city blocks of eastern Paradise City to the winding mountain roads to the west, no area needs to be unlocked. Over 250 miles of roads, railroads, dirt trails and hidden areas are waiting to be explored.
The open world concept is not limited to exploration, as race events have no predetermined course. The gamer is given a starting point and a finish line with total freedom to find the best way to run the race, testing the driver’s knowledge of the streets of Paradise City. It’s a lot to take in and a daunting task to learn the city, but Criterion provides several tools to aid the gamer. A mini map appears in the lower right corner of the screen and a quick press of the back button pauses the game and opens a full map. Street names are provided across the top of the screen and a compass is present to point you in the cardinal direction of your objective. Finally, the game will activate your vehicle’s turn signals if the AI feels you need to make a turn at an intersection. Learning the expansive city is not something you’ll do your first time out, but the tools are there and the back button will be your best friend for the first several hours.
Burnout Paradise offers a massive variety of events and challenges to be mastered. The most straightforward challenge is the point-to-point race, pitting you against 7 AI rivals in a race to the finish line. Road Rage events task the gamer to take out as many of the opposition as possible within a time limit, while Marked Man events require you to reach a destination before the opposition demolishes your ride. Stunt Runs ask you to boost and drift around the city to add to your score, while you seek out jumps that act as a multiplier. Burning Route events are races specific to a certain car, and winning them unlocks a brand new ride.
If all these events weren’t enough, there are also well over 1,000 challenges and collectables to be taken up. Each and every street has two Road Rules; one for best time down the length of the street and one for the Showtime smash up derby score. By pressing two shoulder buttons, the gamer immediately enters Showtime in which the objective is to bounce your car down the street wreaking as much havoc as possible. Hitting a city bus multiplies your score, but unfortunately crossing paths with a bus is an entirely random occurrence. Sometimes you’ll see ten, sometimes none. Even if you’re playing offline, you’ll see in real time when your friends have beaten a Road Rules time or score. If you’re like me, that’s your cue to head to that street to outdo your friend’s best effort and prove what a nuisance you can be. “Collectables” include Smashes which are Private Property signs that reveal shortcuts and hidden areas, Burnout Billboards that appear throughout the city and challenge the gamer to find a way to crash through them, and Super Jumps which, as the name implies, are spectacular jumps that are coupled with the Super Jump Camera. These Road Rules challenges and collectables can be had either online or off.
