Burnout Paradise: This Can't Be Good For My E-Brake

Developer: Criterion Games
Publisher: EA

The latest incarnation of the Burnout series arrived at my doorstep the other day via GameFly -- Burnout Paradise. It's a fun, arcade-style racer that focuses less on the technical side of driving (i.e. Gran Turismo) and more on the pedal to the floor, high speed, high risk aspect (i.e. Flatout.) The game takes place in the fictional Paradise City, where the grass is green, etc... You're given an enormous city to explore and tasked with successfully completing literally hundreds of shortcuts, super jumps, billboards, and races.

Races vary from straight up street racing to 'Marked Man', where you have to make it to a destination before mafioso style "not-Cadillacs" total your racer. There's also 'Road Rage' races where you 'Take Down' as many competitors as possible. You can fix your car at an auto shop or choose from about 150 different new ones at the junk yard. You can also refill your boost by driving through a gas station (For 3.23 a gallon).

Burnout is a very easy game to play, which is good because that makes it accessible. I certainly enjoyed it for a few hours, but the game doesn't offer much else. Most of the races (whether marked man or road rage) all seem to blend together after a few hours of playing -- also, the music is absolute horse shit. You'll want to turn down the volume promptly unless you enjoy Axl Rose skull-fucking you through a bandana.

Burnout's most redeeming quality is the online play. You simply press a button and you're automatically placed exactly where you were in offline play. Online you can race other players, complete challenges, and of course wreck other people's shit. If you complete a task in online play, like finding a Super Jump, it also registers that you completed that in your offline game.

All in all, Burnout Paradise is a fun game to pick up for a few hours, but doesn't have much replay value. Unless you're a hardcore fan of racers that are more arcade oriented than simulation oriented, rent this game -- otherwise it's basically just a racing version of a scavenger hunt.