Burnout: Paradise

Teal · Post by **Teal** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 8:05 pm

So I preordered this one today. It's the first game I've bought since November. I'm being much more picky about purchasing games, but this one seems to be getting very good reviews (nobody, including me, likes that they've taken out 'CRASH' mode, but still).

Anyone else taking the plunge next week? Tried to get the Gamestop guy to sell it to me today (it's there), but no go...

JRod · Post by **JRod** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 9:05 pm

Didn't know they took out completely the crash mode. That's the only reason I played the burnout series.

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 9:08 pm

Yep JRod it's out which sucks cause it was my favorite mode to. I'm so glad I still have my copy of Burnout2.

Spooky · Post by **Spooky** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 11:21 pm

Yeah. I'm all over this one.

Teal · Post by **Teal** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 12:42 am

Well, if you just can't stand it, there's always Burnout 3 in the Marketplace for your 'Crash' fix. But it's not 'completely' out...they've changed it to something called 'showtime', and it's more about keeping YOUR wreck going than it is causing others to wreck. I don't think it'll be the same, but hey, with a few friends online, you could do your own crash mode. With a beverage or two, it could be an absolute riot...

ddtrane · Post by **ddtrane** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 1:06 am

I'll be picking this up definitely. Hey Zeppo, any chance we can get a poker night set up with this or PGR4?

Feanor · Post by **Feanor** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 10:43 am

Game Informer's two reviewers both gave it 8.5, and noted the removal of Crash mode as a negative. But I already knew about that. The criticism they made which worries me a lot more is this:

For reasons I'll never understand, there is no "Retry" option for races. That means that after you've lost a race in the last seconds, you'll have to trek all the way back across the map, got to the intersection you began at, and restart from there. This is highly annoying and often confusing, as it's sometimes difficult to remember at which of the myriad dots you began. There's also no "skip to" option, so you'll spend far too much of your time aimlessly wandering the countryside. For me, this robbed the game of a true sense of progression, as I would often just lose a race and then randomly take the next event that I came across rather than making the effort to restart the last one.

This is especially frustrating because, as a result of the poorly designed on-screen map (which doesn't orient itself to your position) and vague navigation system (which uses only street signs and a general compass), you'll frequently lose races simply because you took a wrong turn in the huge maze that is Burnout's roadways. After playing this, you'll really appreciate just how good a job the Midnight Club series has done at making open-world racing as intuitive as a traditional driving title.

Teal · Post by **Teal** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 2:13 pm

Feanor wrote:Game Informer's two reviewers both gave it 8.5, and noted the removal of Crash mode as a negative. But I already knew about that. The criticism they made which worries me a lot more is this:

For reasons I'll never understand, there is no "Retry" option for races. That means that after you've lost a race in the last seconds, you'll have to trek all the way back across the map, got to the intersection you began at, and restart from there. This is highly annoying and often confusing, as it's sometimes difficult to remember at which of the myriad dots you began. There's also no "skip to" option, so you'll spend far too much of your time aimlessly wandering the countryside. For me, this robbed the game of a true sense of progression, as I would often just lose a race and then randomly take the next event that I came across rather than making the effort to restart the last one.

This is especially frustrating because, as a result of the poorly designed on-screen map (which doesn't orient itself to your position) and vague navigation system (which uses only street signs and a general compass), you'll frequently lose races simply because you took a wrong turn in the huge maze that is Burnout's roadways. After playing this, you'll really appreciate just how good a job the Midnight Club series has done at making open-world racing as intuitive as a traditional driving title.

Y'know, yeah, that kind of sucks, but it's an open world...I'll just go to the next traffic signal and try whatever's there. As far as getting a little lost, yep, it's definitely possible (probable) even in the demo. But really...I just enjoyed driving around the map online and running into (literally) other people. This is not something I feel the need to 'complete'...just to tool around in. That's why I'm getting it...

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 10:20 pm

I'm considering picking it up for the PS3. I've always loved the Burnout series, and unlike most of you, I've never really cared for crash mode.

Leadfoot5 · Post by **Leadfoot5** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 4:45 pm

Picked this up at Best Buy for the 360 today. I'm sure I'll be on-line tonight with it, so if anyone wants to get together for some on-line challenges, look me up!

Teal · Post by **Teal** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 10:43 pm

Leadfoot5 wrote:Picked this up at Best Buy for the 360 today. I'm sure I'll be on-line tonight with it, so if anyone wants to get together for some on-line challenges, look me up!

You f***ers in Cali get on my nerves, getting games a day ahead of us East Coasters...

...f***er...

Millennium · Post by **Millennium** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 11:18 pm

tealboy03 wrote:
Leadfoot5 wrote:Picked this up at Best Buy for the 360 today. I'm sure I'll be on-line tonight with it, so if anyone wants to get together for some on-line challenges, look me up!

You f***ers in Cali get on my nerves, getting games a day ahead of us East Coasters...

...f***er...

I picked it up from Gamestop today...I live in Baltimore...

Granted, it's the west coast of the Chesapeake Bay, does that count?

Teal · Post by **Teal** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 2:20 am

Millennium wrote:
tealboy03 wrote:
Leadfoot5 wrote:Picked this up at Best Buy for the 360 today. I'm sure I'll be on-line tonight with it, so if anyone wants to get together for some on-line challenges, look me up!

You f***ers in Cali get on my nerves, getting games a day ahead of us East Coasters...

...f***er...
I picked it up from Gamestop today...I live in Baltimore...

Granted, it's the west coast of the Chesapeake Bay, does that count?

...f***er...does that answer your question???

JackB1 · Post by **JackB1** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 11:57 am

any impressions yet anyone?

Leadfoot5 · Post by **Leadfoot5** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 1:44 pm

tealboy03 wrote:
Leadfoot5 wrote:Picked this up at Best Buy for the 360 today. I'm sure I'll be on-line tonight with it, so if anyone wants to get together for some on-line challenges, look me up!

You f***ers in Cali get on my nerves, getting games a day ahead of us East Coasters...

...f***er...

Hopefully you get a copy today Teal and can take out your anger on me on the road!

Leadfoot5 · Post by **Leadfoot5** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 1:56 pm

JackB1 wrote:any impressions yet anyone?

These are my thoughts after about 2 hours of play last night...

It's certainly a different direction for the series, and while I wouldn't have minded another traditional burnout game, this one ain't to shabby either. I do miss the crash junctions though, as the new crash mode is kinda "meh". There is a lot going on in the game, especially on-line, and I still have tons of things that I haven't figured out yet...

What really surprised me was how enjoyable it was to jump into quick play with eight randoms and start knocking off the various "group" challenges. I'm still coming up to speed on the new features, but I guess there are a separate group of challenges depending on the number of people in the game. I think we got through 8 challenges, and while you are trying to complete them the game is also tracking other statistics and keeps a live ranking of how you compare to others in the room. I have no idea if it "pays" in some way to be at the top of these ranking however, or if it's just for show... I couldn't help thinking how cool this mode would be with the DSP crowd.

Here are some other quick thoughts:

- Picked it up for the 360 vs. the PS3 for two reasons. Like the controller better, and more friends are on Live.
- Graphics and sense of speed are great.
- The map is huge, and I doubt I'll ever learn all the routes and shortcuts
- The single player AI is definitely an upgrade from past games
- Sound is great, and I really like the soundtrack. At first, I thought it was playing my custom soundtrack...
- The ridiculous amount of races and challenges gives this game a COD4 feel in terms of being able to easily set short term goals for yourself each gaming session, something I really like to do.
- I think this is a perfect game for a DSP Night

Spooky · Post by **Spooky** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 2:05 pm

Leadfoot5 wrote:
JackB1 wrote:any impressions yet anyone?
These are my thoughts after about 2 hours of play last night...

It's certainly a different direction for the series, and while I wouldn't have minded another traditional burnout game, this one ain't to shabby either. I do miss the crash junctions though, as the new crash mode is kinda "meh". There is a lot going on in the game, especially on-line, and I still have tons of things that I haven't figured out yet...

What really surprised me was how enjoyable it was to jump into quick play with eight randoms and start knocking off the various "group" challenges. I'm still coming up to speed on the new features, but I guess there are a separate group of challenges depending on the number of people in the game. I think we got through 8 challenges, and while you are trying to complete them the game is also tracking other statistics and keeps a live ranking of how you compare to others in the room. I have no idea if it "pays" in some way to be at the top of these ranking however, or if it's just for show... I couldn't help thinking how cool this mode would be with the DSP crowd.

Here are some other quick thoughts:

- Picked it up for the 360 vs. the PS3 for two reasons. Like the controller better, and more friends are on Live.
- Graphics and sense of speed are great.
- The map is huge, and I doubt I'll ever learn all the routes and shortcuts
- The single player AI is definitely an upgrade from past games
- Sound is great, and I really like the soundtrack. At first, I thought it was playing my custom soundtrack...
- The ridiculous amount of races and challenges gives this game a COD4 feel in terms of being able to easily set short term goals for yourself each gaming session, something I really like to do.
- I think this is a perfect game for a DSP Night

GREAT impressions! Couldn't have said it better myself.

I too played for about 2 hours last night and came away feeling almost exactly the same. There is a ton going on and I could not really grasp it all last night. I was jumping in and out of online games and trying to figure out how that integration worked and it is a bit confusing. I then just played with one friend and the two of us did some cahllenges a couple races and then some freeroam stuff.

Some things left me feeling really intrigued and excited while others left me "meh".

I would need to play more with a solid group online that know how to host and what all the integration points/options are to get a better handle on what is offered here.

The Road Rules (name?) stuff is confusing. You can enter this mode at anytime but I am not sure how it is tracked. Like record times for each road. How does that work?

Leadfoot5 · Post by **Leadfoot5** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 2:23 pm

Spooky wrote: The Road Rules (name?) stuff is confusing. You can enter this mode at anytime but I am not sure how it is tracked. Like record times for each road. How does that work?

Thanks Spooky, glad to know that I wasn't the only one scratching my head about some of these things last night.

I'd love to know what's going on with Road Rules as well. It's off by default, and then you turn it on to see record times, and record crashes. Not sure how we are supposed to use this... I agree that it certainly helps to be in a room hosted by someone who knows what he's doing.

I'd also like to know if it matters if you are performing takedowns on other players while in the quickplay/challenge mode? I assume people are just ramming into each other for fun, unless it affects your ranking in some way.

And is there some sort of raking system in place? Couldn't figure that out either...

Leadfoot5 · Post by **Leadfoot5** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 3:40 pm

dola...

So I found this strategy guide on-line, and it appears that it is still under construction, but it has some cool information such as some secret areas I had no idea about. I won't post them here in case it falls into the spoiler category, but head over if interested, as I know I'll be checking these areas out tonight.

hxxp://www.mycheats.com/view/section/19733/202 ... e/xbox_360

webdanzer · Post by **webdanzer** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 4:00 pm

Going by the look and feel of the demo, this game seems to me like 'The Burnout racers get to go drive around in NFS: Most Wanted.'

That seem accurate to you guys with the full game?

I actually enjoyed most wanted, but really didn't like the direction burnout went with revenge.

Spooky · Post by **Spooky** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 4:09 pm

webdanzer wrote:Going by the look and feel of the demo, this game seems to me like 'The Burnout racers get to go drive around in NFS: Most Wanted.'

That seem accurate to you guys with the full game?

Yes. In fact, I was thinking to myself while playing last night that the city felt and looked quite similar to NFS:MW in some places (which is okay with me as I really liked NFS:MW as well).

The one thing about this game that is bothering me slightly is the amount of stuff going on at one time, especailly while racing. Becasue of the open world you have to heavily rely on your map and the street signs at the top of the screen which is hard to do at these speeds.

Leadfoot5 · Post by **Leadfoot5** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 4:27 pm

Well, the open feel of the game reminds me of Test Drive, a game that I played maybe twice before trading it back in. I prefer set events on set tracks as the norm, but I can't deny that I've been having fun just tooling around looking for ramps and things to smash through.

By the way, another big positive is the control, which is very responsive.

Spooky · Post by **Spooky** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 7:38 pm

Leadfoot5 wrote:dola...

So I found this strategy guide on-line, and it appears that it is still under construction, but it has some cool information such as some secret areas I had no idea about. I won't post them here in case it falls into the spoiler category, but head over if interested, as I know I'll be checking these areas out tonight.

hxxp://www.mycheats.com/view/section/19733/202 ... e/xbox_360

Your link goes nowhere...!?!?

Leadfoot5 · Post by **Leadfoot5** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 7:49 pm

Spooky wrote:
Leadfoot5 wrote:dola...

So I found this strategy guide on-line, and it appears that it is still under construction, but it has some cool information such as some secret areas I had no idea about. I won't post them here in case it falls into the spoiler category, but head over if interested, as I know I'll be checking these areas out tonight.

hxxp://www.mycheats.com/view/section/19733/202 ... e/xbox_360
Your link goes nowhere...!?!?

Change hxxp to http, been doing that out of courtesy since I've seen other people do it here too...

Teal · Post by **Teal** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 1:42 am

Fun. That's what this is. Unabashed, unadulterated, silly, crazy, insane fun. I'm just enjoying tooling around Paradise City, looking at stuff, and jumping into Takedown mode, which is my favorite now in the absense of Crash. Showtime is really silly, but it's fun. It's no Crash, not even close, but it's lots of fun doing showtime online and taking out lots of other real racers.

It's not groundbreaking, but it's great, great fun...