All things Burnout

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suzzopher

Re: Our next podcast recording: Burnout Paradise

Post by suzzopher »

Burnout Paradise was a complete surprise to me, I was quite worried about the open world nature of the game at first, but as soon as I started to play the game it clicked. There was a stage when I top of all the Time road rules on PS3, I have never been a competitive online gamer but Burnout Paradise had me scouring the entire map to lock down times. I was only there a month or so, but it was great to see I was getting some reward for this game.

I really was expecting a racing game to bring my OCD nature into the game, sure the previous games had me playing over and over until I had Gold medals on all events, but Burnout Paradise had me searching high and low for gate, billboards etc. I loved this aspect to Crackdown.

When they launched the bikes update again I was worried about how they would affect this game I loved, but once more Criterion laid those fears to bed by making the bikes feel like a natural fit and kind of Road Rash next gen feel was added to the game.

The biggest change to the game for me was when they added the Big Surf Island DLC, somehow they managed to make this arcade racer feel almost like a platformer, trying to get the billboards, gates, jumps and super jumps were all situated in parts of the island where navigating meant taking to the roofs and using some platforming skills to navigate successfully to the next discovery point.

I love Burnout Paradise and it remains my favourite game of the PS3/360 generation to this day. Sure it didn't have the crash mode, but they added so much content post release that I didn't care, I was being looked after with lots of content and some of the big changes were free too.

Burnout Paradise was my only Platinum trophy until recently, I never care for this sort of thing in games yet I would not leave Paradise City until I had that badge of honour.
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Electric Crocosaurus
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Re: Our next podcast recording: Burnout Paradise

Post by Electric Crocosaurus »

Although I'd enjoyed the previous Burnout games, I didn't get on with Paradise at all. The switch to open world meant that I really struggled to understand where I was going at high speed, without the clear indicators of where to go that came with the previous, linear tracks. I picked it up cheaply to begin with, and sold it not long after. I also missed the multi-player, which if I remember correctly was only added after release as paid DLC.
suzzopher

Re: Our next podcast recording: Burnout Paradise

Post by suzzopher »

Electric Crocosaurus wrote:Although I'd enjoyed the previous Burnout games, I didn't get on with Paradise at all. The switch to open world meant that I really struggled to understand where I was going at high speed, without the clear indicators of where to go that came with the previous, linear tracks. I picked it up cheaply to begin with, and sold it not long after. I also missed the multi-player, which if I remember correctly was only added after release as paid DLC.
Local multiplayer? Yeah that is right, the party pack expansion? That was a lot of fun mind.
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Scrustle
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Re: Our next podcast recording: Burnout Paradise

Post by Scrustle »

When Burnout Paradise came out it felt like a real event in games. It had been a while since we had seen a new Burnout, and this one was to be far more ambitious than any that had come before. What we got turned out to be something really special, and somewhat of a magnum opus for Criterion.

The first thing that strikes you when you start the game is the vastly different structure of it all. Now everything is set in an open city where you can go anywhere you want any time you want. While this wasn't exactly something that the previous games were calling out for, it still felt perfectly natural to me and I got on with it right away. Paradise City feels wonderfully designed, with every street being unique and recognisable, with so many areas to explore. All the smash gates, billboards, and super jumps gave a really good incentive to dig deep and help you learn your way around the city. That said, after a while it does get a little tedious, as the last few secrets are just a pain to find, and I found that almost all of the short-cuts they are hidden in don't really give you an advantage in actual races, since they are usually too narrow to be a reliably safe route, and often don't really make much difference in time anyway. Nevertheless, Criterion did a fantastic job of creating a locale for the game.

As one would expect, the cars are yet again fantastic to drive, and among the best in any game. But this time, they decided to make cars much more diverse than they had in previous entries. The different boost categories added some nice depth to gameplay, and gave you a lot of different options in terms of driving style. It also felt like a “best of” of the Burnout series a a whole too. If you preferred the thrill of non-stop boosting of the earlier games, you had the speed class cars. If you wanted to cause carnage and fight your way to the top, you had the aggression class cars. And the new addition of the stunt class felt like somewhat of an all-rounder, except for its special ability to take advantage of the new stunt mechanics of the game.

The event types themselves also felt more diverse than before. You had most of the game types of previous games in the series, except now with the new additions of Marked Man and the Stunt Runs. Even the existing event types felt very different due to the open structure of the world. Races were now point-to-point, with no barriers to stop you from going the wrong way, somewhat like how the Midnight Club games work. Thankfully, this actually worked very well. It didn't feel like you could too easily take a wrong route by mistake, and you were given relatively easy directions to follow on the way. The open structure also meant that if you knew a better way to go, you could take advantage of it. The city also changes how the Road Rage events worked, making it feel a lot more free than it did in previous games. Now where you actually went didn't matter. There was no finish line, you just had to battle opponents going any direction you liked.

The new Marked Man events worked like a reversed version of Road Rage, where instead of being the aggressor, you had to evade opponents who were trying to take you out before you could get to a finish line. I really liked these events, because they could play out very differently depending on what type of car you had, but each method was still equally valid. Do you take a fast but weak car and try to outrun enemies, or do you take a slower but tougher one and fight back?

Stunt Runs, I was less fond of. They relied on you keeping a chain of stunts going without crashing, but it often felt a bit unfair with that. Sometimes you car will unpredictably lose control when you land a big jump, sending you in to a wall, or because of the nature of the event type, you were forced to go down those narrow and vicious short-cuts, which usually ended in disaster. It also seemed like to me that there were only a few areas around the city where you had a real opportunity to rack up a lot of points, so often it felt like it didn't matter where an event happened to be placed, and winning just came down to whether you could get to these big-scoring areas in time and just repeat the same run every time.

These stunt mechanics worked far better in the online Freeburn mode though, where you had free rein over the city with other players. Quick challenges could be set up in that mode, which directed the stunt mechanics of barrel rolling and flat spinning and such in to a contest of one-upping each other. It also made for some more co-operative moments when players were required to meet up at a certain point and all perform a specific task. It captured a similar thrill to the days of childhood friends gathering together to see who could jump their bicycle the furthest over makeshift ramps.

The way the unlock system worked in the game was also great. You had to earn cars by chasing them down in the city and taking them out, again adding incentive to explore around the city. It also made the place feel more alive. Like you weren't the only one out there. Then to unlock an upgraded version of each car, you had to beat a time trial specially designated for it. So it was a good encouragement to get you to try out different cars, and to get you to understand how to drive them. Even so, you were never forced to do these events, and you could stick with what you liked the most without any trouble.

Although I was a little too harsh on the previous licensed soundtracks of Burnout games, Paradise's definitely stands out as the best. The selection generally consists of a similar style of high energy rock music of the previous games, but here it feels like a far more eclectic mix. Tracks feel like they were selected for their quality and character, instead of their marketability. So as a result it feels more unique to the game, and stands the test of time far better. A later update to the game also added a nice injection of nostalgia to the soundtrack by adding in all the original tracks from the early games, so it gives you the best of both worlds.

The DLC for the game was also pretty great. Mostly the new additions consisted of cars. Criterion decided to get a bit more creative with these though, making some really unique machines. My personal favourites were the Boost Special cars. There were only two of them, but they were totally unlike anything else in the game. One of them was a ridiculous looking hotrod, which had an engine block almost as tall as the roof line. That thing was one of, if not the fastest car in the game, in a straight line at least, which also happened to have infinite boost. Except the catch was that once you turned the boost on the only was to stop was to crash. The other car was a special version of the Hawker, already one of my favourite cars in the base game. But this time it had the ability to switch between the three standard boost types at will, along with the light strips accenting the bodywork changing colour to suit. It made for a very versatile car that was great in pretty much all situations, and it certainly stood out in terms of looks as well.

But the most notable piece of DLC for Paradise was Big Surf Island. A completely new area of the city, filled with most of the biggest jumps in the game, as well as a whole load of new secrets to find and cars to unlock. It had a different visual style to it as well, so it didn't just feel like more of the same. It really felt like a completely different place. It added a new lease of life to the game that most other DLC packs could never even hope to achieve. Unlike most other DLC out there, it's a must-have if you own the base game.

So in closing, Burnout Paradise still stands up as one of the most finely crafted games out there. One that both managed to stay true to what had come before, as well as doing something completely new for the series. It also stands as one of the few games out there whose post-launch DLC actually felt like a worthwhile addition to the game, although without them it still feels like a complete and endlessly enjoyable classic.

(I'm actually surprised how much I had to say about this game. Up until a few hours ago I felt pretty lost at what to say. My comments on the other games seemed to come easily, but I was somehow drawing a blank on this one, even though I still love it just as much. Or so I though.)
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stvnorman
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Re: Our next podcast recording: Burnout Paradise

Post by stvnorman »

As I've mentioned elsewhere on the forum, I came to Burnout Paradise very late; a couple of weeks ago, in fact! It's sat on my PS3 hard drive since I joined PS+ in anticipation of my PS4 coming last Christmas, and despite Burnouts 1, 2, 3 and Legends on PSP being day one purchases at the time, I had no real motivation to start playing; actually, I downloaded GRID2 at the same time, and I've dabbled with that ever since for my racing fix. Then motivation arrived care of Cane and Rinse and for once having the opportunity to play along to a podcast. and I wholeheartedly thank the team giving me that kick up the backside!

A lot of what I could say has already been said far more eloquently than I could here already, so I'll stick to a few of the reasons why this has, in the fifteen or so hours I've now spent in Paradise City, become one of my favorite games of the last generation - and six months after the event for me too!

The first great moment came when Swervedriver started up within the first half hour. The developers had heard of Swervedriver!!! And a lovely feeling of nostalgia at being reunited with an old friend ensued. 

The cars handle beautifully, and each new unlock has its own feel, even to a car-moron like me. There's a great feeling of being at the very edge of control at high speed, thanks also in part to the city design itself. 

And I love how the car unlocks work. There's a lovely feeling of anticipation as you drive aimlessly around the streets having just been told that a certain car has been spotted driving around the city, then you hear something approaching at speed... Even better is when something flies past you completely out of the blue and a very unpredictable chase is on!

Finally, the event types themselves. Generally in a driving game there's always something I just don't want to do but have to - a drift event, a Le Mans race, a destruction derby... I've never driven past a set of traffic lights here feeling that this event isn't for me. 

In the end, my new-found obsession with hunting down billboards then puzzling out how to bust though them will probably be the game's downfall for me - I'll go OCD on it very soon and then will get bored of looking for what I'm missing. Then game over. A fault of my personality rather than the game. Similarly, the only real criticism I can direct at the game is it increasingly punishing my rubbish sense of direction; once you upgrade a couple of licenses, the game assumes you've got the lay of the land by then and isn't so forgiving at you not taking the optimum route in a race. The lack of signposting means I'm never likely to progress that much further than I have already. On the other hand, Big Surf Island still awaits and may be more suited to my failings!
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registradus
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Re: Our next podcast recording: Burnout Paradise

Post by registradus »

I didn't play Burnout Paradise until after Need For Speed: Most Wanted (2012). It was interesting to see how much the two had in common, but ultimately the handling felt too "light" for my tastes. Also the map was quite large and it seemed quite far between events.
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RoboticMonk3y
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Re: Our next podcast recording: Burnout Paradise

Post by RoboticMonk3y »

I picked up Burnout paradise much later after release, so sadly missed out entirely on the multiplayer joys of taking turns to see who can do the most flips on a particular corner or ramp.
Paradise no doubt seemed to be the logical evolution of the series, and I liked that you could roam an open map and choose when and where you wanted to race. I think that this sadly also led to me finding frustration in the game, as I didn't find it as easy to navigate to the finish in races. I found it very easy to miss corners, and ended up pausing to check the map a lot, and I feel that broke up the flow of what should be a flat out fast racer.
It certainly scratched an itch for an arcade racer, and it's difficult to contest how much fun it was to spot a sign and wondering how to find the ramp and speed to smash through it, but I ended up not finishing the game because of how frustrating I found the later races to navigate.
sonuckles

Re: Our next podcast recording: Burnout Paradise

Post by sonuckles »

I don't have a lot to add to this discussion outside of being annoyed by the Guns 'N Roses song during that hella long install time on the PS3. The DLC cars were pretty cool, but way too expensive. Still, you better believe I bought the DeLorian.

I also second what someone else had said earlier about getting the fastest times on some of the streets. It seemed like those came a little too easily, but it did make me want to see if I could beat more times.
CoffeeJezus

Re: All things Burnout

Post by CoffeeJezus »

I loved the original Burnout on Gamecube, and recently rekindled my adoration for Burnout 2 and 3 when I dug out my original Xbox a few weeks back. Point Of Impact and Takedown still played superbly, joining the brilliant Revenge within one of my favourite ever series.

It goes without saying that I was looking forward to Burnout Paradise. That I ended up hating it came as a huge shock.

Rather than the open world coming across as wonderfully sprawling, open and ace - to me it felt constrained more than anything. I recall stopping at traffic lights to start a race, but when it was over .. errr .. nothing, I had to drive back, else find my way to another set of traffic lights [ although I understand this was later corrected with an option added to purely restart the same race.]

Paradise City itself felt bizarre. I know this is videogames, and suspending belief often comes with the territory, but this much vaunted open world without people just felt very, very strange - especially in the light of sandbox games having populace and racing sections within them.

I stepped back into the game about a year ago and it still didn't click. I missed the linearity, imagination and focus of the levels from previous games, and, for me, Paradise was a real misfire - although I understand this is purely personal, and most folks seem to love it to pieces.

Just not for me, I guess!
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