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The potential for so much more....

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 4 / 7
Date: March 21, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Being a longtime fan of the Burnout franchise since the beginning, I can't tell you how much I was anticipating this game. After releasing the horrible "Dominator" for PS2, I was hoping it was because they were spending all their time focusing on perfecting "Paradise" for the PS3. Unfortunately, that was not the case.
To start out with, the graphics are amazingly smooth and may be the best of any racing simulator released as of yet. Even on a standard television it looks great, but hook it up to your HDTV and be prepared for an awesome visual experience. But where they've succeeded graphically, they really fell behind on the content and layout. Having to drive to Timbuktu and back just to find a race is ridiculous, and the customization that existed to a certain extent in previous installments is pretty much gone. On top of that, Crash Junctions are again non-existent, and instead we get the ability to just "crash" anywhere we want and proceed to bounce around all over the place, taking out transportation along the way. While this is fun for a while, it does get to be old, and lacks the extreme fun factor of, say, Burnout "Takedown" or "Revenge" with the actual Crash Junction setup. Should we see another installment of "Burnout," we can only hope they bring these back.
Also, it really boggles my mind what they were thinking when they set up directional markers on these tracks. There are none. All you get is a small little map and compass which are pretty much useless, and you're left with memorizing the tracks before you have a legitimate shot at beating them. Add to the mix the lack of multiplayer support except for online, and this title really disappoints on some key factors.
Overall, while it is indeed a somewhat fun title, it does not meet the expectations so many had for it. Burnout "Paradise" disappoints on too many levels to make it a worthwhile buy.

They ruined Burnout

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 7 / 19
Date: January 26, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I have played all the Burnout games and I have to say this is the worst. The graphics are top notch and the cars just as fast, but it's nothing like the previous Burnouts at all. It's more like Grand Theft Auto where you cruise around except you only do mini races and crash through a few things. If you are a fan of the Burnout series you will be very disappointed in this game. No dedicated crash mode. When you race you have to look for turns or short cuts. Miss a turn and you will be going halfway across the city and unable to catch up to the other racers. They should have called it something other than Burnout, but I guess the name will ensure sales. I'm glad I only rented this.

I like the sound of breaking glass...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: March 30, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I love this game. I said it. Its true.

I have played other installments of the franchise on my old, clunky, 1st gen PS2 and so when I saw that this was available for the PS3 I jumped on it like white on rice :) Im really happy that I did.

The feeling of sheer speed is there and amplified. I feel like a racing stuntman when I play this game...it feels fast, dangerous, responsive, and real. Not an easy feat with any game...but this one comes the closest so far.

I like the fact that you dont have to waste any time with prelims, qualifiers, tutorials and such...this game just dumps you in a car and lets you find out the rest. The learning curve is shallow and most people will love the "pick-up-and-play" aspect of Burnout: Paradise.

The city is expansive and open, it feels like driving through something that could actually exist and I really enjoy finding the hidden paths, the numerous jumps and cool stuff like that scattered around the city. Memorizing the race tracks takes a bit of time and makes you drive back to the start when you lose a race...but this is all logical and fits with the goals of the game. How are you going to get top time without having seen the whole track? It also features well into crashes (the best part of any Burnout Title) by helping you scout areas out and see the traffic patters and where you can maneuver...I thought I wouldnt like the removal of a map-marker/compass thingie (something to show you the way)...but I dont miss it at all.

Im not happy with the lack of split screen two player mode, but I also know that this was most likely done so that you would need to go online to play against others. Speaking of online play: I dont use the online features in the game, as I am usually a solo gamer, so this feature didnt really resonate one way or the other with me. I am sure that others will be put off by it, but honestly, with most homes being wired now and most games venturing into online play...this shouldnt be more than a minor annoyance, certainly not one that deserves a demotation in "star" rating here at Amazon.com.

The upgrades available to your license "level" are nice and keep one coming back for more and more...just to get the next goal. And then the next one. Honestly, it can be a quite addictive at times, lol. But still a great addition to the game.

Where Burnout has always shined, in my opinion, is in the ability to make a total mess out of you vehicle and everyone elses...its fun to crash stuff without fear of reprisal. How cool would it be to go petal to the metal all out and smash into other stuff at over 80mph and walk away unscathed? That why "Showtime Mode" (a replacement of Crash Mode in earlier titles) is so much fun. Its great to be able to control the wreckage and send pieces flying in all directions...also a hefty testament to the physics engine and the detail and time put into making it feel real and not contrived. Pull both trigger-like-buttons on the controller and crash to your hearts content...scatter wreckage like Johnny Appleseed did, well- apple seeds.

Bottom line, this game is fun. Its fast, addictive, easy to learn, has plenty of challenges to unlock, secrets to find and many different styles to play. One of my personal faves? Try to not crash into anything for the whole race...harder than it looks...sideswiping something just looks too tempting.

One thing i would like to see someday...real cars. The vehicles are inspired by some real-world counterparts, but I guess the manufactures wouldnt license their precious cars to a game that was going to subject them to untold scenes of brutality. Minor tick of irritation, but something that will blip off the radar as you race past the other motorists with you eye on the finish line. Great game!

My Thoughts on Burnout Paradise

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 9
Date: March 05, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Dear Online Guy Who Would Run Into Me At Full Speed After Every Challenge And Cause Me To Wreck

First of all, thanks for helping me complete the two-player challenges, but seriously, dude, like, what gives?

Without fail, as soon as the jovial announcer would make public our thrilling victory, you would gun straight for me with suicidal intent, sometimes from halfway across the map, plowing into my hapless car at top speed. Was it your way of giving me a "high five" or a good-natured slap on the butt? Were you angry at me for some reason? Was I taking too long to decide on challenges? Perhaps you did you not like the color of my car?

You didn't have a mic, so your silence was enigmatic. At first I though perhaps you were simply a poor driver, but soon it became clear that you were insane.

Do a barrel roll at Big Surf Beach! Completed! BANG!
Jump the mine at the quarry! Completed! TAKEN DOWN!
Meet inside the Wildcats Baseball Stadium! Completed! KA-POW!
Spend twenty minutes trying to do an incredibly frustrating barrel roll through the fuselage at Eastern Shore Airfield. Completed! FUAKATA!

Well, that being said, all-in-all you were a good sport, and taking down challenge after challenge with you and the other players who joined us was a blast, even if it took us twice as long as it should have thanks to your compulsive urge to send me flying off the road at the end of every event. If I ever see you online again, I'll be sure to repay you in kind.

To everyone else out there, a couple of notes about this game:

* First, when (not if) you buy it, tell everyone you love that you will be going away for awhile. Your life as you know it is over. Only Burnout Paradise exists. Reality is a veil that will slip away to reveal the true meaning of life - to glean every second of enjoyment from this addictive game that never stops giving. If you've played previous Burnouts, you'll understand what I mean - the folks at Criterion again have built an experience that doesn't utilize stick-and-carrot theory in the traditional sense. It's more like stick-and-crack-cocaine. Stick-and-Haagan-Dazs®. Or stick-and-another-stick, if you're really into sticks. I usually sit down with the intention to play for an hour, and play for three, much to the chagrin of my aged body and mind.

* The online integration in this game is unparalleled on the PS3. Simply hit the direction button a few times and you're either hosting or joining a game seamlessly, with no break in the action of the game you're currently playing. From there, starting/joining challenges and races is simple and fast.

* The game loads the entire city of Paradise at the start, for non-stop racing as soon as you start up, from downtown to industrial to mountainside. The offline game is full of events at every stoplight, from simple start-to-finish races to stunt runs and more.

* A number of complaints about the game are centered on the fact that there are no instant restarts. This is absolutely true. However, I believe that once you learn to let the game guide you, you'll have a great time.

* Criterion has recently stated (3/4/08) that they're gearing up to release a patch to fix many of the most common complaints about the game, and that downloadable content is on the way, extending the life of this game even further.

Bottom line, this is an insanely fun, addictive racing game with a generous soul. Get it for yourself if you're tired of the sight of the sun, or for someone you'd like to see disappear for days or months.

Other notes:
* I bought the PS3 version over the 360 due to claims that it "looked better". I'm easy that way. The PS3 version also has in-game achievements (much like Uncharted: Drake's Fortune), but, of course, no centralized gamerscore like 360. And I do miss the 360's ability to listen to my own music during sessions, given that the soundtrack isn't my taste. So, six of one, half-dozen of the other. You pays your money and you takes your chances, but it's the same great experience no matter which system you choose to run it on, online and off.

This game is CRazY!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 7
Date: February 18, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Just bought a ps3. When I heard that Toshiba had thrown in the towel, it seemed time. This game and the orange box were the games I bought for the console.In a lot of ways this game reminds me of an older game " Midtown Madness" but on steroids. I loved MM as one of my favorite all time games. That and Halo(of course!) I could play this game for hours and hours. The cars are beautiful. The sense of speed, I have no words for. The big thing about the game is you have to learn the maps. Give yourself a little time. Its easy to get distracted when you buy several games at once. I also have a ps2 that I play Burnout:Takedown on. They both are great games. There is no reason to want the same game to be repeated over and over in different formats. I especially love being able to be in the drivers seat camera wise. Something like a first person driver instead of shooter. In first person the sense of speed is incredible. All in all I am convinced the people at EA are completely insane( in a good way!)

Almost paradise

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 8
Date: January 25, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Ah, Burnout...
The series really peaked with Burnout 3. Paradise is good, but it is not the best in the series. I applaud the effort the developer made in creating an open city (i.e. sandbox environment).
This is truly a step forward for the series. No navigating menus. You just drive around the city. If you don't like specific race, then drive to the next intersection and race on! None of the races involve lapping around the same section of town. A new event type called stunt run leaves something to be desired. Like Project Gotham's kudos challenges, this event is all about scoring points from doing stunts. No racing required. I'm not too wild about non-racing events in a racing game. Seems to be a common gripe among other Burnout fans on the Sony forums.
There are several finer points missing from this game that could lead to your frustration. What I mean is that there is little help in keeping you on track. You have to either memorize the entire city layout or constantly glance down at the small map in the lower right hand corner to get your bearings. I've found myself bouncing around and getting severely lost during several events. The game will even reset you backwards sometimes! Plus there is no "retry" option. Quitting a race involves you coming to a dead stop and waiting for the game to realize you've given up. No mulligans for you.
I've found I prefer to use the "dead stop" way out rather than to cross the finish line and hear DJ Atomica give me crappy advice about the importance of winning. The game's developers forgot to include an option to turn Atomica off. And, trust me, you will wish they had included that option.
An open city environment, as presented here, needs to take advantage of some of the more conventional design features we have seen in other games in the past. For example, games like Grand Theft Auto San Andreas gives you the ability to set way points so you can use them to guide you to your objective. Even Midnight Club has arrows to point you in the right direction during a race. The official strategy guide is helpful for planning routes.
Forget the "motion sensitive" steering option presented in this version. It is completely unresponsive. Stick with the old fashioned analog sticks. The analog controls work exactly as they have in previous Burnouts. The focus is on arcade-like racing. No Gran Turismo "realistic" driving in this game. Not sure how the force feedback steering wheel option works. I don't have one.
To earn new cars you have to chase down the "driver" of your target car and make them crash. You then have to get that car fixed up before competing in additional events. This is a good and satisfying part of the game.
The variety of cars is great. You've got speed, stunt and aggression types of cars. Each class requires a different strategy to use to their fullest potentional. Personally, I like the stunt cars the best for the use anytime boost.
However, when I earn a new shiny car for achieving certain goals, it should be shiny and new. The game keeps with the "it's busted, so fix it" routine even with the supposedly brand new cars you earn in the game. No new (and undamaged) cars as a reward.
My biggest gripe is more of a personal preference than anything else. There is no option for a custom soundtrack in the PS3 version. It seems rather sad that one of the most advanced pieces of gaming hardware cannot do something their competitors started doing in the last generation of consoles. I've played previous version of Burnout on XBox and it is a wonderful feeling to be able to race to your own music. Having to deal with substandard low-royalty tunes makes the experience feel a little flat. But, that is just me. Perhaps everyone else can just deal. I have learned that Sony plans to allow custom soundtracks in a future update.
All things considered, this is a good game. There are things to love about this game and things to hate. Fortunately, the positives outweigh the negatives.
For a good second opinion, please check out the review in Game Informer magazine.

Great game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 8
Date: January 28, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Well, let me just say that the only other burnout I played was Takedown. This game--Burnout Paradise--is incredible. You can instantly go online while playing and have an open and free world to explore.

Pros
-Freedom (to drive anywhere, use any routes ect)
-Online play is a blast
-Wrecks looks great
-Good car selection

Cons
-No split screen multiplayer
-Car-specific events are irritating

I recommend this game even if you don't normally like racers. Its so free, open, and easy accesable to anyone to just enjoy. Probably a better choice than the Midnight Club LA game coming soon (just a guess).

Paradise Calling........

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 8
Date: February 02, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Awesome game. Beautiful open world and smooth 60 fps gameplay. Far better than the Xbox 360 version.

A fast and furious good time behind the wheel

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 8
Date: March 29, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I haven't had an occasion to play many driving games on the Playstation 3 console but when I got my hands on Burnout Paradise, I was quite impressed with it for many reasons which I'll detail below.

Starting off with graphics, this game is very attractive to look at when it comes to the city landscapes, the vehicles and corresponding damage they take in the game, lighting, shadows, and slow motion sequences of collisions and crashes. I have not noticed any lag, stutter, or poor animation in any parts of game play and I think this is a good testament to next-generation capabilities of the Playstation 3.

When it comes to playability, it took me a little while to get used to the controls on the sixaxis controller but once you are familiar with them, it works out well in my opinion. As far as responses onscreen from the vehicles themselves, I feel that the cars perform well in braking, accelerating, drifting, and other characteristics. In fact, the cars respond so well in some instances that you have to show a little finesse in your driving or your car can easily get away from you if you're not careful. This isn't bad in all cases both because you can see some spectacular crashes and collisions from time to time and it is fun to get crazy in the game.

As far as keeping busy with things to do, `impressive' is a good word to describe this. Paradise City (where the game takes place) is huge and just exploring it before engaging in any game elements will take a while in itself. Finally starting out with all the activities, you'll find special areas to smash through for short-cuts and smash bonuses, crashing through special billboards around the city, launching off of specially marked super jumps, and power parking your vehicle in various areas. Events consist of Races, Road Rage (smashing your rivals into oblivion), Marked Man (point-to-point races that you need to complete without being pulverized by the other drivers who are out to crush you before you get to the finish line), Stunt Runs (super jumps, billboard smashes, barrel rolls, spinouts, etc), Burning Route (specific events where you have to drive a specific car that you can pick up from the junkyard). Believe me, you can keep busy for a long time in this city and it is worth every minute.

If you enjoy driving games with great graphics, seamless game play, a high level of interactivity, and serious entertainment value, I would definitely recommend Burnout Paradise. It's a beautiful and insane ride from start to finish, and then some.

Long and Fun Game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: April 11, 2008
Author: Amazon User

To break it down I'll give you the good, bad, and the ugly of this game.

Summary: Drive around a complete city trying to unlock more cars to add to your collection. Try to accomplish barrel rolls, flatspins, burnouts (certain vehicles have a boost that you can only use if it's full, and you try to use all of it while gaining more to "chain" your boosts), donuts/e-break turns, drifts, jumps/air time, crashes ($$ of damage), takedowns (other drivers- online and off), and races (timed or against other drivers).
At the push of a button you can even swing online instantly to join friends, try out "accomplishments", or compete in races/challenges.

_The Good_

Graphics are great, the cars look amazing and reflect damage as you drive. Some cars can take a bigger beating than others, so choose carefully for races (esp. online).
The most fun I had was unlocking and trying out the new cars. And then trying to get the "Burnout" versions of each. Two of my faves are definitely the police cruiser and the car I received with the unlock code (GT Steel Wheels), which basically looks like a mix between the proposed new Camaro and the new Shelby.
Driving around the city is a blast, you can roam wherever you want to, just picking and choosing what events you want to do. And you can find events easily thanks to the map.

***The CRASH system is still in the game despite what you may have heard. And it's not even hidden. Just press R1 and L1 at the same time to start "Showtime" on ANY road.***

Half the fun of the game is just driving around exploring the city. I was able to find all the "Crash" gates, still working on finding all the Billboards (which you crash through of course), and I'm almost done finding all the "Super Jumps."

Much like the last Burnout, they've continued with different classes of cars. "Stunt" class earn boost quicker with tricks/jumps, etc. "Speed" class has the burnout boost (can only use when full). A good number of cars in this category are VERY fast, but also very weak structurally and it's a good chance it won't survive a hit. "Aggressor" class earns boost quicker by taking out enemies (And not only that but the bar increases in size!).

_The Bad_
Sometimes when you're online it can get frustrating if someone has a better car and continually crashes into you while you're trying to complete challenges, or worse, when you crash into them to take them out, it gives them the takedown because their car is more robust. Also sometimes you'll be driving along and think that you're going to miss a curb, only to have your car completely taken out by it. Which is a shame considering you're probably boosting at the time.

_The Ugly_
Certain challenges can become VERY difficult if not frustrating. Especially the "Stunt Events" which require a certain number of points. Some of the races can also be difficult if you take a wrong turn along the way. I will say that when a turn is coming up your car will turn on it's blinker and every upcoming intersection is shown on the top of the screen so you know what roads are coming up. Which is a GREAT feature.
Think you can handle the highway? Try driving the wrong way and into oncoming traffic and see how long you can last.
------ ------- ------ -------

You'll need a certain number of completed events to unlock a car, but unlocking a car isn't done until you've hunted down the driver that owns it. You have to have patience and just drive around until you see him in your rearview or he passes you on the road. Then the fun begins as you chase and run him down.

Online: this is fun once you have enough cars to play around with. The races can be tough and if you take someone out, you'll get their "card" with a snapshot of them. If they have a webcam or the PS3 Eye hooked up, it'll take a snapshot WHEN you hit them. Heh, nice feature (just watch out for some of the gestures!).

**Also another little tidbit of info: If you're in a challenge or race offline and mess up, just stop. This will stop whatever challenge you're doing and you can drive back to the start to try again. This will save you a LOT of time.

Overall: A lot of fun and hours of gameplay to keep you occupied. Definitely would recommend this for Burnout fans or just someone that wants to drive around exploring, doing tricks, etc. Try visting the rock quarry, or drive around the old dirt racing track (this is a lot of fun with friends online).
Also if you don't like the current track of music, just skip it with a push of a button. And if you REALLY don't like that song, go into the options and customize which ones will pop up and when. If you have a particular song you want during races, go ahead and set it up that way.

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