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open-world is welcome, but why remove CRASH mode?

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 41 / 47
Date: February 02, 2008
Author: Amazon User

My credentials: long-time gamer, played many a game, many a racer, have my Burnout license and nearing the Elite license. Burnout, in my opinion, has always been the most fun and easiest racer to pick up and play. It's not a SIM and of course isn't trying to be...So here's the pros and cons vs other racers, other arcade racers, other Burnout franchise releases and the 360 vs PS3 versions.

PROS
- Burnout is easy to pick up, easy to understand, easy to play...obviously there is some challenge.
- open-world racing is the future and it is a much better presentation
- ROAD RAGE takedowns are easier and more fun
- realism of the textures, physics and the environment seem to have been improved. The attempt here is for a real city, not fake arcade racer routes with the gigantic "for dummies" lighted arrows telling you where to go
- they've added some more things to do such as parking, jumps, crash through billboards and gates, etc...there are tons of these.
- it wipes the mat with other "fun" racers like Flatout, which can be so difficult and frustrating (for some) the fun is simply turned down to zero...
- racing games are probably the most frustrating of any gaming genre (RPG, FPS, whatever). Burnout is the least frustrating of any racer ever.
- crashing into things doesn't (always) crash your car as per previous Burnout installments
- achievements (360-only) are no longer impossible, as it was with Burnout Revenge...
- popping in-and-out online is easy
- you can put your own face on your license if you have a cam. Mine has my middle finger.
- helpful "turn indicators" letting you know when you need to turn (because you are flying at a million miles an hour - you'll need `em)

NEUTRAL
- open-world racing isn't new. Criterion seems to think they have created some kind of next-gen revolution here. Test Drive Unlimited did this already and did so successfully (and technically so has Grand Theft Auto if you allow it to partially be in the genre). TDU clearly isn't as much fun as Burnout, but it isn't supposed to be. Criterion could learn some things from Eden games and vice versa.
- no upgrades. TDU has a tinge of SIMs flavor where you collect money, properties and cars. Win more races, collect more cars, upgrade upgrade upgrade. Upgrades give you more to do. Sort of like an RPG. Burnout has none. You just get a new car, done, that's it.
- TRAFFIC ATTACK has been removed, but in REVENGE, the dollars would pop-up blocking your view making that event difficult and annoying anyway
- ELIMINATOR is gone, but I don't miss it that much
- TAKEDOWN REVENGE is gone. Whatev.
- PS3 vs 360 versions: barely a discernable difference and hat's off to Criterion for caring about both platforms. 360 gets achievements; PS3 gets sixaxis (which could be a blessing or a curse if they don't know what they are doing...see LAIR). Whatev.

CONS
- some idiot thought it was a good idea to remove one of the most fun things in the most fun racer of all time: CRASH MODE. They replaced it with this horrible Katamari-esk "SHOWTIME" thing where you just perpetually roll and bounce off of cars because that's definitely more realistic and fun... This is unforgivable. CRASH events were formerly an integral (AND FUN) part of Burnout in which you couldn't progress through the game without completing them. I could giggle for hours doing these events where you cause millions of dollars of damage by slamming into huge tanker trunks. Now, you don't need to even do them at all, and why would you, since they're no longer fun whatsoever. They had a great opportunity to create some epic accident scenes here where hilarity would ensue. This is like playing HALO and discovering they took out plasma grenades...EPIC FAIL!!!!!!!!
- AFTERTOUCH is gone. Another one of the most innovative, cool and fun things to do...GONE. FAIL!
- CRASHBREAKER is gone. Yet another EPIC FAIL! This was incredibly fun to both do and watch...
- the little trophies for performing this or that trick are gone.
- the BURNING ROUTE events which are supposed to give you better versions of your vehicle often give you equal or even worse versions...
- stats for some vehicles don't seem to make sense. The 4x4 truck is supposed to be as tough, but faster than the van, but I've played with both for quite awhile and there's simply no way in h*ll the truck is faster than the van.
- no instant retry/restart race. What? Why? You have to drive all the way back to restart...
- no split-screen vs. Huh? What's that about? I can't have a buddy sitting right next to me play with me? WTF?
- DJ Atomica is a massive tool. I have nothing against his sexual preference. Frankly, I think it's none of our business. I fully support gay rights 100%. But aside from all that, this guy is completely annoying.

END RESULT: Criterion has given with one hand but taken with the other. Open-world is a nice and pleasing presentation and takedowns are as fun as ever, but the removal of MANY of the things that made game fun to play in the first place is puzzling...

Why mess with a good thing?

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: January 27, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Often when a game company says they are going reinvent a game, especially one that has such a great history as Burnout, I get a bit nervous. Unfortunately my worries were warranted. Yes the open map is great. The graphics look outstanding and the sense of speed is still there. The big problem is that they removed or drastically changed two of the best parts of the game. No split screen makes the game single player only unless you want to hook up two xbox 360s on lan or use xbox live. The lack of co-op takes this down a full two stars for me. Playing with a friend or roommate was some of the most fun I've had with this console. The other star is removed because of the lack of a restart and crash mode. I'm not really sure why they thought that it would be less annoying, because no restart makes this one of the must frustrating racing games right now. Then we have the lack of crash mode. Seriously, your franchise was sort of built on this idea and you remove it? Showtime is not even remotely the same except for the money you gain. Which, by the way, I have yet to find a use for. The challenge of having to play a run to hit cars and figure out how to create that stunning chain reaction is completely gone. Now, you can just enter Showtime mode at anytime. However, all you do is flip and hit cars. If you can get the timing down, you can essentially bounce across the entire map. Which is just boring. All in all, it's a great racing game and a great looking game, but this isn't Burnout.

SUCKS

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 8 / 11
Date: January 28, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This game sucks, you have to keep an eye on the map at all times which is unbelievably hard while driving 100+ miles per hour. There is no sense of direction whatsoever, you just stumble onto races.

Why I hate Burnout Paradise

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: January 25, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I have been a fan of Burnout since I played Burnout 2, and I completely feel like Burnout Paradise ruins the franchise and sucks all of the fun out of it, and here is why:

Burnout has always been about racing crazily and since three it has been about the takedowns. However, both of these aspects are greatly diminished in this game. Because of the open world nature there is no set path from point A to point B, this means that in most of the races I have played, with the exception of the very beginning of the race I don't even have a chance for takedowns. The racing itself is diminished because I don't know where the heck I am suppose to go. In the short time I have played it I have lost multiple races because I either took a wrong turn, wrecked because I turned to late or to early, or wrecked because I was to busy looking at the stupid little map to figure out where I was suppose to turn that I hit something in front of me. Having to spend the entire race trying to figure out where I am suppose to go and how to get there takes a lot of the fun out of weaving through traffic, drifting, and taking down opponents. More than anything the ambiguity of the stupid open world races detracts from the fun I can have with the game.

However, there are multiple other problems that get in the way of Burnout Paradise being fun for me. First, I really don't like the open world structure. I get that it can be fun to drive around and explore the world,but that should not hinder me from doing what I want to do. If I want to race I first have to drive around looking for a race, and once I find one I had better win because the only way to redo if I lose is to back track and figure out where the starting line was, because there is not restart option. It also frustrates me that if I want to do a Burning lap, then i have to have a specific car. If I do not happen to be in that car then I have to drive around till I find a junk yard, switch cars, and that hope beyond hope that I can actually remember at which random intersection the Burning lap event was at. I know that the argument is that there is so much to do, that I can just go on to the next stoplight and do a different event, but that is a crap argument. If the game is going to have an open world structure and tell me do whatever you want to do then it shouldn't impede me from doing just that. Burnout Paradise really needs a fast travel option, so if I just want to do races, or just want to Burning laps, and not mess with trying to find the stupid things then I should be able to.
Finally, I dislike the complete lack of crash mode. For me Burnout Crash has always been a highlight of Burnout and making one without Crash mode would be like making Gears of war without chainsaws

I absolutly hate Burnout Paradise, and it frustrates me that I appear to be in the minority (though based on Internet forums not by that wide of a margin) which means that future Burnouts will be more like this one.

Gorgeous but Single Player Only?

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 10 / 17
Date: January 23, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I have been a fan of the Burnout series for years and I had preordered this game weeks before its release in anticipaition of another blast of a game. First, this is a great-looking game. It's also great that they finally got rid of all the menu-surfing that was required in the past titles. However, the biggest draw the Burnout games have always had for me is the ability to play with friends. Now, in some bizarre twist, the only way I can play multiplayer is with strangers on Live. It baffles me that with the success of games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band that there are actually becoming fewer and fewer console games that can engage a room full (or at least a pair)of people at a time. As good as this game looks, I foresee it just collecting dust on my shelf. I must be in the minority but I've never seen the draw of playing either a single player or online game on a console. Consoles have always been (at least for me and the people I know) for coming together with friends. If I'm going to play a game by myself, I'm going to play it on the much more powerful, versatile and customizable PC.

It hurts because it's so close to perfection

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 7 / 10
Date: January 24, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Excellent game from excellent developers. I've always been a HUGE fan of the Burnout franchise, but this latest installment has me a bit perplexed. Mainly the lack of a restart button during races. The open racing world is fun but many times you'll take a turn that you shouldn't have and end up losing the race because of it. The lack of a restart button forces you to finish a race that you're going to lose and then drive all the way back to the starting point (granted you don't have to drive back you can just start a different race, but it's contrary to the way that every other racing game out there functions.)

Stunt runs and Road Rages are great fun in the new open city as it doesn't really matter what direction you go. Plus the world is chock full of fun things to discover. It's only problematic when you try to race as looking at your map while driving 200 miles an hour and dodging traffic is a bit frustrating at times.

Other reviewers have already mentioned it, but the lack of split-screen multiplay is extremely strange. Hopefully they'll rectify this in future Burnout games.

I'd recommend this as a rental (maybe a couple rentals as it's a large game.) but I kind of regret purchasing it (my own fault for not finding out all the details and jumping on board just because of the name.)

disappointing.

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 7 / 10
Date: January 26, 2008
Author: Amazon User

i preordered this game and played it as soon as it arrived. i'm a huge fan of all the previous burnout series (they're just so awesome and fun to play). this game right off the go has great graphics and music is ok. but this game is a big letdown.

reason 1. no split screen. so if you want to play multiplayer, it's on either xbox live or lan with another xbox. you can't do split screen like the previous game.

reason 2. the menu system is totally confusing and though it looks "cooler" graphically, the interface is counterintuitive.

reason 3. not as fun as they've changed some of the dynamics of the game physics (ie crashing into the rear of cars at higher speeds, etc). they've made things a bit more realistic as in actual damage rather than allowing me to just plow through at any speeds and such.

reason 4. did i already mention no split screen? i think i got the most fun out of playing it with someone else right next to me, like takedown races.

two stars overall because first person is still fun, but the fact that multiplayer has been greatly reduced to nothing dropped the rating down big time. i went back to playing burnout revenge.

good rental game but i jumped on the preordering bandwagon because of the previous successes with the burnout series.

Not the same game but a better overall experience

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 7 / 10
Date: January 27, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I know it's not the same as the other but I already have those. I think it takes a bit of getting used too but I like open map style. The game keeps flowing without all the time to keep loading new events. I love the hidden passeges and challenges.

The only feature I miss is a split screen mode so I can play with my friends who come over.

Burnout 5 Is Not Paradise

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 7 / 10
Date: January 28, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I wish I would have known the following before I wasted $60 on this.

Road Rage is still my favorite except Open World = No Instant Restart = Lame. Constantly checking the map sucks. Crash Mode is gone. And there's no split-screen. With the Burnout series the only thing I want to do is Crash Mode and Road Rage with my wife. Thank you EA for making my wife cry!

Now go make Burnout 6 fun again...

PARADISE LOST

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 7 / 10
Date: February 01, 2008
Author: Amazon User

As a huge fan of the Burnout series, I regret to say that I am extremely disappointed with this new installment. What is truly sad though, is to think of how good this game COULD have been. The visuals are outstanding, the speed is amazing, and all the while the frame-rate is as smooth as butter. Paradise also boasts smooth controls and a pretty good soundtrack. But if you loved the previous Burnout titles be prepared for a major shock... or several, as a matter of fact. Here are my biggest complaints:

1) No Crash Mode. Here's an idea: Lets take one of the series' most memorable and beloved features and give it the axe. Yes its totally nixed. Why? Who knows.

2) No "Retry" option. Yes you heard me correctly. If you screw up you CAN'T RESTART THE RACE! Which leads me to my next complaint...

3) Backtracking. Just lose a race? Oh well, you'll just have to drive the five miles back to the starting point. What? You can't find the starting point again?

4) Awful navigation. It is way too easy to get lost, and there is no way to instantly "Jump To" an event or location. Furthermore, the mini map is fixed. Anyone who plays open-world racers knows it is much easier to have the map orient itself to the direction of the car.

5) No "Quit Race" option. Oops, I didn't want to play THIS race. I guess I'll just have to meander about until the timer runs down.

NOTE TO THE DEVELOPER: Thanks for taking a perfectly good series and screwing it up. You were so busy trying to jump on the "open-world" BANDWAGON that you forgot why fans really loved the Burnout franchise to begin with. If gamers want to play "open-world" racing, they play Midnight Club, Need For Speed: Most Wanted, Test Drive Unlimited, or one of the many others out there. If they want fast paced arcade style action, and the ability to quickly browse through events they play Burnout... or used to anyway.

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