Burnout Paradise for Xbox 360 Reviews by Gamers

Now I'm not a real fan of racing games, I've played a few that I have mildly enjoyed, but it always seemed as if there was something off about all of the popular series... except Burnout! Being famous for graphic crashes the Burnout series has always added the much needed casual appeal to the racing genre. Paradise is like no other racing game I have ever played, it is a totally open and living city, though your progression is mission based, you are completely free to explore the entire city at your leisure. Feel particularly vicious? Play a road rage event. How about daring? Try a stunt run and get as many outrageous jumps and flips as you can muster! Of course there are also the standard races, time trials, and survival runs. Paradise has something to offer for everyone, I found myself unable to stop for hours because i just kept driving from event to event and never got bored.

The game just feels and looks like a real city, DJ Atomica adds a bit of witty humor, useful tips, and great announcing during the game that just lock you into the experience without all the over complexity of the latest Need for Speed and Grand Turismo. Online play is just as fantastic as single player, at any moment you can invite friends to drive with you or join a game with the push of a few buttons. There are no waiting lobbys, everyone just drives around paradise, a truly refreshing idea from Criterion.

In my honest opinion Burnout Paradise has found the happy medium between pro competition and casual fun. The learning curve if fairly smooth and anyone can pick up this game and start taking down other cars. My girlfriend, who has only played mario cart before, tried playing this game and in 30 minutes was getting takedowns, burnouts, jumps, winning a few events. This game is just pure fun and DEFINITELY worth a rent, probably a buy to anyone who has a passion for racing games

this game is just really fun to just roam around in and the only play is really fun as well the only thing it lacks is split screen for playing around in free roam but o well its still worth a buy in my word

This game has a lot of potential, but some highly questionable design decisions turn it into a grind after a while. On the plus side, the map is quite large and there is a lot of area to explore. There are a ton of different ways to race and crash, both offline and online with friends.

After you've played for a little while though, things start to grind to a halt. There is basically no menu navigation at all in the game. They made it so events are tied to specific locations on the map. This is a neat idea and Test Drive Unlimited pulled it off nicely - once you find an event you can either drive there to start it, or pull it up from a menu and run it that way.

But in this game, the only way to run a race is to drive all the way to the specific intersection where that race starts. If you want to switch cars, you have to drive to the nearest junkyard. If you screw up in the middle of a race or time trial, you have to drive all the way back to the start of the race to try again.

This isn't bad at first when there are a whole lot of events around. If you mess up, you can just go to the nearest intersection and try a different race. But later in the game when you're trying to unlock specific cars or finish the last few events it gets VERY VERY frustrating. This also holds true for events that finish in a distant corner of the map -- you have to drive the same long route back to the city just to get to an event that you haven't completed yet.

A simple menu with restart race/select event/switch car options like you see in every other racing game would have made the game so much more enjoyable. It's a shame really. Maybe they'll come to their senses and patch it.

I'm normally the type of person who plays a racing game for a day, and leaves it sit, but this is soooo much better. I love it, my sister likes it, my brother likes it & he's not even a gamer!
I AM KEEPING THIS!

I have to say I was part of the community that played the demo and was pretty disappointed. I went ahead and picked it up because I had sixty dollars in Best Buy bucks and I'm glad I did. One of the most fun in the series I think. They really went above and beyond with this one. Can't say that its "better" than the other burnout games but it definately deserves the Burnout name. I was kinda upset to hear they did away with crash mode but the new "showtime" mode where any intersection can be a crash junction is awesome. The cars have more weight to them in this game which makes crashing that more real and fun to watch.

From the instant you start the game up and hear the sexy female voice give the rundown of the massive living city you will race in, you will be hooked and chopping at the controller to get into it and play. The game has "sandbox-style" all over it. You basically can free-roam everywhere and earn stats for things like busting through gates, smashes, wrecks, etc. Then when you want to do specific events just roll up to a street light and spin your wheels! All the staple Burnout events are here: Race, Takedown, but also new one's like "marked man": where you are it and everyone's after you. One of the best additions is for races or takedown events now there are no set streets, use any path you like to get to the finish line. This adds some tremendous replay value to a game already packed with goodies. Also, online modes are built right into the game now so all you have to do is tap right on the d-pad and you can send invites to friends or jump into a quick race. Lastly, the soundtrack is incredible and brings back "Radio Big" which was previously used in SSX 3. This new Burnout is top notch and will make you feel like you're in paradise compared to previous games in the series. Not that Burnout's before weren't great but this years version just expands and simplifies parts to make for a more refind and fun experience all around. See ya' online racers!

As soon as you get on the road you're immersed in this paradise. You can drive anywhere and get into any race at any time, just spin your tires. Awesome. Within a square mile there's at least ten jumps you can own. I'm always figuring out better ways to tackle my opponents, it's never the same. Plus it's the best feeling when you're neck in neck with a car and you swipe them into an oncoming car and take the lead.

The Game was cool I am a fan of the Burnout Series. If you like the other Burnout games you will like this one. A few things have changed but not much. Most of the changes are for the better. A cool different online feature allows you to get online without moving your car into a garage or anything. All together its a good game.

I have always loved the carefree nature of the Burnout series, and I was excited to see Paradise's open world environment. While the game has impressive graphics and the crashes are nastier than ever, there are several things holding this game back.

The open world environment is great between races, but I find it obnoxious during a race. Sure, the concept of being able to take any route to get to your destination sounds great, but the reality is that only a few routes are actually worth taking. This means you have to try to split your concentration between the small map in the corner of the screen or constantly pause the action to make sure you're on the right path. With the fast paced and destruction happy environment of a Burnout game, this becomes painful quickly.

Also, while there are a variety of different races, they all only lead to 6 possible finish lines, and winning enough races to "rank up" simply clears your previous wins. You then get the chance to redo the races you've already done. Can't we develop a game that doesn't involve grinding?

This game has cool cars, a strong soundtrack, and great graphics. But the flaws above and its obsession of collecting hidden bonuses throughout the maps transforms it from a long term career racer to a joy rider that is only entertaining for an hour.

The game is great, freeburn is awesome, and online is awesome, get to take out people, make rivals. Just awesome....The gameplay is just phenomonal, and the graphics are stunning....This game is way better than Need for speed pro street....I would recommend this game to anyone...If you wanna race just pull up to a stop light and press LT & RT at the same time and your racing. Game is just awesome

I applaud Criterion's effort to update the Burnout franchise. There is no real structure to the career as you are simply given free reign in a really large city with events at virtually all intersections. And if there are no intersections, you can always go for a record time on that road or to unleash the Showtime mode to produce a massive wreck over a long stretch of real estate.

The game, though, is not without significant flaws, but let's look at the good first.

Burnout provides a feeling of speed that no game can really match. That there is no apparent pop-up or framerate issues is a technical marvel of the game.

The removal of the Crash mode led to some outrage, but I personally prefer Showtime as it is. It lacks the puzzle elements of Crash mode, but it's more fun and you feel like you have more impact on the goings-on.

Well, for the most part. The lack of a warp feature is a huge omission. The west part of the map is lacking a lot of content, but a lot of races end over there. So, you complete a race and you then have to drive your way back to the action for what seems like an eternity.

And the races are bunk. I can see what Criterion was shooting for --- a race where you can take any route you wish to get to the ending --- but what you tend to end up with is a race where if you manage to win, it's usually blind luck.

But, Marked Man is a fun little mode, with A.I that is exceptionally brutal. Road Rage is fun, but exceptionally easy. We then get Stunt Run, which tends to be the ugly stepchild of the gaming modes. Not a whole lot of fun, to be perfectly honest.

Criterion has produced what is the best arcade racer on the market. A game like this makes fare like Need For Speed very superfluous. It won't end, mind you, but it should. You're really not going to be able to outproduce this game or this series, which has been nigh perfect for several iterations now.

This game is fun for about 12 hours of playtime. By that time you should have your A license and a garage full of sweet burnout cars. Then you start looking for a break from single player action.

I would have scored this one higher if there were still a reasonable number of people playing on XBL. Unfortunately that wasn't the case so the online experience was lame.

Note to developers. NO MORE ONLINE ACHIEVEMENTS. YOU FLATTER YOURSELF TO THINK THAT A REASONABLE NUMBER OF PEOPLE ARE REALLY GOING TO BE PLAYING IT ONLINE MORE THAN A COUPLE MONTHS AFTER THE RELEASE DATE.

This game is awesome at every level. Visually it's amazing, sound is amazing and realistic, and the online gameplay is smooth and loads of fun. I have never been very good at racing games ever since I can remember my freinds have always beaten me at racing games but this time around it's me thats leaving them in my dust. There are so many races and the like in the single player you will never run out of fun. And if you want to get online, its very easy to do so. When you get in a match you can free roam just like you can in single player only you can interact with the other players via headset and xbox live vision camera (if you have one, its not required for online play). There are alot of cars to find, some will be awarded after you win so many races and get license upgrades. There is A LOT of room to roam around, so you can always find a new jump you might have not noticed before and what not. This is a must have game, try it and I'm quite sure you will buy it.

All this game truthfully made me want to do was pick up burnout 3 and play that. This games graphically impressive and its sense of speed is really awesome it will give you a rush.

I just personally don't like the idea of driving to street lights starting up races, im more of a give me a track let me race and crash some cars and im happy. Having a race from point a to point b in paradise city felt so repetitive after such a little amount of time.

My opinion on this game can be a bit weighed down since its such a stray from the other burnout series and i just don't like free roaming racers, but if you're a fan of racing or the series then it is definitely worth the rental to see if it hits that sweet spot.

First of all, I love the Burnout series. It's the one driving game I really can get into. But in this case I think the creators went too far in the wrong direction as far as new additions. One of the best things to do is to get some friends round and take turns racing/crashing etc on Burnout, but on Paradise it is too hard to get into that feel. Don't get me wrong the game looks fantastic and I applaud the developers for that,but if I wanted an open plan city where I can do anything I want I will just wait for the next GTA game.

I will still always look at Burnout games, just not this one.

in the open sandbox world of Burnout Paradise you'll have a blast crashing, jumping, drifting, and racing. however it wouldve been nice if there was some sort of "jump to" choice so you could automatically go straight to whatever kind of event you want. controls are great. the show time feature fails miserably seeing as its not only kinda lame, but also almost too easy. online is very fun because you can jump straight in and not have to hassle with menus and you stay where you are in the game. overall its a good game and i think everyone will enjoy it, but for the die hard burnout fans, it couldve been better.

I love the Burnout series, but this one feels a bit flat. Driving through the city is the type of racing you'd expect from Burnout, but following the map means taking your eyes off the road. You really need to know what route you'll be taking before you start racing. The roads themselves aren't all that varied, especially when in the city...and that makes it more difficult to figure out where you are/where you need to go. And no restart means long periods of driving back to start over again...to be honest I was getting quite irritated, not what you want to be when playing a game.

I tried multiplayer but people are just running around town trying to run you into a wall, it's hard to actually organize a race because everyone is spread out all over town doing their own thing.

Finally, my favorite part of the series has been removed. Crash allowed you to practice these spectacular crashes. Now it's replaced with something called Showtime, where you hit two buttons on your controller to initiate a crash...only it's not a crash at all. Your car crashes, then you hit the a button to make your car hop around the intersection like some demented ping pong ball. In crash you would detonate your car for enormous explosions, then steer it towards objects...but your car had momentum, you couldn't just switch directions as you can here. Bottom line is, Showtime is awful.

The racing itself can be fun, but it's not that fun. Go get an earlier version.

The multiplayer sucks, especially since there is no local play, only xbox live.

The graphics are beautiful, but the constant driving around to get to a road rage or race sucks.

Having the free will to drive or take whatever route I want is great, except that traffic is annoying as heck and every time you collide you don't have after touch abilities! You loose your boost, and the game slows down every time to show you rolling or exploding for 3-8seconds... It is like the game is making fun of you.

Road rage is painful, since if there are 3 other cars fighting you, once they pass you, three seconds later they are behind you again. Making turns is terrible cause they will T-Bone you constantly. The only way around them is to drive in area's that they can't get to, or drive slow.

The extra items like yellow gates are ridiculous to find. considering there are like 400, I only found 180, and I drove everywhere and even in races I stopped and hit each one I saw.

This game is not for playing for fun... It is a game you pickup to play 1-hour, then play something a lot better. It's a warm-up game, cause more than anything you will be frustrated like heck playing it.

Utter garbage. Unfocused gameplay and a complete lack of the crash modes that made the previous entries so memorable. It's nice that you can drive through a boost-refilling gas station or an auto-repair garage mid-race, but I wouldn't advise it as the cinematic camera views that you must endure while doing so will completely disorient you when going 90mph. Unless you like listening to Avril Lavigne while watching frequent unskippable slow motion wrecks don't bother.

I'm here to tell you folks... This game is an absolute insult to all things burnout. From the absolutely stupid fact that you can't travel instantly and because of this, you have to DRIVE THE ENTIRE MAP on a constant basis. Also the unrivaled genius of EA scrapping crash mode (which is what the entire burnout series was built upon!) I have to say graphics and vehicles were very nice and good physics as well, but the experience was ruined long before i had any desire to finish the game. This is the biggest mistake EA has made in quite some time.

Right off the bat i would like to say, this game is horrible. As a fan of the other Burnouts, this game falls short horribly. i will name the things i hate about it.

1. Crash mode is out.
2. Races suck, hard as heck since you don't know where you are going most of the time
3. Stunt run? who the heck thought of this, boring.
4. Only two good modes are Marked Man and Road Rage

This Game was way to annoying to play. I loved the other Burnouts but there were to many annoying things about this one. Although the gameplay was great and so were the grafics When they put this together they deffinatly dropped the ball somewhere. First thing i noticed was that when you're racing you are staring at your map the whole time. When turns come along you don't get an arrow. Insed you get a street sign the is supposed to be like a blinker but does a better job of distracting you from the race. When a turn comes along you end up staring at the side of the road and your map looking for it since there's nothing that helps you know where to turn or how intisepate it. You're expected to memorize all the turns and the names of the streets. If that doesn't annoy you the DJ will..... enough said about that. Finally you have to drive to all your events because there is no jumpstart to any of the races or events. To top it off theres like 6 or 7 different colored markers to events so it makes it difficult to tell the difference between them and the ones you've already done. And if you do start a race you've already done or don't want to do there is no quit or restart in this game. So that gets old fast. Or then that stuff the game play is awesome but the rest is to annoying for me to play.

If you've been around during the last 5 years or so, you probably have at least a small knowlege about racing games. Pretty much everyone knows that Burnout is that crazy unrealistic racing series with cool stunts and crashes. That's why I went out and rented this game. The problem with it is that they took it too far (IMO) in taking it to the next gen level. It's as if they tried to duplicate Test Drive Unlimited (great game). So its still that crazy Burnout game, but they tried to make it more realistic. In trying to make it more realistic, just made it frustrating and less fun. So now when you play games like road rage you have to watch your car's damage. If I wanted to play games with damage, I would have gone and got Forza 2. Let's face it, the fans of the Burnout Franchise know its unreal, but that's why we play it. The crashing and the crazy stunts is what Burnout is about. I played games like Burnout Revenge to take a break from all the high powered thinking games. Overall it's a decent game

Here are just a few of my Pros and Cons

Pros:
Cool idea being able to drive to your challenges
Online has a ton of depth
Tons of jumps you can joy ride off
Lots of different challenges

Cons:
Map is really confusing
Some of the games like Road Rage are modified
The "realistic features" don't blend in well with a lot of the classic features

I love Burnout I really do, ever since Dominator. What I used to love about it is the events, most of all crashing, oh and by the way what ever happened to crashing just to crash. In this game you are forced to go through residential neighborhoods intersections and hope not to crash on the way to an event in the hopes that it doesn't suck more precious minutes out of your life. Also as you are going threw an intersection don't miss the traffic lights that gain your entry into an event. Come on if I wanted to drive slowly on city streets I would just as well be driving my own car.