Best of the Burnouts (Burnout Paradise (Xbox 360))

Member Name: mynameisrui

Product:	Burnout Paradise (Xbox 360)
Date:	01/05/08 (24 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Graphics, free roaming, great cars

Disadvantages: Can get a tad monotonous

Burnout paradise is hands down the best burnout game released! No, I'm not just saying that because it's the most recent one to be released, I'm saying that because it's the truth!

I feel that the series lost its way a bit and each new release was simply the same as the previous one but with better graphics and a few more small bits to justify the price tag. Burnout Paradise, however, changes all that.

Straight from the main page you get a taster of what's to come with the main theme tune being Paradise City by Guns n Roses (shock horror on that one!). You're then taken straight into the game and given your first rust bucket to play around with.

The main difference between this game and the rest of the burnout series is that this one is completely free roaming and tasks are undertaken by going to a specific area on the map instead of just selecting it from the menu. This can work in a good or bad way. Good because it encompasses the whole free roaming this but bad because, if you muck up, it means you have to go all the way back to its position to try again. Personally, I prefer it this way.

The free roaming element works hand in hand with unlocking new tasks. As you drive round the city, you will unlock a new task as you drive past the area where it is located. I believe there are around 120 tasks to unlock and so far I've got most of them but am stumped as to where the last 5 or so are. Once you find the event, it way stay on your map permanently.

There are 5 different types of event: Race, Burning Route, Marked Man, Stunt Run and Road Rage. Race, as expected, is just your bog standard get from point A to point B before everyone else and along the way if you happen to cause a few crashes then you'll get an increased boost metre. Burning route is also simple. Its just you against the clock! Marked Man is where you need to get from point A to Point B but you will have cars on the road that are out simply to take you out. The purpose of this one is to make it to the end without your car being destroyed. Stunt Run is a hard one. You are given a point score that you need to beat and this needs to be done by being a bit crazy! Points are given for things like jumps, boosting, reverse driving, etc and you need to get to the set score. Finally, road rage is the old classic! Race around and take out as many people as you can until you reach the required amount.

Quite randomly after you complete races you will be told that a new car is driving round the streets. If this is the case then, when not on a mission, you need to chase after then and take them out to add their car to your collection. In total, there are 75 cars to collect.

Onto the gameplay itself. Firstly, the game looks lovely. As you drive around Paradise City you cant help but notice how good it all looks. Driving itself is also very easy. Each car has their own very unique characteristics and respond in different ways. The one thing I was worried about was whether the AI would be good or no. Fortunately I have found that, while it's not the best, it is good. You won't regularly find people moving out in front of you at the last minute and the other cars on the road will often try and take you out properly instead of just accelerating against your bumper.

A nice little touch in Paradise City is the inclusion of petrol stations and repair centres which can be used mid race. These all take the same form but have different colours. All you need to do is to drive through them and your car will be repaired or your boost filled up. This can be very handy in road rage events or marked man events as its buys you a few more crashes to get to the end!

The actual objective of the game is to basically to upgrade your licence as much as possible. This is done by competing in events and after a certain amount, they will give you a new licence. After you get this new licence, all the previous events completed will be reset and you can do them again. At the moment I have got the Elite licence and I need 115 races to upgrade and quite frankly I cant be bothered!

One of the consistently positive aspects of the Burnout games has been the radio and yet again it delivers. DJ Atomika returns and is as good as ever providing helpful hints and playing some brilliant songs.

I say go and buy this game!

Summary: This game certainly improves on the series as is definately the best one to date