Burnout Paradise

Burnout Paradise isn't everything it could have been, but what's here is still worthy of serious consideration for anyone hell-bent on demented arcade thrills.

You won’t like some of developer Criterion’s design decisions for Paradise City, but that doesn’t mean you won’t like the game. Criterion’s stubborn refusal to allow event restarts or quick jumps around the world map may keep the integrity of its open world format intact – and what a gorgeous, chock-full world it is – but this breaks the seamless feeling it has worked hard to create. I spent too much time checking the out-of-game map and not enough time exploiting the crumple zones of foes’ cars. In spite of some of these bad choices, there’s a very fun game here.

Burnout Paradise includes all the fast-driving, hard-wrecking action you'd expect from a Burnout game, but with a fantastic new open-world design that gives it its own stand-alone flavor.

"Paradise is a success because of its originality within the Burnout series. Innovation isn't always EA's strong suit, but much like skate, Paradise is an all-new concept that pays off, big time. The singleplayer is pretty robust, and the multiplayer Freeburns will have you and your friends laughing like small children as you pull ridiculous stunts and crashes around each other."

I'm not budging on the issue of navigating during race events though - the closed track races in Revenge are far more enjoyable. Even so, for true next-gen arcade racing thrills Burnout Paradise is most definitely your best option. Criterion has delivered a game that every gamer should have in their collection.