When I first heard about Buron Paradise City I was thrilled. As soon as the demo was online on Xbox Live, I downloaded it and couldn’t wait to play it.

Man was I disappointed. I drove around a few blocks and tried a few races and that was it. No crashing, no car wrecks. Just some streets to roam. I couldn’t help it though. I refused to believe that Criterion Games had committed such a lousy demo. So I bought the game for my Xbox 360 (with my own money, since this reviewer doesn’t get any games for review).

I’m glad I bought Burnout Paradise City! (not that I spent my own money on it *hint* *hint*).

Burnout Paradise City is nothing like the old Burnout games.

• There is no sequential mode going from rank to rank, instead you get a notch in your driver’s license.
• You don’t start an event from a menu, instead you just drive around exploring Paradise City. Events are started from intersections. There are two types of events Time race and Showtime.
• Time race and Road rage is the classic drive from start to goal, except in Burnout Paradise City there is no defined route for you to follow. The minimap shows the goal area and then it’s up to you how you get there.
• Crash mode is replaced with Showtime mode. I do miss Crash mode. I really liked how you had to coordinate your stunts. In Showtime you use your boost to make the car jump around like a rubberball. You can do that for a very long time and all you have to do it hit cars, that comes toward you down the road. There is no aftertouch either, so no more taking cars down with you.

• Another thing diehard Burnout fans might miss, I’m not sure I will, is traffic checking. If you drive into something your car takes damage. There are several auto shops in Paradise City, that will fix your car. Speaking of shops you can tank boost at gas stations. Another minor new thing.
• The saddest part about Burnout Paradise City is the lack of new events. After each notch in your driver’s license, the events you’ve raced are reset and you need to drive them again. Luckily Paradise City is an open world, so there is plenty to explore, it would still be nice with some new events nevertheless.
• It would be nice if you could turn off the DJ too. That guy drives me nuts. I turned down the music immediately too. On Xbox 360 you can use your own music if you prefer that. A new and very cool detail. As far as I know that’s the only difference between the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 versions.
• Multiplayer mode has also gotten a facelift. Instead of a multiplayer menu, you simply join multiplayer directly in game and is transferred to a multiplayer Paradise City, where every intersection hosts an event. For the pervs out there… Yes, you can use your Playstation Eye or Xbox Live Vision Camera. When you take down a rival player the camera takes a mugshot of his reaction… This could get naughty.
• The graphic is excellent. I wish I could see it on a HD TV. I think that would make the Burnout experience even better.

If I should give Burnout Paradise City a grade it would be 8 out of 10. I really like the idea of the open world, but I miss a few classic features like Crash mode and aftertouch. Not being able to turn off the DJ annoys me too.

Burnout Paradise City is available for Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. It is out now.

So are you planning on buying Burnout Paradise City? Did you play any of the older ones? Or perhaps you prefer the “quieter” racing games like Project Gotham Racing or Forza Motorsport 2?

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