Burnout Paradise originally released centuries ago (actually 2008) for the PS3, Xbox 360, and Windows OS. Ten years later and Criterion/Stellar Entertainment decided to let younger gamers who weren’t alive back then (like me – jk) experience the speed in the current generation of consoles, sans Nintendo Switch, and Microsoft Windows.
Platform Reviewed: PS4
Platforms Available: PS4, Xbox One
Developer: Stellar Entertainment (Remastered), Criterion (Original)
Publisher: EA
Release Date: March 7, 2018
MSRP: $39.99
This review is based on a review code provided by EA.
Burnout Paradise is an arcade racing game. That’s all there is to know about it, actually. Most of the things you’d expect in a racing game are here: crashes, enemy racers, and challenges. Burnout Paradise’s edge, though, is that it’s set in an open world environment. That means you can progress through the game at your own pace.
Burnout Paradise takes place in, well, Paradise City. On the road, you’re accompanied by the Crash FM Radio station’s commentator, DJ Atomika. He also serves as your guide.
Once you boot up the game for the first time, DJ Atomika gives you tutorials to help you begin your journey. Whenever you’re just chilling while driving around the area and you accidentally discover something new, count on DJ Atomika to make funny remarks.
In Burnout Paradise, your rank and statistics are presented to you via the driver’s license. This is given to you by DJ Atomika at the start of the game, making it your second most important possession in Paradise City – next to the cars you own.
Burnout Paradise makes you feel energized, powerful, and special.
When you use your boost, you’ll feel like nothing can go wrong. Like you’re in total control of what you’re doing, where you’re going. Until you face a wall. But even when you’re getting wrecked all the time, you’ll still feel like risking it all just to feel that energizing thrill of racing anywhere.
Like any other open world game, exploration is the key to victory in Burnout Paradise. The joy of discovering stuff by ramming into them or jumping off of them encourages players to zoom around the map.
Burnout Paradise feels so good to turbo boost everywhere. Everything in Paradise City can be a ramp – even the vehicles! But instead of jumping into the air, you get wrecked. Or if you’re lucky, get a driveaway and continue bashing into walls.
Driveaways are when you crash into a car, but instead of getting fully wrecked, you get away with just dents and broken windshields. You can still instantly get your cars fixed when you drive through a repair shop. Gasoline stations refill your boost meters. Junkyard Shops are where your car collections are. These establishments are located all around Paradise City. You just have to discover them all.
You really need to explore Paradise City its hidden alleys and get lost. This is the only way to familiarize yourself with the area. You see, every race happens when you press both R2 and L2 in front of a traffic light. You will then be briefed about your starting area and your destination.
You won’t be getting standard tracks in Paradise City – the whole city is your track! This is why even the slightest wrong turn can get you from first place to the last.
Thankfully though, Paradise City is filled with yellow gates which are actually shortcuts. And there’s a whole 400 of them. Even if you get lost, you can still get the chance to grab that first place.
As you roam around Paradise City participating in challenges and races, new drivers with their shiny new cars join in on the fun. You can then collect their cars by crashing them to their doom. What fun!
What’s this? You accidentally pressed L1 and R1 together? Enter Showtime mode. This is Burnout Paradise’s own crash mode. It’s an easy rampage-like game mode where you earn cash by crashing your car into others along the road. It’s a create your own pileup simulation. Every hit with a car fills your boost meter. And while you still have juice in your boost meter, you can continue Showtime-ing for up to an hour. It’s car mayhem to the max.
Burnout Paradise Remastered brings all the glory of the original game, most of the downloadable contents, and adds additional graphical effects and upscaled resolution (for consoles, that is). Paradise City gives you the adrenaline you deserve, letting you crash cars and race whenever you want to. It’s speedy and thrilling and will make you wonder how it came out for the previous generation of consoles when it’s obviously a game made from the future (which is today).
