Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box Comments by Richard Leadbetter

Excellent score. I'll be getting this on PS3, although it'll have to wait a while as I've got lots to play through at the moment.

The restart option falls into the category of "about damn time" for me.

It wasn't a huge ommision and didn't really spoil my experience of the game (which overall is frickin' awesome). But the way in which Criterion responded to player complaints about its ommision was a sorry episode that everyone involved would do well to forget but never repeat.

If you like arcade stylee driving games, the hours of fun here are easily worth this 9/10. I dropped the series somewhere around BO3, but this has been a series return to form in my eyes.

Bought yesterday. Can't wait to throw it on my E8500, Radeon 4870 system :)

Definately supporting a good PC port! :)

I can see why people wanted the restart function, but I've got to say that I am not using it at all - the couple of times I wanted to, immediately after I lost a race, it didn't work - I assume you have to use it before the actual event is finished?

"Sapphire HD 4830"

Tempted by one of these, just gone to a 22" 1650x1050 monitor and my x800GTO2 is well old now.

traded in my ps3 copy for the PC one. am a really a happy bunny now :). can't stop playing the game.

I was tempted before but this new edition definitely convinced me - I'll buy it as soon as possible!

What's the "restart option"?

So where is this restart option of which you speak. I'm playing on the 360, don't have the party pack but I downloaded the related update ? As UncleLou said, is it only available during a race ?

"What's the "restart option"? "

You can restart a race if something goes wrong, "teleporting" back to the start. Originally, all you could do is drive back to the beginning of the event. The game's structure is so though that there always is the next event around the corner, anyway - you don't need to beat any specific race to progress, so I can see why they had left it out.

You press right on the d-pad and choose restart.

So where is this restart option of which you speak.

You might know this, but technically, press "right" on the digipad. I've seen it during races.

Burnout PC once again makes a very strong case for a combined games and media PC taking pride of place connected to your living room HDTV, particularly if you have a full HD display.

Honestly, if you are in any position to do this, you should. I can't tell you how much more enjoyable this has made my life over the last couple of years.

You might not even need a new/second PC. I used to run a low-spec PC in my living room for media and old skool games, plus a high-spec PC in my bedroom for work and gaming, but now I just use my good PC for everything by running a long DVI->HDMI cable through my bedroom floor and directly into the lounge.

It is a pretty simple set-up, but without blowing my own trumpet, nearly everyone new that comes round seems to love it! No kidding, a pizza delivery guy the other day made me unplug my TV connections just to see exactly how I had the thing set up.

Whether you're into music, movies, tv, internet, games, whatever - it rocks. Seriously.

edit: Just thought I'd mention I have a 720p display rather than full HD, and in a lot of ways it's better. Games run more smoothly, and text and web pages are much easier to read than they would be if it was a 1920x1080 display.

Restarts is a beginning, but no split-screen = it's not burnout, and thus, no sale.

Yep, they've fixed it. Bravo!

Now I'd like a rotating mini-map, and the option to fix the right-stick camera.

Ta!

/obilgatory get-it-on-Steam-ASAP comment

The restart option comes in very handy when you're doing certain races, especially later in the game, and have either completed the handful of events near some of the mountain finishing points or if you're driving something utterly useless for one of those events. That said, god knows why they put it where they did on the D-pad... if you activate it after you've finished an event you've got to go down past friends and online freeburn so more than once I've found myself online rather than restarting an event.

One thing I would say... I think they've made the game too easy now. Certainly it feels MUCH easier, even on the later cars, than it used to and burning routes that were really challenging before the update were simple, finished on the first go events afterwards. Also, while the new graphics are welcome and do definately help the new billboards look terrible, far too distracting and they really do scream 'look at me'. Great when you're hunting for 'em, not so great when you're trying to concentrate on the more pointy bits of the scenery.

Its been said many times before and shall be said, by certain people, many times again: the restart option is a cop-out and goes against Burnout Paradise's design premise.

That said, if it makes people happy/less impatient, far be it from me to throw my toys out of the pram over the slow retardation of games.

Edit - Oh, and if you haven't already, buy this game. It is phenominal! Would recommend using the restart option only on the "one side of map to the other" events, otherwise you just won't memorise the map layout quickly enough.

"The game's structure is so though that there always is the next event around the corner, anyway - you don't need to beat any specific race to progress, so I can see why they had left it out."

That is fine during early play, where you can just romp on to the next junction and do something else. But as you get further through the game (or if you are trophy/achievement hunting) it becomes an increasing pain the ass.

The thing that gets me is that adding the option has absolutely NO impact on the game experience for any player who chooses to ignore it. I would rather have the option and not need it, than need the option and not have it.

For those who say "I've never used it so it makes no difference" I can only say "cool, glad you are still happy".

Finally this game is what it should have been a year ago.

Will I buy it again?

Mmmmm, not sure

With the added restart option i might go back to get the rest of the singleplayer achieves. I only have a lousy 640G on the game. This game deserves better really.

@Ignatius_Cheese

"the restart option is a cop-out and goes against Burnout Paradise's design premise."

In my opinion that is never an excuse. Nothing should come higher in the list of priorities than the quality of the final player experience. Nothing. Ever.

If the lack of restart harmed the experience of a majority of players, then design premise be damned. Sticking resolutely to lofty values such as that, despite the paying customer clearly not enjoying the results, is poor game production practice.

Rant over :)

P.s. This is not to say I might add, that you should always give a player what they say whey want. Sometimes, gamers genuinely don't know what they want or what will make the game more fun.

Kudos to EG for re-reviewing the game... and the game fully deserves a 9 :)

Restarts is a beginning, but no split-screen = it's not burnout, and thus, no sale.

From what I understand, that's not really possible technically in an open environment that's streaming from a disc. Probably safe to say that it's MS' fault for not having a mandatory hdd.*

*(Actually, I have no idea if it would be possible to do it from a hdd or otherwise different hardware.)

"From what I understand, that's not really possible technically in an open environment that's streaming from a disc."

That's what criterion said, and is a fair enough reason to not implement it. My position stands though, I won't buy another burnout game until there is split-screen road rage. If that means I never buy another burnout then so be it, I still have takedown which IMO is infinitely better than paradise, fancy graphics or no.


"Probably safe to say that it's MS' fault for not having a mandatory hdd."

Of course it is, just like AIDS, global warming, the current recession, Jade Goodies cancer, Parma violets, and the Hamburgler are all MS devices designed to bring the world to it's knees.

"If the lack of restart harmed the experience of a majority of players, then design premise be damned."

With all due respect, I believe you will find Burnout Paradise sitting in 9th place on the EG Reader's Top 50 of 2008. That majority of players is looking smaller and smaller by the minute ;oP

With all due respect, I believe you will find Burnout Paradise sitting in 9th place on the EG Reader's Top 50 of 2008. That majority of players is looking smaller and smaller by the minute ;oP

I think that if you asked all those people whether they wanted a restart option, the vast, vast majority would say yes. Anecdotally, I don't know a single person with Paradise who didn't want one.

Anyway, rather than derailing this comments thread into a debate about the quick restart option, people should just pick this up and find out for themselves which way they prefer to play.

I didn't buy it first time round, just bought it fromk PSN

I didn't even notice te restart option, still think it's awesome value for money now.

And yes, that includes a restart option.

And for that, Criterion, you have earned yourself a sale.

@Ignatius_Cheese

"people should just pick this up and find out for themselves which way they prefer to play."

On this we fully agree :)

On the game itself: I like it a lot, but I don't love it as much as I loved Burnout 2 (the last I played). I am not quite so sure the open structure can compensate for carefully designed tracks.

And I miss crash mode, terribly. Showtime isn't a sufficient replacement. I wonder why they haven't announced it as DLC, as I have the feeling lots of people felt the same.

I agree, crash mode is a real loss.

It was really Burnout's answer to party games. Lots of people can be involved, quick turnaround of rounds, entertaining to watch as it well as play.

Worth getting just for the sterling job Criterion and EA have done with the DLC.

great game, and even better a year on (looks great on the pc at hi-res), and dlc that is free or actually worth buying

if you haven't got this yet you are missing out

1080p is not a PC resolution!

FS.

I think that the fact that this has NO LAN Play should be mentioned in the review.

It was enough for me not to buy it. We should refuse to give money to the companies that are taking things away from us (and I also mean you, EA, with your NFS, even if the last one is an unpolished turd).

"1080p is not a PC resolution"


ZZZzzzzzz
/snort
Sorry, what?


Seriously though.
http://www.pcwb.co.uk/catalogue/item/A04...

There are literally hundreds of others out there. As if it really MATTERED.

@paketep

Does it have online play?

I bouhgt this game last week on the 360 for a whopping $20 (10 quid) BARGAIN with all the DLC (unfortunately the dlc takes up over 1.5 gig though).

My only complaint is that there's too few variety on the events and it gets repetitive quite quick.


>1080p is not a PC resolution!

Erm.. er... well what is it then? :-)

It's a resolution, the pc runs at it.. therefor it's a pc resolution.

Restart option is ok I guess but I don't see how relaxing time limits and extra-highlighting ramps and shortcuts is an improvement over an already easy game.

1920 x 1080 1080p is not a standard PC resolution. 1080p is a HDTV resolution.

I falls somewhere between WSXGA (1680 × 1050) and WUXGA (1920 x 1200). However, in recent years an increasing amount of graphics cards and computer monitors have begun supporting it.

I love this game, I have put in over 120 hours into it... and I'm still playing it. Defo 10/10 game IMHO!

I can understand where the devs were coming from with the no restart. Yeah people want it, but that's because most gamers are impatient and lazy sods of the 20 second attention span MTV generation. Not having it there forces you to learn the map which you REALLY do need to do and I urge people not to use the restart unless they really, really have to do it. OK, that's my 2 groats :-)

Made easier for PC players, then? LOSERS.

I've already bought this game twice (on two different formats) before many of the upgrade where made available for it. I actually found the game curiously bland and empty, so I sold it. Hmm.

Just what I have been waiting for, good to see budget cards can run this well, but this isn't a problem for my 4870. As with mosty multiplatform games now PC is the way to go if it can cope with it.

As for 1080p not being a PC resolution... I just checked and my PC is outputting at 1920x1080 and it is progessive so isn't that 1080p?

Just because a lot of PC monitors are 16:10 (1920x1200) doesn't mean it isn't a valid resolution, given the choice of a 22" 1920x1200 monitor or a 40" 1080p TV I know which I would pick (and did pick)

The PC version is good but unexceptional. Like the console versions it's a game that I still feel is ultimately a disappointment and certainly doesn't deserve a 9 in my book, although the developer support for it has been outstanding admittedly.

The racing itself is fine and the sense of speed is impressive but the lifeless city and lack of traffic give this game a dull feel. The open world format makes the shortcomings of the environment all the more obvious IMO since you have time to examine the surroundings and there really isn't that much of interest nor is there much variety. A few hours playing this and I had seen pretty much all this game had to offer. It then got boring very quickly even with the free DLC.

Compared with Midnight Club: L.A. for example, Burnout Paradise is a soulless, empty experience and not a patch on the wonderful Burnout 2 or 3. It's a game that seems more geared toward multiplayer, something I've never really been struck on, and the single player is just a bit too drab and unexciting for me.

1920 x 1080 1080p is not a standard PC resolution. 1080p is a HDTV resolution.

It falls somewhere between WSXGA (1680 × 1050) and WUXGA (1920 x 1200). However, in recent years an increasing amount of graphics cards and computer monitors have begun supporting it.

I've not played a Burnout game since on the Gamecube, so I'm a bit interested in this now. But is it correct that there is no splitscreen- you can't race someone else on the same console at the same time? Hmm?

@Razz

What is a standard PC resolution? I understand that VGA, SVGA XGA et al refer to specific resolutions, but unless time is standing still in PC land other resolutions (such as HD resolutions) can be added to the list, right?

I mean, is this really going to turn into a PC resolution purist argument. "VGA and SVGA were good enough in my day, so there is no need to change them"?

Frankly I can't believe I even asked the question.

This talk about PCs not being made for 1080p is just a joke. The thing about PCs are that everything is customizable if you have the right tools and know how.
The review dosnt mention it but on the PC you can get ridiculous resolutions using the game stretched across more then 1 monitor or TV. Great for ppl who already have 3 monitors. One looking left, one looking right and one down the middle. I dunno what the top resolution is but its at least 5040x1050 in this mode.