Burnout Paradise

By Quintin Smith Published 13 December, 2007

Where's Crash? It's Showtime.

Like a mum on her kid's first day at school before that dishy gardener shows up, lots of people are worried about Burnout Paradise. And with good reason, too. Paradise's crazed next-gen design document involves no menus, right down to players not having an option to instantly restart challenges, and a focus on online multiplayer that's entirely new to the series. Then there's the removal of Crash mode and the replacing of levels with a single, huge open city.

If it all sounds dangerous... well, it is, according to Nick Channon, Paradise's senior producer.

"Yes, it's bold! Throwing everything away has been a huge risk, and if you came upstairs into the studios I don't think anyone would tell you it's been easy. The easiest thing is to just go into a menu and select 'I want to do this event'. Alex Ward, our creative director, believes really passionately that we should try to be bold and create something that we feel is truly next-gen. It has to be Burnout, and I'm sure the player will realise it quintessentially still is, but we wanted to deliver that in what we felt was a next-gen way. No front-end, no loading... we've created this world and we want to keep you in it. It's been tough, but we've got there in the end."

Phew. But while we were down at EA talking to Mr Channon we also got the chance to try out Paradise's new gameplay modes, and hopefully it'll relieve a few of you to hear that they all seem to hit the balance between being fresh and being Burnout.

'Burnout Paradise' Screenshot 1

76 cars to choose from! Although now they're split into Speed, Stunt and Aggression categories.

Let's start with Marked Man, which Nick describes as "Road Rage in reverse" and we'd describe as a horrible Burnout-induced fever dream. You start the event somewhere in the city and are tasked with getting somewhere else without being taken down a certain number of times. Out to get you are a pack of tough black cars that are as insane as they are vicious, and they'll dog you right up to the finish line. Whether to try the event in a fast car and just run away from them, or to pick a tough car and try and stand up for yourself is up to you.

Then there's Stunt Run, which gives you a timer and a score target and sets you on your way. When you perform a stunt the timer stops for a few seconds and you start building a combo, so it's all about figuring out paths through the city that'll let you cram in the most jumps, slides, and spins - a new addition to Burnout that can only be done on lopsided ramps. You'll want as many billboards and fences as possible to smash through, too.

And according to Nick, these modes are really going to shine because of the new free-roaming world.

"We spent one hell of a long time making the world, which was good because it gave us the chance to design it around our two new game modes. For instance, in Marked Man the black cars won't follow you down any shortcuts you know about. And in Stunt Run how well you know the city is obviously important because it'll let you string together the most stunts."

'Burnout Paradise' Screenshot 2

A full half of Paradise's world is boondocks, which oddly feel really restrictive after the city sprawl.

Which brings us onto Showtime, Criterion's completely insane replacement for Crash mode. The way it works is at any point while you're driving around and the mood takes you, with the press of a button you enter Showtime mode and your car explodes. And, uh, it keeps exploding. More specifically it keeps exploding in slow motion for as long as you can keep other people exploding. And who says games are childish?

The rules here are that you're given a massively generous amount of aftertouch control and the ability to explode several times, with each car you wreck giving you another 2 or so 'splodes. If you start in a decent spot the result is several minutes of sequential explosions, millions of dollars worth of damage and probably a big smile on the player's face, but this doesn't capture just how ludicrous Showtime mode is. When we heard it was playable online with up to eight players bouncing around like psychotic Katamaris, we had to ask Nick just how many drugs the staff of Criterion had to take to come up with this.

"Haha. Ah... I wouldn't like to say. But I think it was just an evolution and being bold again. We could have put junctions in but it wouldn't have fit the seamless gameplay, because ultimately you would have had to have selected an event and the world would have had to set everything up. So this is what we came up with to replace it, and we're really pleased with how you can just do it anywhere."

Finally (and not technically a new mode, per se) are the new online co-op challenges. Once you and a friend or seven are in the same world together Paradise will happily cough up one of several hundred 2, 4, 6 or 8 player challenges for the lot of you to work on together, ranging from wrecking a grand total of cars in a time limit to one player jumping over several other players. It sounds like genius to us - you might find out one of your friends is online, drop into his single-player world for five minutes, work together to complete some little task and then quit and go make your tea. Gorgeous. Again, Nick had something to say on the subject.

'Burnout Paradise' Screenshot 3

Gentlemen drivers will memorise the location of all of Paradise City's repair shops, for those annoying chips, dents and catastrophic explosions.

"In next-gen games it is important you have an online component. However, once again we wanted to make a difference and change the way this worked because we'd been so frustrated with getting online and the experiences we were having. What we realised was that the most fun you're going to have is when you're playing with your friends, and that's what's going to get more people playing online. Right now a lot of people are joining a server, getting shot and being permanently put off. But if they go and play co-operatively with their friends then it's can be a really fulfilling experience where they feel like they've achieved something and they can have a laugh doing it.

"Alex Ward wants us to make the best game we physically can. Every Burnout has to be the best Burnout we can make with the technology available to us, which is why Paradise as the first true next-gen Burnout has to be such a huge step forward. Three years ago he laid down the three rules of the game we were going to make, which are 'Seamless world', 'Online gaming' and 'Still Burnout'. And there were times when we thought, 'Oh, I don't know if we can do that', but Alex pushed us and told us we can do it and we will do it, and we have."

Picture of Quintin.

About Quintin Smith

Read more articles from Quintin by visiting the Quintin Smith archive page.

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Comments (83) Latest comment 4 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Blerk #1 4 years ago

    Showtime is the replacement for Crash? Not just an additional? Bad show. It looks rubbish. :-(

  • phoopipe #2 4 years ago

    sounds intresting.

  • Kazzahdrane #3 4 years ago

    I don't like the sound of Burnout without Crash mode, but I trust the team so look forward to seeing how Paradise plays.

    Demo's up today, for anyone who doesn't know! :)

  • DanWhitehead #4 4 years ago

    Then there's Stunt Run, which gives you a timer and a score target and sets you on your way. When you perform a stunt the timer stops for a few seconds and you start building a combo, so it's all about figuring out paths through the city that'll let you cram in the most jumps, slides, and spins - a new addition to Burnout that can only be done on lopsided ramps. You'll want as many billboards and fences as possible to smash through, too.

    This sounds exactly like what I wanted Stuntman to be.

  • OnlyMe #5 4 years ago

    From what I've seen of Showtime, it's one of the most idiotic designs ever. Seriously, I thought this was something only really really bad developers would come up with. I wasn't thrilled with traffic checking, but this is just ridiculous.

    Other than that, I look forward to the game. And will the demo be out soon?

  • Der_tolle_Emil #6 4 years ago

    It does sound interesting although I have my doubts about Showtime. It's not really that I miss the crash mode but with being able to do it everywhere and not only at set up junctions I think it will be too random to really stay interesting for a long time.

    Obviously the crash events were always about how much damage you can cause and you could perfect your impact as the scenes always played the same. With that element missing I think it's just tacked on if you are bored with racing and just want to explode instead. Might be fun the first couple of times but I wonder if it will be able to keep my interest for a long time.

    The racing sounds good though. I have the feeling Burnout this time is focused more on racing again; Just like many other fans I still think that Burnout 2 is the best Burnout and while I agree that Paradise will be drastically different it still might be the closest to Burnout 2 in terms of how the racing works.

  • Der_tolle_Emil #7 4 years ago

    This sounds exactly like what I wanted Stuntman to be.

    You do have a point there. I really enjoyed the Stuntman demo but I didn't buy it because it seemed like a lot of work. I usually enjoy games where I have to get better and better doing the same things but it can be tiresome and I had the impression that Stuntman would get a bit too repetitive after a while. Another problem would be that if you don't like the set you are working on then it's a lost cause anyway and it won't be much fun; With every set being quite different I am sure that I would have come across 3 or 4 that just aren't fun enough to be played over and over again.

    Looks like that in Burnout I can find my own routes that are fun and then try to get the best out of them. Should be even more fun because there are probably more ways to do it, deciding not to jump as far as possible to get the next turn better, which is something that Stuntman didn't offer because you had to do every stunt exactly as planned without giving me the opportunity to find my own ways to improvise to get better results.

    Anyway, another long post. So the demo really is out today? That's probably the best news of the week! Thanks for the info, I'm short on time this evening so I definetly would not have checked (especially since there hasn't been anything new on the marketplace in the last two weeks and I got tired of checking every now and then just to find out nothing's there) but now I will make the time.

  • Kenshin001 #8 4 years ago

    Supposedly there is a demo on the US PSN tonight. Hope it's true.

  • TechnoHippy #9 4 years ago

    They can happily rip out the crash mode for all I care, it's always been the weakest component in Burnout.

  • Stupid_Fat_Hobbit #10 4 years ago

    Maybe I'm just old and scared of change, but I wouldn't object to menus. I think they're a handy way of selecting things.

    Also, I'm a little worried that Crackdown has ruined me, and I'll never again enjoy a free-roaming city game where I can't leap hundreds of feet between rooftops and kill people by throwing corpses at them.

  • Beano #11 4 years ago

    "They can happily rip out the crash mode for all I care, it's always been the weakest component in Burnout. "

    I agree completely - I've never quite understood what's the fuzz was about... BO is about fast and furious arcade racing and Paradise sound like another great game in the series ;)

  • Talha #12 4 years ago

    Are you guys kidding? No Crash Mode, no Burnout. Simple.

    True, it was conceived as a fun add-on but it has become an integral part of the gameplay. Opening up an entire city to crashes is nice in theory, but there is no chance in hell the devs would be able to hone each of them to the degree that the standalone junctions used to get.

    Also, why the f*** everything has to be seamless? I'd rather have 50 tracks set in different environments rather than a wide open city. When was that EVER interesting except for GTA, NFS MW and perhaps TDU.

    Come of the rut. NFS guys had the decency to do it with Pro Street (although due to other factors the results are mixed), why can't you, Criterion?

    I suspect EA have a policy of having at least one free-roaming driving game, and this year they have forced Burnout to adopt this route. Nauseating.

  • Eighthours #13 4 years ago

    Quintin, the video going around of Showtime mode on Gamersyde looks bloody awful. Did you form a positive impression of it?

  • monkie_king #14 4 years ago

    Another important info-nugget: 60FPS! 30FPS racers should be outlawed.

  • AceMaCool #15 4 years ago

    I'm surprised so many people are down on this game. It looks fantastic to me, like Test Drive done right.

  • Jheronimus #16 4 years ago

    Well, stripping off Crash mode makes this game a no-buyer for me. Over the past editions of Burnout perfecting all the Crash courses was the only reason for me to pick the game of the shelves from time to time.

  • kangarootoo #17 4 years ago

    "and if you came upstairs into the studios I don't think anyone would tell you it's been easy."

    Translation. Everyone has been doing 15 hour days for months.

  • Dezm0nd #18 4 years ago

    Good to see they're trying something new with crash mode.

    Restarting those pre-set junctions over and over was starting to get on my tits

    Let's hope it works, eh Criterion!

  • JonFE #19 4 years ago

    So, that endless car rolling, completely devoid of physics laws, in that Showtime video is the substitute of Crash junctions? What were they thinking???

    I have to admit that a free roaming, full dynamic city could give the player more interesting crash opportunities and improve on the scripted predetermined crash junctions of past, but if that video is representative of their implementation, it leaves a lot to be desired. Hope I'm proven wrong, though...

    /waits impatiently for the demo tonight...

  • Paleface #20 4 years ago

    Yeah, the constant restarting/load-times of Crash mode meant I never really enjoyed it, no matter how pretty the mess I made.

    Showtime == "Every Extend Burnout", from the sounds of things, which sounds interesting if not perfect. If they pull off the multiplayer they're describing, though...

  • pyrat6 #21 4 years ago

    It's interesting.

    But it isn't Burnout.

  • Artemis_Matsas #22 4 years ago

    Booooooooooooooooooooooo

    Bring back Crash mode you $%#$^$&@%$!#!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • asphaltcowboy #23 4 years ago

    Sounds really good and looks really good. I was very unsure of Showtime when I saw a video of it, it does look absolutely ridiculous, but I never really got on with Crash, so I'm open to new things! Bring on the demo!

  • smirny #24 4 years ago

    I for one welcome our new Showtime overlords... sounds interesting... let's not slag it off til we've all had a chance to try it out! :)

  • peterfll #25 4 years ago

    I'm a little concerned over the scale of change, but the team hasn't let me down yet, so faith is what's required.

    ps Crash mode restarts were fixed on Revenge, practically instantaneous.
    pps It has to be 60 fps or it won't feel like Burnout.

  • Weezer #26 4 years ago

    Why do people always suggest that you need drugs to be creative (sigh).

  • LOLLERS #27 4 years ago

    Can you do this showtime shennanigans in the demo?

  • arjan #28 4 years ago

    It all sounds very meh to me . :(

    No surprise really, all the burnouts after point of impact were pretty much shite imo, tried them all apart from revenge and traded them in after a few days.

    Showtime looks rubbish, all the stunting looks quite unnessecary.

    gief burnout 2 hd :(

  • domoslaf #29 4 years ago

    What's with the frame rate drops in the Xbox 360 version? I mean that's supposedly Burnout, that stuff shouldn't be happening. Is it the amazing powah of Xbox or the programmers just being lazy (not meaning to sound fanboish, I'm closer to a MS fanboy if anything, but the frame rate drops being an issue with many Xbox 360 games these days make me angry)
    Edited by 3 at 13/12/07 @ 11:28

  • Daymare #30 4 years ago

    Another "booo, no crash mode!?" here.

    Is environment (houses, signs, fences n' stuff) destructible this time around? Probably not too much, since they've taken this free-roaming path... Since the first time I've played Burnout 3 I've been dreaming about a next-gen Burnout where you would be able to destroy everything, not just cars - especially in Crash mode. And; no restart option is NOT next-gen! NOT fun, more like it.

  • bivith #31 4 years ago

    No Crash mode, no sale.

    Bye Burnout. It was nice knowing you.

  • IAmBatman #32 4 years ago

    "The easiest thing is to just go into a menu and select 'I want to do this event'. Alex Ward, our creative director, believes really passionately that we should try to be bold and create something that we feel is truly next-gen"

    Not having menus to select which things to play is next-gen is it? So presumably Alex Ward thinks GTA1 is truly next-gen?

  • Der_tolle_Emil #33 4 years ago

    What's with the frame rate drops in the Xbox 360 version? I mean that's supposedly Burnout, that stuff shouldn't be happening.

    Are you judging by the demo? Haven't played it yet but I wouldn't be surprised if the codebase of the demo isn't final which means that they are probably still working on improving the performance until launch and fix the framerate issues.

  • mkreku #34 4 years ago

    Hmm.. I think I'll enjoy exploring the Burnout Paradise city and some of the play modes sound very interesting (being hunted by a mass of black cars being one of them!)..

    But I have to agree that the Showtime sounds pretty lame. If there are no specific junctions, what's the goal of exploding your car? Some sort of general damage counter you're supposed to try to break everytime? Like, if I explode my car in a suburb (assuming there is one) and I get $200,000 worth of damage and then realize I can go downtown and easily explode for $2,000,000 worth of damage, then what's the point?

    I hope someone who's played the demo can explain this change to me, but it sounds awful right now.

  • agparrot #35 4 years ago

    peterfil typed I'm a little concerned over the scale of change, but the team hasn't let me down yet, so faith is what's required.

    I feel this way ^.

    The Showtime video does make it look... well, a bit rubbish, in honesty. Is it something that goes on in the persistent world, so that I could be hopping from car rooftop to car rooftop whilst a race whizzes past me?

    No?

    Then what is the problem with having it as a separate event, not, as somebody on the forums pointed out, something more like Katamari?

    edit: The Demo is up today? Going to plug the sexbox in and download it, then...
    Edited by 1 at 13/12/07 @ 11:51

  • domoslaf #36 4 years ago

    Der_tolle_Emil: Yes, I'm judging from the demo, of course. Here's hoping that they do fix it. It isn't so obvious nowadays... :(

  • agparrot #37 4 years ago

    Looks, from the scrolling text on the demo description, like the Paradise 360 demo has Multiplayer!

  • Arcadiian #38 4 years ago

    I've been playing the demo all morning. It does have multiplayer, infact, I can't imagine playing Paradise without it now. Maybe the full game will sway me to the single player a bit more.

    Edit: Can't say I noticed any framerate issues. But then I don't notice hardly any of this nerdy stuff most people complain about. o_O
    Edited by 1 at 13/12/07 @ 12:13

  • IAmBatman #39 4 years ago

    If you think the open world changes sound like they've knackered it, the demo will confirm that for you, they have thrown the baby out with the bathwater.

    At leastit has for me.

    And why has the DJ come back? WHY?

  • Arcadiian #40 4 years ago

    I don't think the open world map has ruined it. Weaving in and out of traffic while boosting and chasing your mate online, feels just like ordinary Burnout.

  • Saladin #41 4 years ago

    I have to admit - I'm really looking forward to this now. The loss of Crash mode seems a small price to play for the rest of the stuff we'll be getting.

  • OllyJ #42 4 years ago

    after about half an hour it's fun yeah, nice burnout fun but.....

    personal preferences unfortunately get the better of me, Free roaming is a lot of work, trying to find races, yawn. can you quickly jump to races?

    Amazing crashes and super super sound effects. But yeah meh to the free roaming, it's kind of off putting for me

  • rotmm #43 4 years ago

    OllyJ: "can you quickly jump to races?"

    I don't believe so. What is even more annoying is that you can't set a specific race up as a "flag" in the main map menu. So unless you have an amazing memory and can recall, from a brief glimpse, the roads you have to travel to find a particular race, it's going to mean opening up the main map over and over again just to be sure you're on the right path.

    Stupid and not very fun at all.

  • Anthony_UK #44 4 years ago

    Who care's about crash mode anyway, I always thought of it being random and pointless to be honest!

  • pjmaybe #45 4 years ago

    My other half told me to kick you in the bollocks but you're not close enough...

    Peej

  • agparrot #46 4 years ago

    Physics feel really nice - Arcadey but weighty - I have just spent a full ten minutes tooling around with the handbrake (e-brake, as they insist on calling it)

    Haven't even done a race thingy, is quite fun just mucking about. Graphics quite stylised - overall far shinier and seemingly smoother than TDU, for sure. Haven't noticed any framerate drops here, either, but.... will see what happens in races and stuff.

    Looking forward to settling in for a couple of hours MP later this evening.

  • Anthony_UK #47 4 years ago

    Stuck at work :-(

    Come on! the Crash junctions were boring, ok with 4 of you taking turns round the TV there was some fun to be had, but in single player they were just dire!

    The only thing I want to hear is that the 'traffic checking' has been scrapped ie you can't drive into cars going in the same direction as you and use them like pinball's. Thats the only thing that spoilt revenge for me!
    Edited by 1 at 13/12/07 @ 13:33

  • bivith #48 4 years ago

    It's not us crash fans' fault you suck at crash mode. Those of us for whom crash mode was like crack will mourn it. They broke it in 3, fixed it again in Revenge, and now they've just plain removed it. Gutted

  • 3william56 #49 4 years ago

    Crash will be missed, because even if Showtime is good, it's definitely single player, and not competitive - you can't run through the same challenge with everyone taking a go, which was where Crash shone - it was a drunk mate-accessible mini game worthy of the wii. But the whingers yelling no crash no sale are rather missing the point.

    Still think I'll be buying it if as they say, it captures the BO feel with all new shinyness. Download tonight, and we'll see.

    Edit: Downloaded, played, picked jaw off of the carpet. Subtle, it ain't. But it's bl**dy impressive and very Burnout3 meets GTA. So long Crash, we'll miss ya at parties (can always download Pain instead), but it's looking like a 9/10. Having to drive back to the start of events is a bit of a pain, but it looks like there'll be so many events to choose from, it'll be more about picking random challenges wherever you are as opposed to slavishly repeating a single event until you crack it. Graphics are great, but the sound is fabulous. Best V8 roar evah!
    Edited by 1 at 14/12/07 @ 03:01

  • OllyJ #50 4 years ago

    agreed, some kind of Saints Row style Sat Nav to find a race would be a godsend.

  • bivith #51 4 years ago

    "But the whingers yelling no crash no sale are rather missing the point. "

    No, you're missing the point. Where crash really mattered was with the online high scores. It was that "How the feck did he get 30m??" gave it a relentlessly moreish quality. I've put about 200 hours into Burnout Revenge, and 90% of that would be crash mode. I put about the same into Burnout 2.

    It is not missing the point to say I won't be buying a game that has removed 90% of what I would play.

  • Anthony_UK #52 4 years ago

    I must admit I wasn't that great at crash mode (mostly because i avoided it when possible) And I can understand the appeal with the high scores etc, but for me there really didn't seem to be any skill involved, it's more a case of luck more than anything and knowing which general part of the junction to aim for!

    Just seemed pointless, can't belive people are going to avoid this because the crash junctions are missing!?? For me It's the racing (online more so) what makes Burnout so fun to play!

    Crash mode = meh!

    /Hides under pile of invoicing

  • FooAtari #53 4 years ago

    It's not going to be as good as Burnout 2, which is all that matters really. But Downloading the demo anyway.

  • kangarootoo #54 4 years ago

    Seen the demo of this in action, and it looks ace. I'm probably going to buy it on the strength of the demo.

    1. I loved crash mode. Though it was great.

    2. So long as the game is fun, I don't give a rats ass that crash mode is absent, 'cos fun is fun whatever hat it is wearing.

    3. Not playing a fun game because "its just not Burnout anymore" is pure madness.

  • f01re #55 4 years ago

    "The only thing I want to hear is that the 'traffic checking' has been scrapped"

    It's an option you can switch on and off (mentioned in the criterion podcast).

  • Spielo #56 4 years ago

    "First Impressions"? Where are they? "Quotes from the developer" would seem more accurate. Having spent a fair bit of time on the demo this morning, I'll offer up a few:

    Overall, it's great: Fast, responsive, smooth, and just the sort of racing game I enjoy: A strong emphasis on fun, with none of that miserable old realism in the way. There are a few annoyances though...

    Not being able to instantly restart a race might be "bold", but it's really quite irritating and I can see it being incredibly frustrating in the full game.

    Watching slow-motion crashes grows tiresome quickly and makes the game too stop-start.

    Given the amount of advertising in the game, I'm surprised they're not giving the game away for free.

    The "DJ" is as soulless and as irritating as ever, and I'm just amazed it wasn't taken out after Burnout 3.
    Edited by 1 at 13/12/07 @ 14:30

  • f01re #57 4 years ago

    "Given the amount of advertising in the game, I'm surprised they're not giving the game away for free. "

    Xbox 360 owners will be delighted to know that the adverts will be regularly updated, whereas the PS3 's ones are 'baked in'. I think I'd find the latter less irritating.

  • BBIAJ #58 4 years ago

    @ 3william56:

    Showtime is 8 players online, actually.

    @ Spielo:

    He was taken out of Revenge and Domination.

  • Prox #59 4 years ago

    I don't get it. I've played the demo for over an hour and am struggling to find the gameplay! Where's the compulsive progression structure? The world seems empty!

  • septimus #60 4 years ago

    Time to download demos for 360 and PS3, see which wins out for my cash.

  • Spielo #61 4 years ago

    @Prox: I'd imagine that most of the structure comes from all the missions that are "not available in demo".

    @bbiaj: Thanks for the info, I haven't played a Burnout game since 3! Why on earth have the re-instated the DJ?

  • pyrat6 #62 4 years ago

    DJ !! :-( :-( :-(

    Burnout 2 is still unsurpassed.

  • kangarootoo #63 4 years ago

    "Given the amount of advertising in the game, I'm surprised they're not giving the game away for free."

    I don't mind a bit about the adverts, 'cos they all seemed appropriate to the situation. An advert for Smokin' Aces up the side of the Mount of Olives is not appropriate, but a billboard at the side of a road is. Whether they are real products or made up ones on the board makes no difference to my gaming fun. I only get annoyed by stuff that actually annoys me.

  • kangarootoo #64 4 years ago

    "Where's the compulsive progression structure?"

    In the full game perhaps?

  • wobbly_Bob #65 4 years ago

    I'm very disappointed with this. It just doesn't "feel" right. The city feels a very unimaginative and soulless place. It feels a bit like NFS: Most Wanted with some ramps thrown in it.

    Personally, I won't be buying this unless I read some really glowing reviews and hear about lots of interesting and cool features that are implemented in the full game.

  • FenderMaster #66 4 years ago

    reminds me of the getaway, which refused to have a HUD or map just for the sake of it... bad decisions...

    and no instant restart option? thats going to be really annoying

    these things exist for a reason, dont throw them away just for the sake of it

  • DjFlex52 #67 4 years ago

    "I must admit I wasn't that great at crash mode (mostly because i avoided it when possible) And I can understand the appeal with the high scores etc, but for me there really didn't seem to be any skill involved, it's more a case of luck more than anything and knowing which general part of the junction to aim for! "

    @Anthony_UK

    I totally disagree. The crash mode was 80% skill and 20% luck. Multiplayer online crash mode on Revenge is still being played as I type this. It was the only reason I played Revenge for a year. Also, Crash mode in Revenge on 360 has one of the most friendliest communities on Live and you can't cheat either :)

  • Vin #68 4 years ago

    Crash Mode is still my #1 pissed up drinking game.

    No crash mode, NO SALE.

  • igol #69 4 years ago

    Showtime sounds interesting. I’m still looking forward to Paradise, but I’ll really miss Crash mode. I was expecting them to create what I came to think of as accident blackspots in the the city. Junctions where high speed traffic from across the city comes together. The vehicles always just miss each other until a rogue element (the player) is introduced. These accident blackspots aren’t marked on the map, you have to find them. When you do, your GPS warns you to drive safely as you are approaching a notorious accident blackspot. That is your cue to drive like a maniac and cause as much damage as possible within that area. Once found, each blackspot is marked on your map and can be revisited. I thought it would be pretty easy to build crash junctions into the city using this method. It could be fun, in an open environment, you could spend ages, prowling round the blackspot area looking for the best approach. Maybe in the next Burnout...

  • agparrot #70 4 years ago

    /promotes igol to Head of Crash Division for project Burnout: Purgatory.

    Sounds ace, mate.

  • igol #71 4 years ago

    I could do with a promotion :-)

    Thanks

  • beastmaster #72 4 years ago

    "Out to get you are a pack of tough black cars that are as insane as they are vicious, and they'll dog you right up to the finish line"

    Sounds like that car chase from Condorman. Sold!

  • Arcadiian #73 4 years ago

    @ FenderMaster.

    Paradise does have a HUD and a map. o_O

  • PodlingJuice #74 4 years ago

    I never really liked crash mode so good riddance! As long as there's plenty of high speed racing, I'm there.

  • wakka2k5 #75 4 years ago

    i think after playing thr demo im unsure...fore some reason it feels too different, i know that should be good but as mentioned i feels mor NFS now like its lost its burnout identity... just my opinion

  • monkey-ken-wizard #76 4 years ago

    Its proper shit, sad but true

    'arjan' speaks the truth!
    Edited by 1 at 14/12/07 @ 00:59

  • bdgr #77 4 years ago

    I admit I'm a crash addict, IMO no crash junction can better the one in PoI where you crash into 2 rows of buses. But Burnout is more than the crashes. It about speed. How fast, how close, how far can you push driving like a maniac? I loved the races with the view from the bonnet, it made your eyes bleed!

    Getting rid of crash is proof that Criterion have taken a few 'brave pills', and good on them for doing something new. They could of done another Burnout like revenge but tweaked it here and there - which would've been fine a year or so ago. But we've waited long and hard for a new burnout and I'm glad they've not done the easy get out of tweaking it here and there and have (at least it seems like they have) put a lot of thought and effort into renewing burnout.

    If you want crash junctions that bad, play them on Revenge and if you haven't got Revenge anymore get it cheap preowned in game or somewhere!

    Now, where's Timesplitters 4?

  • staR-Kron #78 4 years ago

    Hail to the King xD
    This Game will be a blast ^^

    btw:
    Who needs a crash mode ?
    I mean it was nice but its always been about racing like a maniac and thats all i have to see in a burnout.
    Edited by 1 at 14/12/07 @ 08:34

  • bivith #79 4 years ago

    igol, that's a great idea, accident blackspots.

    The demo sucks. Looks great, but it's a hollow experience.
    Edited by 1 at 14/12/07 @ 09:45

  • bivith #80 4 years ago

    I'm happy for all you crash haters. You always had the choice to not play them. They weren't really required to progress through the racing.

    But now they've been removed, I've lost the choice of being able to play them. If 90% of my gameplay is playing crash mode, why would I buy this game?

  • bdgr #81 4 years ago

    I too think the demo is slightly barren, but lets be honest here, it IS only a demo! There's a race, a time trial and the stunt 'race'. Ok there's no 'showtime' which is a pity because we ALL want to give that a go, but it does exactly what a demo should do. It gives you a taste of things to come.

    Yes it's annoying you get the 'event unlocked in full game' message at nearly every junction, and yes it doesn't feel as burnout-y as the other games but lets be honest here - whats the point in tweaking burnout revenge to make a sequel when it was so damn good in the first place? Who'd be happy with shelling out £40-50 quid for a few (probably) minor improvements?? Not me for sure.

    I'm happy with the demo, it gives a damn good idea of what to expect in the full game, without having as much as what the full game will have. The crash effects are superb and the speed is eye-watering on full boost (especially on the bonnet-camera).

    Not too bothered about that annoying DJ tbh (I always made my own burnout soundtrack through the mp3's on my pc), but one gripe I have has ben mentioned somewhere - finish a race and you have to physically drive back to the start to restart it - TDU (if i recall correctly) had a button you could press for instant restart, so I can't see how it couldn't be implemented here (although with every traffic light junction an event there's always going to be something else to try!).

    One last thing - from playing the demo I can't see me being too bothered about the stunt challenges. Unless you know where to go for the big stunts its not going to be that good IMO. Although I can see this being the new 'crash' mode in future installments.

    Overall, on the strength of this demo, I can see me buying it as soon as it hits the streets.

    I can see this getting 8 out of 10...

  • Daymare #82 4 years ago

    "Having to drive back to the start of events is a bit of a pain, but it looks like there'll be so many events to choose from..."

    Ah, but what about the end-game, when you'll be trying to beat the last remaining, frustrating, hardest race? And then be forced to drive back to the start of the race every time!?!? Criterion guys can't be THAT stup... err, bold, can they?

  • HyZepher #83 4 years ago

    I got the retail version of this yesterday and spent most of the day playing around with it.

    The free roaming element has it's good and bad points. The whole freedom thing where you can do what you want when you want - it's pretty cool and a kind of GTA for cars. The lack of any menus isn't too off putting considering you just drive to the option you want so it's easy to navigate. The visuals and audio are top notch and there's not much in it between the 360 and PS3 versions. The inclusion of Junkyards (to select cars etc), Repair Shops (for repairing your car), Gas Stations (for instant boost) and Paint Shops (to get a new look) are OK and help to anchor down the city into sections.

    The bad points are more to do with useability than anything else. The lack of menus means that you cant restart a mission straighaway if you fail - this means driving back to the start which can take a while - you'll end up taking on another challenge to get you back but then it's all too easy to forget where the challenge starts from. This is hugely frustrating - especially if you've only a few missions to left to complete. Although there are something like 10 or 11 repair shiops in the city, you need to find them first for them to appear on the map - fine you say, a bit of a challenge. But when you are speeding along in a mission etc. you don't really want to stop to use the reapir shop etc for it to appear on the map. You will need to take some time out and roam around aimlessly looking for them before you start any challenges.

    The city is quite big and there are lots of stuff to do. The various game modes are equally fun and do get a lot harder as you upgrade your Licence. The HUD display is very well done with a mini map on the bottom left and the street you are on up top - the upcoming juction names are also displayed and get more prominant as you approach them. In a challenge these street names can aid in navigating the city as the correct route is highlighted by flashing junction signs.

    Online mode is a blast. When you arrive in the city - i.e. go online, you can choose to roam freely and takedown some other gamers, or you can decide to try and gain some of the records i.e. longest drift, most air time etc. This gives the game a competitive edge as you try and outdo the other cars. Co-op mode is brilliant as you team up to complete a challenge. Head to head mode is fun as you are pit against other racers to individually win a challenge or race.

    The open-ness of the world and online play allows anyone to create a challenge and then invite others to participate. You can select start/end points, mid-way check points, number of rounds etc. Its all very well done.

    However, I must get back to the frustrating single player mode. The biggest drawback is the fact of having to start missions/challenges from a particlar point on the map. This may be exaggerated by the fact that I haven't had time to really memorise the city too much and maybe it won't be too bad afterwards but not being able to restart instantly is going to be a bit of a barrier for some people.

    The lack of the traditional Crash mode doesn't really bother me - Paradise is a completely different Burnout game and Showtime is a good enough substitute - it's crazy online by the way.