First Burnout Paradise island will now cost

Criterion has unveiled Big Surf Island for Burnout Paradise, and revealed that the new downloadable area will be a premium download rather than a free add-on as originally announced.

"Here's why," explains Criterion on its website. "We never expected to create anything this ambitious for the island, but as it progressed we got more and more excited about what it could become.

"Big Surf is the culmination of everything we learned creating Paradise City, and we want it to bring you a truly spectacular new experience - the highlight of a year of incredible premium content.

"We want Burnout Paradise players to experience the greatest support ever seen in a console game," the developer added. "We're transforming not just Burnout Paradise, but the whole Burnout franchise through DLC, and we appreciate the support we know you guys will give us for our paid content. We think it's worth it."

Big Surf Island will also add a new Dust Storm vehicle. It's a buggy, looks like a buggy, and behaves like a buggy.

There's footage of the area in the latest episode of Crash TV, or a handful of screenshots in our Burnout Paradise - Big Surf Island gallery.