The first video game my son ever played - I mean really played, rather than toyed with - was Burnout Paradise. We played together, but he took control; he decided what he wanted to do and he did it. The 2008 open-world driving title from Criterion, which is being released in a remastered edition on PS4, was a formative entry in the emerging universe of free-roaming multiplayer racers, leading us to the likes of Forza Horizon and The Crew. It gave you a city and a car, and it just said 'drive'. That's exactly what my son did.
Editor's note: As Burnout Paradise finally arrives on the backwards compatibility list for Xbox One, we thought it was time to revisit this astonishing game.
Finally! Burnout Paradise has Xbox One backward compatibility!
Criterion's open world racer arrives as part of the Xbox Games with Gold lineup for December. For Xbox One, Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition is available from 1st to 31st December. First-person survival horror Outlast is available on Xbox One from 16th December to 15th January 2017.
On Xbox 360, and Xbox One through Backward Compatibility, Xbox Live Gold members get Outland from 1st to 15th December, and then Burnout Paradise from 16th December to 31st December.
Hello! It's Podcast time, and we have played some gaaaaaaaames. Busy period, right? Lotta ins, lotta outs. Titanfall 2, Battlefield 1, Civ 6? Well don't worry. We have you covered for games. Not any of those games, granted, but still, testify: Beglitched! Book of Demons! Burnout Paradise!
Digital Foundry posted a video mash-up yesterday of Star Wars Battlefront versus Return of the Jedi, splicing together sections of Speeder Bike footage from both game and film such that it was hard to tell the difference.
The Xbox 360 version of Burnout Paradise will be playable on Xbox One, developer Criterion has confirmed.
The much-loved racer will be part of the Xbox One's new backwards compatibility service - although there's no word yet on exactly when it will be added.
"It's in the pipe, five-by-five," Criterion confirmed via Twitter. "Stay tuned for a date though."
EA seems disinterested in making a new Burnout game any time soon. But some of the people who helped create the wonderful racing series intend to fill the void.
The studio behind Burnout and Need for Speed will open its doors to game developer students in April - and offer a lucky few the chance to win work experience in the summer.
New Call of Duty: Black Ops map pack Annihilation headlines this week's massive PlayStation Store update.
Xbox 360 owners have had it exclusively for the past month. Available from tomorrow on PS3, its five new maps will cost you £11.49.
Looking for something a bit cheaper? Sony's massive summer sale reaches Europe this week, with more than 30 downloadable titles discounted over the next seven days. Highlights include Popcap's Peggle, Hothead's Swarm and Telltale's Sam & Max and Back to the Future.
Update: Existing PlayStation Plus subscribers are to be given another 10 days free on top of the 60 already announced. This breaks down to 30 days for compensate for May's PSN outage, 30 days as an apology and 10 days extra, wrote Sony on the EU PS blog.
The conclusion of the epic Digital Foundry vs Criterion technology interview.
In part one of the Criterion technology interview, Digital Foundry talked in-depth with two of the guiding minds behind the company's approach to the engine side of game-making, discussing the underlying Renderware technology, the team's proven approach to cross-platform development, the move to an open world in Burnout and the evolution of their technology through the use of DLC, with all the issues that entails.
Every Saturday, Digital Foundry takes over the Eurogamer homepage, offering up a mixture of technical retrospectives, performance analyses and new ways to showcase some of gaming's most classic titles. When the opportunity arose to meet up with the Criterion tech team, I jumped at the chance - the aim being to get the full story behind what is one of the most technologically advanced games of this generation: Burnout Paradise.
Criterion Games wants 1000 Microsoft Points (GBP 8.50 / EUR 10.20) for Burnout Paradise add-on Big Surf Island, or GBP 9.99 / EUR 12.99 from the PlayStation Store.
Scratchy Marvel superhero Wolverine is the growl of the town this week; the film launched on Wednesday and the game arrives tomorrow. There's a demo here to try out, and our review is poised, ready to strike. Hint: brutal but banal.
The other eye-catcher is the Steel & Titanium map pack for Killzone 2, adding an extra pair of multiplayer maps. The Cops and Robbers mode - does what it says on the tin - for Burnout Paradise might be worth a look, too. Expensive, though.
The rest is fairly run-of-the-mill. Incidentally, the Brain Challenge Bundle is a brain-teaser game plus add-on packs.
Sony has updated the PlayStation Network store with PS3 demos of Wanted and WWE Legends of WrestleMania, along with downloadable content for Street Fighter IV, Lumines Supernova, Prince of Persia, Burnout Paradise and Skate 2.
Criterion has said it will release the Burnout Paradise Legendary Cars pack, inspired by vehicular idols of the silver screen, on Thursday 19th February.
Criterion has announced yet another premium pack of downloadable content for Burnout Paradise.
The developer's website says you need to check out the Criterion Games Network via PC or PS3 to find out more.
But for those who have the Xbox 360 version of the game (which doesn't allow you to access the CGN), or just can't be bothered - the new pack is titled Cops and Robbers. Screenshots are due to appear on the site and on the PlayStation blog today, but there's no sign as yet.
A bundle of new stuff has appeared in the PlayStation Store, including a playable Killzone 2 demo.
It's likely to be in high demand, but we're downloading it right now and there don't appear to be any issues. Unless you live in Germany, of course, where the demo will not be released. Sorry, Germans.
Also out now is the Burnout Paradise Ultimate Bundle, priced at GBP 29.99 / EUR 34.99. For that you get the full (and excellent) game, all the free updates and the Party Pack. This is a new add-on which introduces a pass-the-pad mode for up to eight players, new challenges, and enhancements for the modes, visuals and vehicle dynamics. The Party Pack is available separately for GBP 7.99 / EUR 9.99.
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.
Reviewing something free can sometimes feel like you're not so much looking a gift horse in the mouth as wrenching the jaws off the gift horse and thrusting your face so far down its gullet that you can taste its tail. With that pleasant image in mind, Burnout Paradise recently underwent its most sweeping change since release back in January so it makes sense to see how the addition of bikes and clocks has affected Paradise City.
The first thing you'll notice is a new front end, with local time and weather conditions around the world and updated news from the world of Burnout. The downside is that the game now takes an agonising amount of time to start up. I'm playing the Xbox 360 version, and while I used to be able to jump into the game very quickly I know have to watch a loading screen for several minutes, click through some more screens and suffer yet more loading as the console slurps up the additional data from the hard drive. Annoying.
Thankfully, it's worth the wait. Two spanky bikes await you once you've downloaded the patch and restarted the game. The Firehawk V4 is a blisteringly fast racing bike, while FV1100 is a sturdier yet slower ride. Slower is relative though, since both vehicles go like the proverbial poop off a shovel. You can opt for a male or female rider, and the animation is incredibly lifelike. Leave them idling by the road and they'll roll their shoulders to ease out the kinks. Pull off a donut and they'll lean into the spin, steadying themselves with their leg. Even when thundering around, they'll occasionally glance over their shoulder or look around. They're certainly not rigid mannequins.
Criterion is finally wheeling out the free Cagney update for Burnout Paradise on Xbox 360.
The patch, nearly a month late, will be bolted on at some point today.
Codename Cagney adds Marked Man, Stunt Run and Road Rage game modes to Burnout Paradise, plus the Live Page calendar for keeping track of developer-led events. There are also new cars, liveries, 70 extra Challenges and a heap of technical changes inside.
Criterion has delayed the release of the Xbox 360 "Cagney" patch for Burnout Paradise.
This originally missed its 10th July launch due to Microsoft certification issues.
"We're still not able to provide a concrete date on this awesome free update. We're in the final stages of testing the revised version and will announce a concrete date as soon as we have one," developer Criterion said on the Burnout Paradise website.
Criterion has pushed the Xbox 360 "Cagney" update for Burnout Paradise back by four days.
It appears there may have been a hold-up in authentication, with the only explanation on the developer blog claiming Microsoft has it and will release it on 14th July.
The PlayStation 3 version is therefore unaffected and will go live next Thursday as expected. However, no Game Calendar events will happen until "Cagney" is live on both formats. Details of the first calendar events are expected next week.
Criterion has wheeled out a 10th July date for its upcoming "Cagney" patch for Burnout Paradise.
Inside it are three fresh modes: Road Rage, where four of you race through checkpoints while four others try to stop you; Stunt Run, where you do tricks at the same time to rack up points; and Marked Man, where you all gang up on one person to take them down before they can complete the course.
On top of this are 70 more Freeburn challenges to get stuck into, a Hunter Olympus and secret Criterion car, fresh liveries, custom soundtrack support on PS3, and a host of bug-fixes asked for by you lot.
Criterion will be recalling the "Bogart" software update for Burnout Paradise on Xbox 360 so it can iron-out some frame rate problems.
The developer aims to have all affected patches by Friday, and will replace them with a revised update in about a week's time. Concrete dates will follow on its site.
"Bogart" was expected tomorrow on 360 and PS3. Unfortunately there was no word on whether this issue will delay the PS3 version.
Last week Criterion promised the new downloadable content for Burnout Paradise will "transform" the game. Now the developer is offering the first glimpse of how it'll do this via its website.
Criterion is working on a new patch for the PS3 version of Burnout Paradise.
Chronologically it's patch 1.3, but what with being so lifestyle Criterion's calling it "Cagney".
As announced on the developer's website the patch will introduce 1080i support. So if you've got a 1080i telly that doesn't support 720p, you'll now be able to run Burnout Paradise in HD rather than SD.
Criterion has plans to tidy up the areas of Burnout Paradise you have had problems with.
An exact date for the changes is still being worked on, but the good news is that this is just the start for future updates and downloadable content, apparently.
Most of the alterations address crashes or online synchronisation issues, but there are also fixes for cheeky exploits like disconnecting your controller before a race so you can win even if you do not cross the line first.
After the unstoppable surge of cross-platform releases at the tail end of 2007, the frantic pace of game releases has thankfully died down as the New Year games lull kicks in. It's a good time pick up a few of the games we've overlooked as we gorged on the brilliance of the Q4 '07 line-up, or perhaps return to the titles we never quite had time to finish, eking out the final ounces of gaming excellence.
For me? A chance to take a look at a range of recent cross-platform titles that somehow failed to make their way into the Christmas period features, and combine them with an in-depth look at what is easily the best game released so far in 2008.
You all know the score by now: impartial criticism of each cross-format release is duly delivered, serving to supplement the original reviews with console-specific commentary. Gameplay matters take precedence, but technical matters are also discussed. Think of it as a running commentary on the state of multiformat games development, if you like. Or the opportunity for a big ruck in the comments section, I really don't mind.
EA has said that downloadable additions to Burnout Paradise will be a mixture of free and paid-for content. However, those who do not buy the updates will still be able to see the new stuff in-game.
Approaching the first blockbuster release of the year fully expecting to be mildly irritated by it can't be the best mindset. The spittle-flecked Internet response to the demo even prompted Criterion's Alex Ward to deliver a characteristically uncompromising Christmas message, in which he urged the public to, "Try [Burnout Paradise] for yourself and make up your own mind. Don't let the Internet do it for you."
The problem with Ward's terse response to public criticism is that it puts a whole number of the game's contentious changes at the forefront of your mind before you even play it. You do want to try it for yourself to make your own mind up, but also to find out if the naysayers were right all along. For such a hotly anticipated update to a much-loved series, there's been a curious cloud of negativity hovering over it.
If you've managed to avoid the noise, good for you - it's probably for the best. The good news is, when you actually get to play the full game (as opposed to the confusing demo), some of Criterion's choices start to make a lot more sense. Some. After a while, you might even empathise with Ward.
The Club or Yakuza 3. Those are our pick of the new demos. You can probably scoot off now. Not a lot else to suggest unless you own a PC. Oh, you do. Better read on then!
Criterion has boosted the online content in the recent Burnout Paradise demo, adding 13 new Freeburn challenges and upping multiplayer support from four to eight people.
The Burnout Paradise demo and quirky downloadable puzzle game Piyotama are the highlights on the PlayStation 3 Store in Europe this week, while a WipEout Pulse demo is basically it for users of the PSP Store for PC.
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.
EA has accidentally confirmed that PS3 pads will once again rumble, by giving journalists hands-on experience of it in a Burnout Paradise demo.
One of the reporters doing the shaking was IGN, who was surprised to find itself holding what appeared to be a prototype version of the new Sixaxis pad - featuring an inconspicuous "RUMBLE" sticker on the underside.
However, Sony is still to confirm the existence of such a "last-generation" device, although observers widely expect an announcement about it tonight at the Tokyo Game Show 2007 keynote address.
Electronic Arts has unveiled the title of the fifth game in the Burnout series. It'll be called Burnout Paradise, and is due out on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 this winter.
The announcement of Burnout 5 this week won't have come as a shock to anyone ("Did you honestly think we'd NOT do a Burnout on PS3?!" quips Criterion's ever effusive Alex Ward) - but that doesn't mean we're not excited about the prospect of a next gen overhaul for one of our all-time favourite games.
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