Burnout coming to PS3, 360

Electronic Arts has officially announced that a new instalment in the Burnout series is in development for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

It's set in Paradise City, where the grass is green, the girls are pretty and the cars are vulnerable to dramatic mangling on a constant basis. On arrival, you'll be given a Drivers' License which will keep track of all your naughty antics behind the wheel, and if you get up to too much mischief you could find yourself facing off with the city's "burners".

"Gone is the need to jump in and out of menus and aimlessly search for fun like many open world games," according to EA. "In Burnout 5, every inch of the world is built to deliver heart-stopping Burnout-style gameplay."

You can expect the biggest pile-ups ever, apparently - and rather excitingly, you'll be able to rip cars entirely in half.

Criterion's director of game design, Alex Ward, described Burnout 5 as a "complete reinvention" of the series, explaining that it's been built for PS3 and Xbox 360 from the ground up.

"To create truly next-generation gameplay, we needed to create a truly next-generation game, from top to bottom," he added.

Burnout 5 is down for a 2007 release.