Burnout Paradise 'The Ultimate Box' |
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Genre: Racing
Release Date: 5th February 2009
Developer: Criterion Games
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Rating: M
Platform: PC
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Well... It s interesting in the change of perspective when you have no expectations. For me the Burnout Franchise has always been a console arena which is not something I am keen on. When I got the title to have a look at I was automatically comparing it with other titles in the genre and looking for it 's place on the continuum of goodness. The console origins are immediately noticeable with the intro and the menu layers and the default control set, but the on going commentary from "Radio Crash FM" made for a really cool ease in to the game as the DJ talked you through the intro. Fortunately his voice is not as irritating as Axle Rose's so he is noticeable without being distracting... Which is a good thing because there is a surprising amount to learn to learn.
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The difference of playing with Fantasy cars as opposed to real cars modeled for the game was the first big change and you score your first car quite quickly. Building up your inventory of vehicles is almost as much fun as a high speed head on with a bus, or a bridge, or building... or many of the other solid objects that seem to find their way in front of you at insanely high speeds in a city scape.
As you can see some of these cars are hot. Very hot. Some are a little odd but they all make for the flavor of the game.
Some of the Races are reasonably long distance so you have plenty of time to get lost explore the city and then try to get your ass back in the Race. The cost of getting lost can be seen when you are aiming at a license upgrade and there are still another 11 wins to go. I have resigned myself to something of a haul to make solid progress in this area but in the mean time I'm having a ball. The physics of the cars are great but this is a complete fantasy so some of the stunts are realistically not survivable but hey, its make believe and its a heck'uva lot of fun. |
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The various challenges range from a "Road Rage" where you need to take out a specified umber of competitors to a stunt run where you are awarded points for jump spins and other stunts, through to a straight speed race with a marked man variation. Every now and then there is an alert out for a particular type of car that is cruising the streets. If you can "Take it Down" (read crash it off the road") you can add the vehicle to your Inventory of available cars.
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Graphics are great and the cut scene car crashes will make you cringe in horror for all of 3 seconds and then you are back in the race. Damage control is sorted by driving through a crash repair shop at high speed in the middle of a race if need be but you will undoubtedly start picking up dings almost immediately. The damage does affect handling btw so sometimes you need to know where the nearest crash repairs are just to stay in the race. You will also need to drive through refuelling stations to top up your "Boost" as you will run out of your super accellerant quite quickly in some cases.
I tried the bikes. Didn't like them. I felt that the cars are heaps more fun but if thats your thing they look good and go like snot. I didn't really feel that these added any value to the game so, to my shame, abandoned them quite quickly.
All in all this game has no pretensions and is all about fun. I found it a great experience and sooooo easy to slip into the game that I was always going back for more. My rating 7.5/10 - Shameless Fun |
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