Burnout Paradise - Something Old Just Got Better!

Well in this blog, I plan on talking briefly about Burnout Paradise. Burnout Paradise was released in the early part of 2008. This game just recently became my most played game. And when I get through explaining why, you will know why. I would highly recommend you giving it a try.

The reason why this game just became my most played is due to the bike pack which came out last month. This was one of the most anticipated updates in recent Xbox history. What it did was introduce motorcycles into the world of burnout for the first time. And with the addition it also added real time changes to the day settings. So you don't just drive around in the beautiful sunshine of Paradise City but you get to enjoy it lit up at night.

But first, I will give you a brief explanation of the game. Burnout Paradise takes place in Paradise City. It is a huge city that comes to life with several vehicles driving around. The streets are almost always packed with other cars just there to get in your way. Your goal is to go through several challenges enroute to progressing through the game. Along the way you will upgrade your license and earn faster and better cars to drive around town. Some of the challenges within the game are to take down a certain amount of vehicles in a time limit, race to different destinations, find all the super jumps, crash through all the burnout billboards, and set records on each street.

Some of the records are crash points, race points on a street and specific burning routes for specific cars. If you beat a burning route, you are rewarded with a better version of the car used to beat the record. When you complete both records for a street, time and crash, you own that street. The goal is to own all of the streets in the city. And of course with Xbox live, you will receive achievements for most things that you accomplish within the game.

Burnout is a car racing game. But there also is some destruction involved. As you go through the goals, such as racing, you will be moving at blazing speeds trying to get to your destination. The game runs smooth and you will be in awe as you see the city. Just don't get caught admiring too much of your surroundings because you might not see that car pull out in front of you down the road.

There are no specific route to any of the races. It is an open wide race. The key is that they don't care how you win, just win. Whether you jump off of a roof or just go down the most appropiate route, just get there first. Because in Burnout Paradise, second place only means that you were first runer up and you receive nothing. So every race is either a win or a do over. You will probably have a lot of do overs unless you learn the city. So I would suggest cruising around town to learn you way around.

Along the way, you will see things that will help you out on your journey through Paradise. You will run across gas stations which give you boost refill, repair stations which will repair your car, paint stations which will give your car a new paint job and of course junkyards. Because when you win a new car, they will be delivered to your junkyard. There are five junkyards spread out across the vast city. There are also several ramps that might come in handy to reach those high billboards in the air.

Now the addition to this game that put it on my top played list - motorcycles. This is the first time that bikes are in a burnout game. And they are lovely. Once the download is loaded, you can go to your junkyard and see two motorcycles. They have specific races set up for them just like the cars. But unlike the cars, they can only be done at certain times in the day. So if it is night time, you might have to wait until the daytime to complete that challenge. Or you can go to the settings and just make it stay on whatever time of day you like.

The bikes run smooth and add an even more sense of speed to the game. But you have to remember that you are on two wheels and not four or you will be crashing into several objects while you race through Paradise. Each one has a different feel to them and reminds you why you might like one more than the other.

The graphics in this game are just what you would expect from a next generation game. The city is very beautiful and alive. When I first played it during the daytime hours on the game clock I was like this is nice. With the update and nighttime, I was like this is awesome. Just to see the headlights, fog, and the city signs light up in the nighttime is truly worth the price of admission. And it makes for the game to be even more challenging than it already is. Especially when you are boosting down a narrow road, it is foggy, and you just can't remember where that hairpin turn is that always give you a hard time.

Now for your assistance, there is a little map in the corner to assist you. But don't look too long down there because traffic will be up on you before you know it. Because other cars will knock other cars in your way to slow you down. But at first the cars will treat you like the rookie you are. But as you progress through the game, their tactics increase accordingly.

Now you know why this has become my most played game. From the control, gameplay, and graphics I feel this is a must have game. And if you have a high definition tv with the HDMI cables, you definitely have to give it a try. And of course, surround sound sounds great with all of the songs in this game. From the moment I pl;aced this in my 360, I can't seem to get enough of the song Paradise City.

The average review for this game is an 8.8 and that is a good score. But that was prior to all of the updates that came out. When you add the updates, I would have to place it in the mid 9 range so I will give it a 9.5 score out of 10. This game is presently $29.99 new and if you can find it used it will cost around $26.99.