Burnout Paradise

 PlayStation 3
User Score
7.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 484 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 312 out of 484
  2. Mixed: 118 out of 484
  3. Negative: 54 out of 484
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  1. JohnC.
    Jan 19, 2008
    7
    Not quite as good as it could have been. I think the best Burbouts may well be behind us. Takedown was great but since then the series seems to have lost it's way. Talking of losing you way, the nav in this is pretty bad. Starting a race means going all the way back to tyhe beginning too which seems a very odd decision. There is showtime in this version which is , is all honesty, a Not quite as good as it could have been. I think the best Burbouts may well be behind us. Takedown was great but since then the series seems to have lost it's way. Talking of losing you way, the nav in this is pretty bad. Starting a race means going all the way back to tyhe beginning too which seems a very odd decision. There is showtime in this version which is , is all honesty, a poor mans crash. Flawed in many little ways this is not quite what I'd hoped it would have been.… Expand
  2. RasputiaD
    Aug 26, 2009
    6
    I was looking so forward to this game and even pre-ordered it because every other burnout game I played in the past is good. This one disappointed me. It is cool flying around at top speeds, but trying to navigate yourself through the open worlds and being told at the last minute to turn... not cool, i kinda liked the old one where it was all about racing and not geography, if you make a I was looking so forward to this game and even pre-ordered it because every other burnout game I played in the past is good. This one disappointed me. It is cool flying around at top speeds, but trying to navigate yourself through the open worlds and being told at the last minute to turn... not cool, i kinda liked the old one where it was all about racing and not geography, if you make a wrong turn you've almost had it. If you lose you have tp travel for another five minutes to get to the start again which becomes frustrating especially if you lost by a second, restarting should happen, and the camera angle is shoddy, only two? The one is too close to the car and the other is infront of it?.With all this being said,the online play is un and ranked and always gives a thrill, the music is good as always the graphics sharp and well done, the crashes awesome. I would pick this up in the bargain bin, if i had time and bandwidth to waste.… Expand
  3. BobS.
    Feb 2, 2008
    5
    Definately not as good as prvious Burnouts. I think Takedown was the peak for me. Seems that things have been added and changed, other things taken away maybe just for the sake of 'newness'. It's often best to just perfect what was there rather than change everything. Shame really but the edge seems to have been lost in this one. Showtime is a poor crash. How anyone can say Definately not as good as prvious Burnouts. I think Takedown was the peak for me. Seems that things have been added and changed, other things taken away maybe just for the sake of 'newness'. It's often best to just perfect what was there rather than change everything. Shame really but the edge seems to have been lost in this one. Showtime is a poor crash. How anyone can say this is flawless is beyond me really.… Expand
  4. SonicB.
    Feb 2, 2008
    6
    Hell of a long wait for this one to come around and sadly not really worth it.
  5. geoffhant
    Jan 10, 2008
    6
    I expected more after the amount of time Paradise has been in development. It must have cost a fortune to make. Unfortunately this does nothing for me having been a fan of the previous Burnouts. I think the series may have had it's day with the developers resorting to the red-herring of open-worlds. Navigation, predictable is a nightmare.
  6. DenJ.
    Feb 2, 2008
    6
    Weakest Burnout in quite a while. Major omissions unforgivable and open world system hampered by poor navigation.
  7. TobyK
    Sep 23, 2009
    6
    this game hate you. and as such it wants to drive you violently insane. to that end, the locations for the ends of races have lots of fiddly corners to get around, and usually by this time you will find yourself going about 200MPH into oncoming traffic, trying to glance at the minimap and make some sense of where to go. so you crash. and then, as the wreckage of your car is still this game hate you. and as such it wants to drive you violently insane. to that end, the locations for the ends of races have lots of fiddly corners to get around, and usually by this time you will find yourself going about 200MPH into oncoming traffic, trying to glance at the minimap and make some sense of where to go. so you crash. and then, as the wreckage of your car is still bouncing, the other cars will snatch the winning posts as you lie there on fire and upside down, followed by a colour washout and red border with the words 'YOU LOSE' in massive white letter,s, and a snarky comment from the local radio DJ. but driving around in your own time, exploring and playing online with others leads to a very fun experience. just dont do any racing, ok?… Expand
  8. Link90210
    Feb 2, 2008
    6
    Very repetitive and many things detract from the usual pick up and play Burnout arcade style. Things don't seem to be running at such a breakneck pace in this one either which is a real shame. Wish they had real cars too! fed up with these cars that you can't really identify with. Crash has gone and race restarts will have you pulling your hair out. Not a bad racer but no Burnout.
  9. JonA.
    Feb 6, 2008
    6
    Repetitive to the point of frustration and crash has gone. Not a big fan of the open world either. Not the best Burnout by far.
  10. Badboi
    May 2, 2008
    5
    no crash, no simple two player mode! You cannot race against youjr friends at home. Only online :-(
  11. JayL.
    May 26, 2008
    5
    The first few hours, I was amazed. But then it got stale. I'm only a third of the way done and I have to virtually force myself to play it.
  12. DaveP
    Jan 16, 2008
    5
    Could have been a lot better IMO. Obvious things seem to have been missed here and basic racing game no-no's have gone in to try and revive the franchise yet anotehr time. Open plan fits Burnout in no way whatsoever. The breakneck speed and navigation are at odds with each other.
  13. CliffB.
    Jan 19, 2008
    6
    Hasn't quite lived up to the expectations I had for it. It's been an age in development and has ultimately disappointed alas. The open world thing just doesn't do it for me here at all. A real shame that you have to drive back to teh start to begin a race again too.
  14. PaulM.
    Jan 19, 2008
    5
    Where have the slick, pure racing tracks gone? Exploration is the last thing you want to do in a racing game, come on! Crash is no longer either. Ah man, gutted.
  15. DaveI.
    Jan 21, 2008
    6
    Okay GFX are wonderful, handling is not that bad either... However the removal of Crash Mode has fundamentally taken all the fun away from our drunken Friday night game sessions, that coupled with the need to drive back to the start of the race instead of using a restart option also sucks just as badly. Stop providing us 'Need For Speed' clones, and get back to the Burnout menus Okay GFX are wonderful, handling is not that bad either... However the removal of Crash Mode has fundamentally taken all the fun away from our drunken Friday night game sessions, that coupled with the need to drive back to the start of the race instead of using a restart option also sucks just as badly. Stop providing us 'Need For Speed' clones, and get back to the Burnout menus & instant restarts, then I might just buy into the franchise again.… Expand
  16. GusD.
    Jan 26, 2008
    6
    The arcade purity seems to have been lost this time around. Restarts are a pain and crash is gone. Not worth the wait.
  17. KayC.
    Jan 30, 2008
    5
    For me, Burnout games were too good to bother changing the whole style, the gameplay mechanics were nearly flawless. It seems to have lost that edge now. Instead of jumping straight into Crash mode or a Race, you have to find one, which slows down the progress of the game. Some reviewers say driving around looking at the scenery is amazing. I for one do not care of the scenery, I want to For me, Burnout games were too good to bother changing the whole style, the gameplay mechanics were nearly flawless. It seems to have lost that edge now. Instead of jumping straight into Crash mode or a Race, you have to find one, which slows down the progress of the game. Some reviewers say driving around looking at the scenery is amazing. I for one do not care of the scenery, I want to race and crash, not look for billboards to jump into. Crash mode was much better than showtime because in crash mode they set out crashes on a plate ready for you to gorge. That brings me to another point... WHERE IS SPLIT SCREEN!!!! Am I one of the few guys who still have friends to come over and play video games? Am I the only one who still remembers how fun multiplayer on one screen is? The online is great but when friends come over you don't want to play 1 by 1, games like this and Motorstorm are set-up for split screen, but it isn't there. The gameplay itself isn't rubbish but the game doesn't know what it wants to be, Midnight Club? Need for Speed? or Burnout? Though the gameplay is quite good, it is missing out on some things that would make the game universal. Such as, having the option of choosing a level on the menu screen, restarting a race, split screen. Good, but there was no need to change it so much, the game was close to perfect, not a big step back, but a step back nethertheless.… Expand
  18. RandolphF.
    Feb 14, 2008
    5
    Good looking. The occasional race feels like classic Burnout. Everything else is broken. If you want to see open world racing done right, you need to play Midnight Club 3. To see it done wrong, play this game. It just doesn't work. Criterion needs to learn that change for nothing more than the sake of it isn't a good way to make games. Highly suggest the superior Burnout Revenge Good looking. The occasional race feels like classic Burnout. Everything else is broken. If you want to see open world racing done right, you need to play Midnight Club 3. To see it done wrong, play this game. It just doesn't work. Criterion needs to learn that change for nothing more than the sake of it isn't a good way to make games. Highly suggest the superior Burnout Revenge on the 360.… Expand
  19. Ravensholm
    Feb 2, 2008
    5
    Restarts are unbelievably annoying - I just want the immediacy of the past Burnouts back. Lots of changes have gone in that I personally don't like at all. Maybe I am just a Burnout purist but this new flavour has just left me cold.
  20. FangioS.
    Feb 29, 2008
    5
    Worth a rent for a couple of nights but not worth the full asking price. This one's a bit weak..
  21. HC
    Feb 4, 2008
    6
    You can't restart on the spot which is amazingly irritating. Some of the cars are kinda dodgy looking. If only they could use proper cars. The map is a bit poor too which is a bit of a killer with a nav based open world. Disappointing.
  22. StevieS
    Feb 4, 2008
    5
    Lets hope the open racing is born and dies in Paradise as it seems to be a major drawback in many of the reviews I have read. Luckily I rented this and didn't buy as it's not as good as the pure arcade racers I've come to expect from earlier Burnouts.
  23. JamieG.
    Feb 6, 2008
    5
    Ahh - more Takedown less Paradise.
  24. burnout
    Aug 25, 2009
    5
    When I first heard about and played burnout, I was overly thrilled, because the only market nowadays for cars is racing, and that's not what they focused:it was the crashing that was fun. Though you still get some credit for crashing and getting near misses and so forth, it only counts towards boost, and the only thing boost is good for is for races, or getting more crashes. I tried When I first heard about and played burnout, I was overly thrilled, because the only market nowadays for cars is racing, and that's not what they focused:it was the crashing that was fun. Though you still get some credit for crashing and getting near misses and so forth, it only counts towards boost, and the only thing boost is good for is for races, or getting more crashes. I tried to have some fun be trying to find all of the super jumps and smash gates, which worked out pretty fine at first, but when you do a race and find smash gates, it doesn't count, and when you do a stunt run and find a super jump, it still doesn't count, making you try and remember where it was and come all the way back, eventually making you lost without a clue.… Expand
  25. GregH.
    Jan 24, 2008
    5
    Since B3 there has been a steady decline in the series with an unecessary addition of new things for the sake of it, rather than perfection of what was already there. This one, whilst next-gen, really is clutching at straws and some very weird things have gone in or been omitted. Crash has vanished and has been 'superceeded' with the feeble Showtime. Open plan racing is one of Since B3 there has been a steady decline in the series with an unecessary addition of new things for the sake of it, rather than perfection of what was already there. This one, whilst next-gen, really is clutching at straws and some very weird things have gone in or been omitted. Crash has vanished and has been 'superceeded' with the feeble Showtime. Open plan racing is one of the things you don't do.. particulary with the speeds involved here.. and if you are going to do it make damned sure the navigation system is up to the job.. which it's not. Full of disappointments for me personally. I expected a lot more after waiting so long.. and you have to drive back to the start to restart a race!! eurgh.… Expand
  26. TurtleLove
    Aug 21, 2010
    6
    this is a very great game for me is the best burnout ever best teckdown nice race this game is just awsome and li love the free mode in the city is a very great idea
  27. Blahguy126
    Feb 27, 2013
    7
    I was a big fan of Revenge and Takedown, but I feel as though EA has pulled a "Capcom" and tried to do an unnecessary revamp of their old series. The lack of loading screens is awesome, which means the gameplay doesn't stop for a second, but I feel as though the game has lost its multiplayer edge due to the lack of split screen and the removal of crash parties, which in my opinion, was theI was a big fan of Revenge and Takedown, but I feel as though EA has pulled a "Capcom" and tried to do an unnecessary revamp of their old series. The lack of loading screens is awesome, which means the gameplay doesn't stop for a second, but I feel as though the game has lost its multiplayer edge due to the lack of split screen and the removal of crash parties, which in my opinion, was the most fun part of Revenge. The open world is a rather ingenious addition to a racing game, and although I admit it works and it is a joy to play at times, it feels as though several events from the previous games have been dulled down to fit into the open world. Again, good game, definitely recommendable, but I would like it much better with crash parties and split screen.… Expand
  28. TFORPULLONE
    Jul 6, 2014
    7
    Good idea for this franchise. To have open world racing and good graphics. First thing the loading of this game is like 4 hours! 4 HOURS! or even more...But still game is fun and good looking but when you play this like 5 hours. Then you just get bored. 7/10 Still 2008s best racing game.
  29. onewarmslime
    Mar 23, 2014
    5
    I only spent 5 hours in this game but now I can’t even force myself to play it (I’d have to reinstall it first). It feels like I should get paid to play this. When you have to constantly worry about crashing into stuff you can’t pause the gameplay every 2 seconds to look at the map. That’s the game’s biggest issue. Maybe a minimap that actually told you where to turn would have helped. TheI only spent 5 hours in this game but now I can’t even force myself to play it (I’d have to reinstall it first). It feels like I should get paid to play this. When you have to constantly worry about crashing into stuff you can’t pause the gameplay every 2 seconds to look at the map. That’s the game’s biggest issue. Maybe a minimap that actually told you where to turn would have helped. The takedown mode and the races are okay but the others feel like stress-inducing chores. The cars aren’t real and the music sucks (I swear if I hear Paradise City once more my head will explode). No split screen either. A disappointing game if I ever saw one. That’s 18 dollars I’ll never get back.… Expand
  30. Freddo222
    Dec 23, 2014
    7
    Great racing game but the amount of micro transactions annoyed me to a point that i refused to keep playing. It is the same problem with every EA game! This sucks and leads to that that i think twice before buying a EA game.
  31. CliffB
    Jan 25, 2008
    7
    Not bad by any means but not as good as I was hoping after such a long wait. Some key Burnout tried and tested modes have disappeared and have been replaced with inferior new modes, presumable for the sake of having new stuff. If it ain't broke... Lets hope the open structure dies quickly and they get back to basics with Burnout 6
  32. JustinG
    Mar 29, 2009
    7
    This game is excellent when it comes to graphics, I played it but has this affect that made the game seem boring after a few hours unless you are online and with other online players then the game is way more intense. game play is OK its basically your typical burnout game with a different scenery and more functions to it.
  33. skankyjoe
    Jun 15, 2011
    7
    Really fun open world racing game - 3 things would've made it flawless. One, if the navigation system was a bit better, at the moment you're looking at the tiny map the whole time instead of the road which leads to inevitable and frequent crashes. You keep taking turns that you think will get you to your goal but take you far in the opposite direction instead with no way of returning toReally fun open world racing game - 3 things would've made it flawless. One, if the navigation system was a bit better, at the moment you're looking at the tiny map the whole time instead of the road which leads to inevitable and frequent crashes. You keep taking turns that you think will get you to your goal but take you far in the opposite direction instead with no way of returning to the appropriate route.2) The frustrating thing is that you HAVE to finish the race before you can start a new event so if you messed up you have to tediously drive to the goal just to free yourself from the event. A simple abort option or the freedom to start new events whenever would've fixed that.
    Thirdly, the very nature of the game means that you crash, a LOT, often unavoidably. It would have been nice if the cars were a bit more resilient and able to survive a few crashes instead of having you respawn every five seconds and interrupt the pace of the game. In fact it wouldve been great if you didnt respawn at all except when plummeting off the map - rather having the cars be really impaired by damage till you can fix it up.
    Those three things would've made this game perfect in my opinion. Otherwise it's a worthy and very fun game.    … Expand
  34. gabe129
    Nov 23, 2011
    6
    I don't like how it's an open world and you have to drive to the different races, also, it was too fast paced which caused me to crash a lot, and the poor navigation system didn't help. The huge variety of different race types was the highlight of this game, my favourite is still take down (although this mode was extremely easy in this game). It definitely wasn't the best Burnout game I'veI don't like how it's an open world and you have to drive to the different races, also, it was too fast paced which caused me to crash a lot, and the poor navigation system didn't help. The huge variety of different race types was the highlight of this game, my favourite is still take down (although this mode was extremely easy in this game). It definitely wasn't the best Burnout game I've played, Burnout 3 and Revenge are still the best, but it was still a good game, but with a lot of flaws.… Expand
  35. JMoraes
    Jan 13, 2013
    5
    Make this in a open world was a great mistake. Burnout 3: Takedown, Need for Speed Hot Pursuit and Burnout Revenge are the best racing games Critrerion made. Like Criterion's Most Wanted, it is a empty feeling game. But Most Wanted does't have **** navigation and a static map.
  36. tektwo
    Nov 10, 2012
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. If you're looking for an arcade racer with lots of challenges this will be your game. Some challenges require some training and you will make some mistakes if you are not used to the map yet. I don't . like the location for the map, being in the right bottom corner but you will get used to it. If like me, you like some realism in racing games, stay as far away from this game as you can. This was the first burnout game I played and I'm not impressed. The speed, the jumps, the crashes everything is there, but there is no sense of danger when you're performing a jump, no sense of thrill when you're trying to make a high speed turn, just no spice.… Expand
  37. My_name_is_Age
    Nov 26, 2012
    5
    It's not a bad game, but also not a good one in my opinion. It took me over 3 days to start feeling comfortable with it. That maybe down to the open world and lack of directional arrows when racing....it seems over-whelming, but once you get past that, it's ok as a time filler. I didn't like how when you leveled up it reset all the races you'd done. It seemed like a cheap way to getIt's not a bad game, but also not a good one in my opinion. It took me over 3 days to start feeling comfortable with it. That maybe down to the open world and lack of directional arrows when racing....it seems over-whelming, but once you get past that, it's ok as a time filler. I didn't like how when you leveled up it reset all the races you'd done. It seemed like a cheap way to get longevity out of the game. You could do better than this but it certainly isn't the worst game. I can see why it would be enjoyable, but it's not really for me.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

9
#9 Best PS3 Game of 2008
7
#7 Most Discussed PS3 Game of 2008
13
#13 Most Shared PS3 Game of 2008

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
87

Generally favorable reviews - based on 55 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 53 out of 55
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 55
  3. Negative: 0 out of 55
  1. Playstation Official Magazine UK
    90
    Scarily deep. It demands you play it: there's so much to find it's incredible. [Jan 2008, p.88]
  2. GamePro
    100
    Give it a chance and you may find yourself having the most fun you've ever had in a virtual car. [Feb 2008, p.70]
    Read full review
  3. Official Playstation 2 Magazine UK
    90
    A truly superb racer; fast, vast and there's plenty to do under that super-slick surface. [Jan 2008, p.118]
See all critic reviews »