User Score
6.8 out of 10

Mixed or average reviews- based on 222 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Negative: 44 out of 222

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  1. CMay
    Jan 26, 2009
    10
    This is one of the best racing games ever made, and all these low scorers are just being unfair by comparing it to a game it isn't, because their feelings were hurt. Well get over it, this game is amazing by any standard and it's only getting better as Criterion is still releasing big updates to the game a year after it was released, and will probably continue to do so for another year or two. Some of these updates address reasonable complaints people had, while others add totally new ways to play the game. In fact, some of these low score comments will be outdated and won't apply any more as some of their disappointments get addressed over the next year. Try the demo or rent it and see how good this game is for yourself! Collapse
  2. StuartP.
    Jan 29, 2008
    10
    I always wonder after each Burnout games release, how they intend to top it and what new ideas they will introduce next. This is by far the most innovative game they have come up with. The online features alone make it a thoroughly enjoyable game. Its not just the thrill of racing that makes it good though. Nice little touches such as random rival driver statistics at the start of each race give you an incite into how well you need to be doing and sense of satisfaction if you can beat someone who is ranked e.g 49th in the world! There is plenty to do in paradise city and even once you have managed to achieve everything there will still be more after to play around with. If you are to take this game online make sure you have a camera as collecting Mugshots of other taken down drivers can be extremely satisfying. Expand
  3. [Anonymous]
    Jan 24, 2008
    9
    I love the fact that you have to take down cars in order to acquire (most ) of them. I don't mind the lack of a restart as I think that would have taken away from the experience. Great sense of speed and incredible physics.
  4. EricE.
    Jan 25, 2008
    9
    I love this game. I know many people are put off by the open-ended "menu" system, but I think it's a ton of fun to just tool around downtown.
  5. TimothyM
    Mar 17, 2009
    10
    I love how the majority of complaints have to do with not being locked into a track for every race. God forbid you spend some time driving around learning the shortcuts and good ways to get from point A to point B. Moreover, it's been said that using the minimap to navigate is much too hard. Just like to point out that the street signs at the top of the screen (as well as your car�39;s turn signal) tell you when a turn is coming up. The game is fantastic, but it definitely has a learning curve to overcome. Expand
  6. JJ
    Aug 25, 2009
    9
    I just bought the game about 6 months ago, and it worth every penny. The fact that the game is free roaming is a great feature added to the series. You have many options on the game such as get a license each license brings new perks cars Game Achievements. They also various offline and online events such as racing, marked man, road rage and stun run (not my favoruite) also online they are various events for 2-8 players. You can restart these events by pressing D on your directional pad (not that hard guys) also they is extra content on DLC such as Boost Special Cars Hot Rod Extreme & Hawker Mech, Legendary Cars P12 Speciall 88 (The Delorean from Back to the Furture) Carson Nighthawk the New Nightrider and General Lee Hunter Calavary Bootlegger, Hunter Matthan Ghost Busters Echo1, Toys, Cops & Robbers and my all time favourite BSI Big Surf Island. Expand
  7. JunnyC.
    Jan 23, 2008
    9
    This game is the fire! I am an avid racing fan, especially of driving simulators, but my taste buds were stimulated by the "other" end of racing, i.e. haulin a** through a city w/ full traffic. I've heard complaints of the Crash mode being eliminated...keep the Crash mode and give me the Showtime mode. It's the same concept just with open ended routes of distruction. Get some!
  8. HeathH.
    Jan 27, 2008
    9
    I can't give it a ten because I don't believe in perfect game ratings..... As with all the other Burnout titles, I was quickly addicted to Paradise. The improvements over Burnout Revenge are amazing. Criterion has managed to practically eliminate load times, for one. After the first couple hours of playing, I realized I never got a minute to wolf down munchies, and this includes online play. Revenge load times were decent, but Paradise is a MAJOR improvement. The way the online play is so seamlessly integrated into the main game is a welcome addition as well. Press right on the D-pad, and your racing with your buddies or any of the thousands of people flocking to Xbox Live. Even without jumping online with it, there's 300 things to do. Online, there is like 1000 things to do. After putting in the neighborhood of 400 hours into Revenge (online and off), I must admit this title scares me just a little; I'm afraid I may never see the sun again. Thank you Criterion. It was worth the aggravation of you putting us Burnout fans off for months and months to fine tune this already classic game. I am a cheap and easily disappointed consumer; This game is the first I've had the gall to slap down sixty dollars for. I do not regret it for a second. Expand
  9. JamesP.
    Feb 6, 2008
    9
    Burnout Paradise is quite different from past Burnout games, but once you get the hang of it, it becomes very enjoyable, and it is hard to imagine going back to closed tracks.
  10. MrGGreen
    Nov 1, 2009
    9
    I can understand the poor comments on here as I myself bought this game hoping for more Burnout revenge or takedown which I loved. I was so annoyed that it wasn't that I quickly put it away for 6 months. But after taking it out again and learning the new ways to play the game has become very addictive. The online play was awsome and I had great fun never having to click through menus. I still prefer the revenge edition but this was a massive leap forward in many ways. More of a car racing game for open world gamers. PS I totally agree about the map being useless (way too small and dark to use in a race) - how about the option of a bigger directional arrow like in NFS titles to make it more accessible for all. Accidentally wandered online and had a great time trying to right off other peoples cars to a soundtrack of classical tunes!. Overall a really great game if you put 3 or 4 hours into it before deciding). The next installment of burnout or BLUR game should be awsome. Expand
  11. RobH.
    Jan 23, 2008
    9
    The new open world design is worth the price of admission. While startling at first (to this Burnout veteran), the non-menu driven free roam structure quickly draws you in. The game is not perfect, (as pointed out by many other reviewers) but will provide many exhilarating hours of gameplay on a cold winter's night. Criterion has done it again!
  12. D.S.
    Jan 27, 2008
    9
    Burnout is one of the best driving games I have played in my life. The graphics are wonderful, even though I think the physics could have been fleshed out more, the sound and soundtrack is wonderful, the premise is awesome, and the control and sens of speed are great. It makes me wonder how need for speed prostreet or Carbon came from the same company that made burnout. To me EA needs to let Criterion work on Need for Speed as well, may be it will bring it back to its roots. Expand
  13. RandyG.
    Jan 23, 2008
    10
    A 7.1 so far? you have to be kidding. If you played just the demo, you're missing out. This game is great online, smooth as butter.
  14. ChrisC.
    Apr 16, 2008
    10
    If you look through these user scores - and all of the forum posts - you'll find that the low scores come from folks that wanted yet another iteration of the same game they've played 4 times before. Well, I'm happy to say that Criterion didn't give them what they wanted. Instead, they gave us one of the best gaming values on the planet next to N+ (400 levels for $10 - come on... that's bang for the buck!). Here's why: 1) There is over 200 miles of road to be had... from the very start. Hidden throughout are Billboards to drive through, fences to smash, and Super Jumps to hit. Finding all of these is no easy task, so they reward you with pimpy wheels for finding all of each set. 2) The online racing and co-op challenges make for great times. 3) There are cool little places hidden around the game world like an abandoned airport that is reminiscent of a skatepark. 4) When you get bored with something, there is always something else to do. Tired of racing? Get an SUV and do Road Rage or Marked Man. Tired of those? Look for some billboards/smashes/Super Jumps. Tired of those? Try setting the fastest time on a particular street and have your friends' times auto-streamed for comparison. Tired of that? Geez... you're picky, but there's still Showtime - which warrants it's own bullet. 5) Showtime: Now here's a matter of great consternation. Remember Crash mode? Well, it's gone. Get over it. Now imagine that you can trigger your own crash mode at any time during nearly any event - online or off. While is loses the puzzle element that was great about Crach mode, what you gain is the same thing that Criterion has given you everywhere else in this title: FREEDOM! 5) Speaking of which, this open world model allows you to do whatever events you want in whatever order you want. No more getting stuck because you have to re-race the same event over and over to eek out enough points to open the next tier of events. It's all available to you from the start. 6) Most importantly, they have dedicated the next year to constantly improve Burnout Paradise! There are new game modes coming online, an entire new Island, and a host of other goodies that they are going for absolutely free. Hopefully the reasons are apparent why you need to at lest rent this game to give it a shot. The demo on XBL/PSN doesn't do it justice. Expand
  15. JerryG.
    Jan 26, 2008
    9
    Brilliant game in every respect - and BRAVE and INNOVATIVE of the developers to NOT have a 'Restart' button!! It means every race really MATTERS. Plus it relieves you of that 100% completion obsession - forces you to play more organically.
  16. JonathanS.
    Jan 24, 2008
    10
    This game rocks. Sure it's a little different than the prior version, but overall very good worthwhile game. I will spend lot of time playing this game.
  17. M.I.
    Jan 28, 2008
    9
    This game is addictive, I don't understand what people are moaning about.
  18. Willie
    Jan 29, 2008
    9
    Great game! Fun online, It will take months to complete. Only complaint is that is too easy to crash.
  19. StefB.
    Feb 19, 2008
    9
    Very good online mode...Very good offline. I like it, don't listen to the negative critic!
  20. CRick
    Mar 5, 2008
    9
    Fun Fun Fun game. I ran out of things to do so I wish it was a bit longer, but A blast to play on and off-line.
  21. REAPER33
    Aug 31, 2009
    10
    Perfect intense flawless racing action! Game add-ons are worth every MS point!! if you don't own this BurnOut title you are missing out big time!!!
  22. DonG.
    Jan 23, 2008
    9
    Amazing game the good outweigh the bad 9 to 1. Hence the 9 rating.
  23. DjFIL
    Jan 25, 2008
    9
    This game is awesome. smooth online intergration is really nice. i only have one main complaint, you can't abort/cancel events. i don't care that i can't restart it (as criterion said, they didn't want any load screens)... but i'd like to beable to abort a run.
  24. PhillipN.
    Feb 15, 2008
    10
    One of the best in the series for sure.
  25. ZacC.
    Feb 23, 2008
    10
    I LOVE THIS GAME! I think it is more fun than halo and call of duty! No lie. The crashes are so realistic and when you crash, its not disappointing because your car goes flying. When you takedown another car, they can sometimes take out others cars which is the coolest thing ever to watch. The billboards, smashes, and superjumps are so much fun to hit. BUY THIS GAME! IT IS AMAZING DON9;T LISTEN TO ANYTHING UNDER AN 8 FOR THIS GAME! Expand
  26. Oct 29, 2012
    9
    Criterion Games are back with another installment of the Burnout series, and it is certainly the best title yet. With gorgeous graphics and many new features, Burnout Paradise offers an incredible amount of replay value and will keep you entertained for many an hour. Whether you aim to complete all 350 online challenges, free-roam with your friends, enter ranked and player matches via Xbox Live, or just try and conquer hundreds of single player events and gain your coveted Burnout licence is up to you; but whatever you decide, I am sure you will have fun doing it. The game Expand
  27. Mar 17, 2011
    10
    Oh my word, this is a frightfully exciting game, isn't it, chaps? I say. I'm afraid to say that being a distinguished gentleman in the twilight years of his life, and dare I say it, "born with a silver spoon in his mouth", I had yet to encounter one of these new fangled "xbox 360" devices, but I was cajoled into having a "go" by my great-grandson and I'll say it was jolly good fun indeed! Unfortunately the opportunity for learning to drive an automobile never presented itself to me in life, as I've always enjoyed the benefit of having a chauffeur, so it took an awfully long time to become acquainted with the steering wheel "controller", but gosh the automobiles in this game do travel at some fair speed, I should hasten to add! If I were to be so rude as to fault the game at all, I should point out that it did not appear to feature the Rolls Royce Silver Shadow, as I would very much have liked to see how the game designers would have portrayed the automobile that ferries me around in real life. However that is a triviality that barely warrants a mention. This game appears to be sterling stuff, and well deserved of the 10 that I have thus awarded to it. Good night. Expand
  28. Jul 17, 2011
    10
    It reminds me a bit of GTA except you don't have to bother feeding yourself or hopping from vehicle to vehicle on foot. Now you can just do the rooftop shuffle from the safety of your car! With dozens of fun little stunt spots, plenty of raced out toys to drive, hundreds of shortcuts & jumps, a time trial on every road, and a healthy variety of events (race & other)..there is enough to keep even the shortest of attention spans occupied. Plus, with an open map and no defined circuits, you're left planning your own race routes and improvising the path along the way...pure genius! Expand
Metascore

Generally favorable reviews - based on 68 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 68 out of 68
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 68
  3. Negative: 0 out of 68
  1. With its new and open structure, it can be a shock at the beginning. But the gameplay is as addictive as ever and with its vertiginous speed, excellent framerate and, mainly, the new online multiplayer, the new Burnout is still a great game for any arcade racing fan. [Jan 2008]
  2. As someone who's closely followed Criterion's racing series for the last seven years, it warms my heart to see it evolve into something as innovative, satisfying, and polished as Paradise. [Feb 2008, p.74]
  3. What's here is nothing short of amazing, but I can't help but wonder what could have been. [Feb 2008, p.94]