I'm not sure what game the reviewers got to play but the Burnout Paradise I played is the WORST sequel since Devil May Cry 2. No crash mode?? No auto restart? And what the hell happened to the sense of speed? The previous games were blazing fast. This barely gets things going. The Burnout series was always about one thing...FUN. You could hop in, run a couple of races or just smash around. Great times. But this game? All work. You've got to drive to every race, that you have to find yourself! No one's mentioned that you only see maybe 2 or 3 races when the game starts. You've got to drive around and discover where all the races start. Then you've got to drive back to the same spot if you lose. Oh and don't forget to drive one place to fix your car, another place to paint it (with so few options it's hardly worth it) and another place to fill up the turbo. This is annoying in real life. Why, oh why, would the designers think that that would be fun here? And did I mention that this game feels slow? Oh good I did. This used to be a great game for having your friends over and seeing who could finish a run the fastest or cause the biggest wreck. Now the only wreck here is the game itself. It is a real slap in the face to fans of the series. Just like DMC2. PLEASE rent before you buy if you must know how this is. You'll thank me later.… Expand

Not a total waste of money, but it ain't as much fun as Burnout 2:POI or even 3:Takedown for me. Heavily biased towards online multiplayer with little circuits and tracks hidden away in the city. NO FUN for offline players who instead have to slog up and down the same boring tracks playing samey race after race.

No, Chris C., we didn't want the same game we've played 4 times before. WE just didn't want to be duped inot buying a game with the "Burnout" label on that was a noticeably inferior playing experience to the previous versions. Noe the subtle difference. What good are the forthcoming new online game modes if you're not interested in multiplayer? Why go out of your way to alienate the people who enjoyed the game previously in order to chase a new market of GTA players. $$$ must be the answer. The developer's "get over it" response to dissatisfied customers speaks volumes.… Expand

This game really made me hurt inside. I love the Burnout series with a firey passion that has only been matched by the NFS series. But, this... this has sent me in a deep down depression that only a new Burnout with the return of the Crash Mode. How dare you, EA, how DARE you?

No crash or restar.Where is the speed?of the previous games? Burnout series was always about fun. You could get in the car, race or just smash. This is a really confused premise. You've got to drive to every race and find it yourself. You have to drive around and discover where all the races start which is horrible. Then you've got to drive back to the same spot if you lose - even more horrible. There's one place to fix your car, another place to pointlessly paint it and another place to top- up the turbo. Rent before you buy is my advice. A pain.… Expand

Terrible Game. everything that was fun was taken out. No more crash mode, explosions or set races which you needed to complete in a series. now its an open world where you must drive to certain areas each time and find the races themselves. they added a lame Showtime mode which is nothing like crash mode...think magnetic cars that you keep bouncing off...stupid. Thank goodness for demos.

What happenes when you mix Tony Hawks: Underground and Burnout? YOU GET THIS ABOMNATION! Who could possibly think that speeding 130 mph would mix with taking your eyes off the road to read a tiny map at the bottom of the screen? Not to mention oncoming traffic is no more, the best part of the game, gone. Sure you can vier into the other lane but 1 of 2 things will happen to you. 1) the opposing traffic will stear INTO you like a heat seeking missle or 2) the crash cam will enable well before you would have crashed. So you will be racing against oncoming, see a potential hazard and before you have time to steer out of the way, regardless of how easy it would be to miss the collision, the crash cam pops on and you must helplessly watch yourself slam into the obstruction. They have sucked all the fun out of a once thriving title, and I blame EA. I don't know how but they had to have done something, because I doubt Criterion would destroy their beautiful racer.… Expand

Wide open playing area is a nice try but the pros don

I have purchased every Burnout since the first one, the day they come out. Burnout 4 was a let-down, this is a disaster. No crash mode, drive all over to find a race, have the wrong car, have to watch a map when racing, get lost, then no restarting. Open world is just a terrible idea. I wonder if all the good developers at Criterion moved on a few years ago. This gets my vote for worst Burnout game ever.… Expand

Paradise it ain't. Give me Takedown any day.

I'm a veteran of the burnout games and sadly Criterion messed this one up. Many things wrong. There is no speedometer, can't restart races or quit them, the car has an infinite amount of gears, offline there is no CRASH MODE or 2 Player, how can you make a burnout game where you can't play your buddies on your own console, that GOD-AWFUL song that plays everytime you start up the game and finally the rest of the soundtrack is easy to cringe at. however they threw in some good old classic techno songs from previous games. Oh I almost forgot the on screen navigation of the city, during the race is impossible to follow. Your blinker turns on at unpredictable times compared to where your turn is and sometimes it completely forgets or turns on when there isn't a street change. Please rent this game or play the DEMO first.… Expand

Very sloppy decisions made here. I used to be a Burnout fan but the game design has been altered unforgivably.

Point is, it sucks all around. When you race you are expected to navigate a poorly designed map or memorize the whole damn city or something. Everyone knows you need every precious second to watch what is coming up on the horizon. No time for "checking directions". Garbage. Gets old really quick. You know the music is ass, but you can't even play your own tracks anymore. Why even get it if you can't race to your own shi+? How hard was it to add this feature? These questions remain unanswered. Plus the open gameplay is crapola, I don't want to drive around for hours straight. I want to get a snack, take a breather, blink my eyes, smoke somethin, then choose a race or crash mode(which is a mere shell of the fun it used to be). Criterion just pissed in the mouth of John Q. Gamer. Bottom line- Rent it. I'm gonna go play GTA.… Expand

The biggest disappointment for the last couple of years! After the epic classic "Burnout Revenge" Criterion tried something new.... and messed it up seriously. This is rather a "midnight club" meets "need for speed" mesh but no "burnout" game anymore. Not a complete failure but a huge step-back in the series. Open-world gaming doesn't work, you can't restart races without travelling to the starting point again, the guns n roses title track is annoying (and also a sign that the series went towards mainstream...). I didn't play it online, but the single player mode is just plain boring! I can't believe it. Terribly overrated game!… Expand

Well... It's not the "Burnout" I used to like. I don't like driving for half an hour to find a race. I don't like trying to find my way while racing, looking at a tiny map. I don't like to spend so much time taking care of my car. I just want to drive and have fun. And this game is not fun. Period. Rent it, but don't buy it.

Don't like the open plan world system which is totally at odds in a Burnout game. Lousy nav too which is unforgiveable. Showtime is boring.

No crash mode, new showtime mode not nearly as fun or engaging. No retry mode, have to drive back to the beginning of a race to retry. Wouldn't be a problem except for the fact its a game that revolves around crashing, and thus, you crash and lose, time to start driving. Open world seems like a great idea but its not, especially if you take a wrong turn during a race and end up on another island, assuring you lose the race have to drive back to retry. Find a race only to realize its car specific and have to drive to a garage to get a specific car and then drive back. Basically they ruined Burnout for me, so no thanks I'll stick to Revenge.… Expand

Nowhere near good enough. Everything good from Burnout seems to have gone and it's now riddled with annoyances and stupid omissions.

Haha - just read the post from "Chris C"???? - now theres an EA insider trying a bit of marketing spin if ever I've heard it! Come on, who's gonna believe that 'review'? Nah, there lots wrong with this game for me. Obviously games need to move forward with each iteration, but changing everything at once and omitting the things that we fans were looking forward to playing more of, only better, is a pretty stupid move by the designers. There's some good stuff here, marred by some truly awful design descisions. Don't take my word for it, just read some of the user comments.. Not sure what Criterion can do now. Looks like Burnout is dead in the water and their other 'defining' game attempt 'Black' fell on its arse.… Expand

I loved the old burnout series but then Criterion decided to go and make a need for speed clone instead of create another burnout 3 style game. The game in itself is not a bad game but they ruined the series for me taking it in this direction, hence the score from a disappointed former fan of the series.

This is how i will point flaws: The good: Graphics. The bad: Everything else. Why: Ok first, this game is nothing like what the past games where. This one went all "racing" on us, instead of burnouts trademark crashes and takedowns. Second, while your driving, the game freezes at random spots so an imbred narrator can talk to you about the obvious. such as: "jump the ramps for points!". OK CAPTAIN OBVIOUS. This game is junk. I want my money back. Burnout 1-3 was good. The rest, nope. Did i mention the game is lifeless? Its so unreal its not even funny! So, you look into your car or others, and noone is there. Ghost car? And nobody walks on the street. This game is horrible.… Expand

This used to be a good game, i liked all of the previous series but after paradise i said goodbye to the series. Probably everyone did, considered the fact they're now doing Need for speed.. If you like burnout, you might not like paradise.