One of the greatest things for Xbox gamers recently was the replacing the EA Access subscription offer with EA Play and then that getting added on to Microsoft’s Game Pass Ultimate option. Why? More games to play. I love playing different games, and honestly, this really excites me as a games reviewer. Yes, this means more work and writing to do, but it also means a lot more fun. As for Burnout, well… EA Play gives you access to wider variety of games, including some of the Madden series, Fifa games and my favourite on here, Burnout Paradise Remastered.
When Sony’s PlayStation 3 came out, all that time ago, I deliberately went out and got the original game. It’s my favourite in the Burnout franchise, and it’s not hard to see why. Open-World, white knuckle racing with crazy jumps galore. It’s any coffee addict’s dream for gaming. So, with me basically being me, the lovely editors here at The Gamerhub have asked me to play through the remastered version of Burnout Paradise.
Will this game be terrible? Will I tell you how much I’ve sworn in the sixteen hours I’ve sunk into this playthrough? Did I manage to smash through a sign in a giant Burnout-style hearse? Two of those three questions will be answered! On with the review…
The story behind the remaster
As we all got crazy in 2018 with our new consoles and the Need For Speed franchise was pretty much the king of street racers, a question was asked. Where the heck is Burnout? We, as gamers love those games! After a while, we ask this question to EA, who now own Criterion (the boffins behind the games). At first, EA tell us that the Burnout franchise is retired. This doesn’t exactly go down well on social media. Eventually, EA and Criterion releases this remaster, and well, here we are.
Burnout’s Plot
I’m not going to mess you around here folks, Burnout Paradise Remastered is an arcade racing game. Just like the other games in the Burnout franchise, there isn’t much reason to race other than the simple act of racing. Is that a bad thing? Personally, I’m not fussed, as I just want to race. Unfortunately though, one of the problems of the previous generation of games is here. Seriously, Criterion and EA, you could have saved us a lot of hassle. You can’t skip the introduction showing you around Paradise City. However, looking past that, you get your only motivation. Whether you have EA Play or have just bought the game, you start the same. Win racing events of differing varieties, upgrade your Burnout licence, and get some really cool cars.
Burnout Gameplay
Because I referenced it the introduction, the best thing about this game is playing the damn game itself. For the first time in the franchise’s history, the game is completely open-world with Paradise City being at your steering wheel at all times. Because of this development, it’s worth spending time driving around the place, and learning all the shortcuts. The game encourages you to do just that but so do I. There’s no invisible barriers to force you around corners, and no direction markers. You have to rely on using the compass at the top of the screen and the mini-map to navigate your way to the finish lines. I hope you’re good at orienteering before, because if you’re not, you’re going to be after this game!
So, the races themselves come in the four varieties, and vary in fun experiences. It really does depend on your racing style.
Burnout Racing varieties
Firstly, we have the straight-up racing experiences. In normal races, get from your position to one of eight markers on the map. How you choose to get there is entirely up to you. Personally, I race dirty, and yes, the game rewards you for doing that. If you have an aggression type of car, you’ll see why ramming opponents into cars and other things can really benefit your gameplay. I also memorised several jumps, ramps and shortcuts so that I could weave my way around the AI and all the traffic. I did this so that I could get first place at every race I took part in.
Secondly, there’s stunt runs. Stunt Run racing involves driving your car like someone asleep at the wheel, making as many drifts, jumps, sign smashes and super jumps as possible. Make sure you get this done before your clock runs out of time and secure yourself a racing win on your licence. I recommend scouting out a route to race before starting one of these runs, as doing this pays dividends.
Burnout-specific race types.
Thirdly, there’s marked man. Marked Man racing involves making it from your point to one of the end points without being taken out by the AI. The AI deliberately tries to get you crashing at every possible point, so remember where the Auto-Repair shops are. Your mission might seem simple here, but trust this idiot here, it’s not. There’s no rear-view to check where these a-holes come from, and you’re going to want some distance between yourself and your monitor. These races are awesome to do, but dear lord, they’re infuriating at times.
Lastly, there’s the Road Rage races, which satisfy intensely when you’re failing at the other events. Simply put, aim to take out other AI racers with some lovely vehicular homicide. For every car you take down as you get nearer your “takedown” target, you get an extra ten seconds added. There’s an extra five seconds if you use aids in this, like if you ram an opponent into a bus. To give you even more encouragement to be lethal here, there’s achievements to be had from this. If you chain 5 takedowns, you get an achievement called “Frenzy”. If you get 10, there’s one called “rampage” to earn. I wish you the best rage-inducing races imaginable. Feel free to contact me here to tell me some of your crazier future takedowns. I’ll love hearing them, and particularly more so if you add pictures or videos.
The Soundtrack
This is where this game gets all the love from me. The opening scene, as the sun rises over Paradise City to that Guns’n’Roses song, is iconic. I defy you not to sing along as you’re racing along to half of this playlist. It got ridiculously tough for me, playing through this, and honestly, I bet my girlfriend is really happy I’m writing because of that. Struggling not to sing along is challenging with this song, and puts a giant smile on my face. The only downside to this radio-style soundtrack is the game’s aid for you, DJ Atomica. He’s not ridiculously annoying, but there are times when you wish he wasn’t in the remaster. He’s as sarcastic and caustic as you’d think, but unfortunately, he makes some pop-culture references that feel dated.
Overall
This game has been a perfect New Years’ review to do, as it tested my resolve, reflexes and the patience of my better half. God bless her in this respect, because my stepson has nigh-on played the whole thing through with me for this review. I’m not sure he’ll want to for the next few games on my review list, but man, it’s been really fun. Burnout Paradise Remastered is available to play on Xbox, Nintendo Switch and Playstation (I’m not sure about the PS5 yet). It’s got some really fun points, but a mixture of random traffic generation and a lack of a photo mode stops this game from being perfect.
Did you enjoy that? Should I play any more racing games? Let me know in the comments, and I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this. Let me know in our social media whether you’ll play this game now.
For the Gamerhub, I’ve been Davey and Happy New Year.
