Topic: Burnout Paradise on the 360. Pure crack.

[Cobra951]

Got a 360, hard drive and internet?  You must try this demo.  The only excuse would be if you hate racing games altogether.  Otherwise, must try.  I ended up playing it for 2:20 last night, even though most of the city is blocked off and you only get a starter car.  Perfect 60-fps fluidity, awesome controls, and still very detailed and beautiful.  Perfect for the reckless-driver wannabes.  It's so well done.

[beo]

yeah, i thought it was fun, but i prefer the previous burnout games to be honest.

i found the sandbox style gameplay quite infuriating, the time spent going from one event to the next could be much better spent actually racing. the fact that if you fail an event you have to drive all the way back to the beginning to try again is a completely backwards design choice. that said, there's still a lot to like about it, and sometimes the massive, free roaming cities can be a lot of fun - what with discovering jumps, shortcuts, etc. it seems like it's the kind of game you could lose yourself in for hours without actually doing a great deal.

[Cobra951]

Other than no retry option for long one-way races (a surprising omission), that's exactly what I do like about this game.  I like the idea of free roaming and discovery above all else.  I tend to spend longer on that than doing actual events.  I did with Test Drive Unlimited, although that one was set up from the get-go as a virtual Hawaii explorer.  I'm really impressed with how the car feels and how good everything looks and sounds.  This will be the first Burnout game that I actually end up getting.  I played the demo for Revenge, but didn't get the sense of euphoria that I needed to jump in with both feet.  I couldn't put the Paradise demo down last night until I was so tired I was getting blurry-eyed.

[Quemaqua]

Sounds awesome.  I have the first 2 Burnouts, I think, but I never played either one enough to justify the purchases.  I wonder if I'd play Paradise more.  I do enjoy exploring cities and such... that was my favorite part about Test Drive Unlimited, too.

[iPPi]

I really liked Burnout 3 and Burnout Legends for the PSP (which is basically just Burnout 3).  After that, I've pretty much lost interest of the entire series though. 

[wizall]

I had a great time with this demo when it first came out.  I agree with Cobra and Que about the open-ended aspect.  Also, the online thing was slick.  You just hit right on the d-pad and you were in.  I played it a couple days in a row and never once ran into a prick, which is odd.

Anyway, I'll definitely be getting this...my first Burnout game.

[Cobra951]

What a great racer.  Technically it's just about perfect.  So much detail and action animated at a flawless, vsynched 60 fps.  Everything's beautiful, from downtown to the mountains.  Brief streaming hiccups are so rare that they surprise you.  They're the only breaks from the total fluidity, and they're too quick to affect the gameplay.  Sound is perfect, not that this is technically difficult anymore.  Control is spot on. 

Love the game itself.  As I said before, I spend more time in games like this roaming around than doing actual events.  When I finally did get into the different kinds of contests, I was completely hooked.  Races, stunts and take-downs, all heart-thumpingly exciting stuff.  The speed and chaos are like crack.  Then I discovered showtime and I nearly lost it.  I was laughing so hard I'm glad no one was around to hear me.  The idea of showtime is to crash through as many cars as possible.  You can steer the careening wreck that was your car, and you can keep it going with the boost button.  That depletes the boost bar while each car you take out fills some of it back up.  Whoever came up with this notion must be demented.  I did this for about an hour straight, racking up high damage totals on different streets.

On a down note, the music sucks.  There are very tunes I find listenable.  I prefer when it goes off the higher-profile list into the more generic Burnout tracks.  I'm sure all you younger folk will find it more to your liking.  Fortunately, I can skip any awful track with RB, and I could turn the music volume down to 0.

I hope Paradise sells really well and motivates more openness like this in future racers.  I understand that the seamlessness extends into the online functionality, though I have yet to try that other than to bring up the menu and look through the choices.  This game came out of nowhere for me.  The previous Burnout demo (Revenge, I think) threw me into the action too suddenly, without any context, and I ended up ignoring it.  Heh.  Maybe now I should try it again.

[MysterD]

On a down note, the music sucks.  There are very tunes I find listenable.  I prefer when it goes off the higher-profile list into the more generic Burnout tracks.  I'm sure all you younger folk will find it more to your liking.  Fortunately, I can skip any awful track with RB, and I could turn the music volume down to 0.

Can you do a GTA and just import your own tunes into the game (if you own the X360 HD and import some songs of your own onto that)?

[Cobra951]

One of the very cool things about the 360 is that every game must allow you to play your own music while you play it.  What happens is that if you play your own stuff with the 360's player app and then you go into a game, the game's music won't play at all, while yours continues to play uninterrupted.  You can hit the big round button on the controller and a blade (window scrolls in from the side) pops up that lets you change what you're playing (among other things).  Then you can go back to the game.

Music can be imported to the HDD only by ripping audio CDs on the 360's DVD drive.  But you can also plug in an external USB FAT32 HDD or flash-memory thumb drive, or card reader, and play any MP3s, WMAs or AACs from there.  There's no shortage of music options on this system, and it works by mandate across all games.

[MysterD]

That's pretty sweet, Cobra!

You can just play your own tunes instead, man!

[Jedi]

 

[scottws]

Music can be imported to the HDD only by ripping audio CDs on the 360's DVD drive.  But you can also plug in an external USB FAT32 HDD or flash-memory thumb drive, or card reader, and play any MP3s, WMAs or AACs from there.  There's no shortage of music options on this system, and it works by mandate across all games.

You can also play music from PC thats using one of the Windows Media Extender apps (Windows Media Connect, Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows Vista Ultimate, or Zune).  Or TVersity (but the version I tried sucked).

[wizall]

I have it connected to my router.  I don't have a Windows Media PC; with the various media I simply change the input device on the console.  It's quite nice, actually, as my PC is unable to run HD videos without chugging, whereas running it through the 360 presents little trouble.

[Cobra951]

Yeah, my PC is worthless with H.264 at HD resolutions.  (I hold out hope for more efficient codecs eventually.)  Since I have the PC and the 360 hooked up to the same screen (and speakers) I've seen little reason to set it all up for streaming before.  Sounds like a pain.

[scottws]

I only mentioned it because you don't have to rip CDs to the 360 hard drive to have them play during games.  If you have a PC with your music and the PC has one of the Windows Media Extender apps, you can play music from your PC on the 360 just as you do from the 360 hard drive.

I found it quite useful at the time.

[Cobra951]

I don't do that (rip from CD).  I plug in an SD card in a USB reader.  That works fine too.  I've yet to do that in this game, though.  I ended up finding some tracks I like, and I discovered how to remove the stinkers from the playlist.

[Quemaqua]

So I love this game.  Thanks for the recommendation, Cobra.  I've put a number of hours into it and it's addictive as all hell.  The open world aspect really helps this one, I think, as I most definitely like this better than the other entries in the series (which I liked well enough already).  And the online play is actually fun and different!  I like how you get a little rundown of the other racers when you get into an event, so you can see if they're new, if they've done tons of a races, how they're ranked in the world, whatever it chooses to tell you.  It's a nice touch.  I could do without the voice chat, because I don't need to hear the cries of the morons I'm about to stomp into the ground, but I guess that's personal preference.  It's nice that it supports it for those who dig it.  It's a cool system all in all being seamless the way it is, and I can see myself picking up a router just for the pleasure of being able to partake now and again (especially since with the PS3, online play is free!).

My only sadness is that Cobra and I can't play together.  That would be a lot of fun.  This thing would be fucking great for LAN parties and such.

It's too bad it doesn't support split-screen play.  Or does it?  I didn't see any option, but I didn't look that hard.

[Cobra951]

I've listened to Criterion's podcasts since #16.  No split screen.  They're apologetic, but they simply couldn't make it happen without compromising the performance, which they consider paramount (and I agree with them).

Something I just listened to, on #22, is that the car crashes are procedural.  While they "don't simulate every atom", the deformations and breakages are apparently based on real physics and tons of work.  Someone posted a real/game crash comparison video.  Fairly entertaining.

I thought the headset was more or less mandatory.  No?  My impression was that without it, you can't tell what's happening very well, or where on the map.  If that's not true, then there's online hope for me yet, after the 1.2 patch.  But not with you, sadly.

[Quemaqua]

I dunno', I wasn't even listening to the idiots chattering on mine.  I turn that shit off ASAP and I certainly don't participate.  But then I was mostly in it for races and stuff, not just driving around aimlessly in the freeburn mode.  That would potentially be problematic without communication if you actually wanted to try and compete for something specific.

[Cobra951]

ZP's Paradise review.    Funny as usual.  But he reaches exactly the wrong conclusion.  The only people who will get over his frustrations are those of us with no life, who can sink 100s of hours into memorizing the entire layout and the best routes for anything, and learning how to drive for long periods without crashing.  (It can be done.)

[Quemaqua]

His DJ Atomika theory is the best ever.

[MysterD]

Ahhh, gotta love ZP...

[MysterD]

Expect some DLC soon for Burnout: Paradise.
Burnout: Paradise - Codename: Cagney Pack DLC is coming to your PS3 and X360 on July 10th.

All kinds of new content being added to this thing w/ this free DLC.
So, make sure you check the link.

In short:
THREE New game modes, a new Island to explore, bikes, planes, new ranking system, and all kinds of other stuff will be added w/ this DLC.

 

[Quemaqua]

I'm all over it.  The game kicks ass.  I'd heard they were working on some stuff, but I had no idea it'd be this extensive.

[MysterD]

I'm all over it.  The game kicks ass.  I'd heard they were working on some stuff, but I had no idea it'd be this extensive.

When I read this, it sounded more like an expansion pack to me than the usual DLC treatment.
Kudos to Criterion on this!

You know, I wonder if the Burnout: Paradise PC version will have this stuff already included in the box or as a DLC later on...

[Cobra951]

I am looking forward to Cagney, mostly because they are supposed to finally get *perfectly* smooth streaming on the 360, for those of us with HDDs.  July 10th is much sooner than I thought I'd see it.

[gpw11]

I really can't wait until this hits PC.  The one Burnout game I owned for the Xbox (number 3 maybe?) got a lot of playtime from roomates and friends during pre-drinks/hungover mornings.

[Quemaqua]

All right, so I've been spending more time with this, and the updates are amazingly cool.  Seriously.  New cars, the bikes, and like day/night cycles with weather and junk?  This game is amazing!  Criterion are really high up on my list of devs now because of this.  The game was stellar when it came out, and with the stuff they've added it's really been upgraded to phenomenal.  I'm glad PC players will get a taste of this.

Really the only negative I can come up with is that, however annoying the song could occasionally be prior to the game, I now absolutely fucking hate GNR's "Paradise City", and the soundtrack to the game generally kind of blows.  Hard.  I turned it off.

[idolminds]

PC version is scheduled for early Feb now. I know its EA and will be tied down with shit but....gah. I want this game.

[Xessive]

Despite my EA boycotte I'd be really tempted to get my hands on this for PC.

[Quemaqua]

This is one of the very, very few EA games I'm exuberant about.  I pick it up to play for a few minutes, I play for 3 hours.  Every time.  There's also more free download stuff from Criterion scheduled for February!

One thing I like is how integrated every feature is.  There's nothing you really don't use, and even if you prefer one game type over another, you still end up doing them all and enjoying them all.  The online stuff is really seamless too, and it's super easy to bounce back and forth between on and offline, and that feeling of seamlessness extends to their updates as well.  The DJ guy on the fake radio station actually gets new sound bytes with updates, and he talks about updates, features, and Criterion-related stuff that is actually sometimes interesting or useful, and it makes you feel like the game is actually evolving as it goes.  That's really awesome.

[K-man]

Bought it two days ago.  Probably one of the best values in gaming right now.

[Quemaqua]

It really is.  The only black mark on it so far is that the February DLC actually costs ten bucks and all it is is a little pass-the-pad thing for parties and junk.  Which isn't necessarily terrible, just something I can imagine using once or twice and never touching again.  I mean, the OWmeet is only once a year, and I wouldn't have enough people over here basically ever outside of that to make it worth checking out.  Still, it's hard to say if it's worth the ten bucks if you do have friends who would use it regularly.  I don't know much about it specifically.

Did you get the Ultimate Box version, K?

[K-man]

Bought the 360 version.  As far as I know the only version of the Ultimate Box that got released stateside is the PC version.

[Quemaqua]

Really?  That's odd.  I didn't realize there was any difference in territories.  They've been advertising it all over their website without any indication of that.

Ah well.  You can get all the shit for free except the party pack even without it.

[K-man]

It all averages to be around the same price.  A copy of Burnout for 360 or PS3 runs you 20 bucks now.  The party Pack adds 10, which is still less than the PC version.

I don't think I'll bother with the party pack.  I can't remember the last time I had anyone over to my place to game.

[Xessive]

Got it on PC! It is awesome. It's nice to play with the keyboard but the game is pretty good with the pad too. I'm playing with my Logitech Cordless RumblePad for the sake of convenience; sitting back and enjoying insane runs.

There are few that are off though. First off, starting up the game takes a while. I launch it, it loads up the logos, it gets to the "Press Any Key" screen, I push any key, then it brings up "this game autosaves when this icon is displayed..." at which point I have to hit any key to continue (this comes every time regardless of how many times you've loaded up the game), then the game gets minimized and the Criterion page is loaded up with a game hub a la Rockstar Games Social Club, I have to click on "back to game" (every frickin' time), and finally I arrive at the main menu which includes: Enter Paradise City, Start a Party, something (can't remember but it has to do with the Criterion hub page), and Quit. If you wanna change any options at all you have to enter the game fully. No main menu options at all. Fortunately you can modify basic graphics options from a separate exe called "BurnoutConfigTool.exe" in the installation directory.

Startup is the only major gripe I have with the game.

In-game everything is just swell. Great framerate, though there is an occasionaly hiccup now and then but that seems to happen regardless of my resolution or graphic detail, it might be fixed in a later patch. I think it happens when its caching regions.

The bikes are a great addition but they still seem a little out of place.. Actually they feel like a third-party effort. Like someone thought of it and decided to make a mod. The bikes and riders are very well designed though.

[Cobra951]

Ah, great!  I hope you like it.  It's technically flawless on the consoles.  I hope you or they get any streaming issues sorted out.

I am well behind on downloads for this game.  In fact, I have none.  So next time I revisit it, I'll be spending some up-front time updating it.  I think everything's free up until very recently, so I should be able to try out the bikes.

[K-man]

If I could change one thing, it would be to shut DJ Atomica the fuck up.

[Cobra951]

That should happen gradually on its own.  It did for me anyway.  Start a new game under a different profile, and there he is again.