Burning for You

While the open-world approach of Burnout Paradise has some fans of the racing series nervous, the proof, one of the game's producers says, is in the playing.
1/20/2008 12:00 AM | 0 Comments | Page 1 of 3

There are racing games that are more realistic, some that are more futuristic, and some that are more hilarious -- but since it debuted in 2001, there's been no racing game that's more fun than the Burnout series. Combining tight controls, a serious sense of speed and spectacular crashes that would make Michael Bay jealous, this arcade driving series has been a favorite of action fans, driving enthusiasts and explosion fetishists alike. Of course, it's helped that over the course of six games the series hasn't strayed too far from what made it great to begin with and that it has only gone through evolutions, not revolutions. All that changes with the seventh installment, Burnout Paradise, which EA will release for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on Jan. 22. For the first time, the series will employ an open-world approach, eschewing menus, progression ladders and many of the things that are standard equipment on most racing games. While this left some longtime fans (present company included) feeling cautious instead of enthusiastic, according to Criterion Games' Nick Cannon, the game's senior producer, just playing the new game will calm any fan's fears.

Crispy Gamer: I think we can safely assume that everyone knows the Burnout games are racing games, but how is Paradise different from the others in the series?

Nick Cannon: With Burnout Paradise we wanted to create a truly next-gen experience. This means changing gaming conventions, and to do that, we have thrown everything away and started from scratch. Obviously, it's still Burnout, with its amazing sense of speed, aggressive racing, big drifts, etc., but now we've moved the game into an open world. There are no menus or loading screens in the game, as you do everything while you are playing your game. We never take you out of the game world, even for online. We hate sitting and wasting time in lobbies, so we've gotten rid of that step, and now you connect online while playing the game. It's that simple. There are still the classic Race and Road Rage modes, but we've added the all-new Marked Man and Stunt Run modes. Additionally, we've completely changed the crash mode -- it's now called Showtime, and you can crash anytime, anywhere in the game world. The whole point of Burnout Paradise is that you are free to do anything, anytime.

Crispy Gamer: Why did you guys feel like you needed to set it in an open world?

Cannon: Basically, it's something we've always wanted to do with Burnout; we just never had the power in the machines to be able to do it until now. Burnout has to run at 60 FPS, and to have all the great effects and visuals on PlayStation 2 and Xbox, we had to confine ourselves to the tube that is a track. Moving to an open world has allowed us to give the user complete and utter freedom, and that's what we feel next-gen gaming is all about.

Crispy Gamer: So how exactly do you play a racing game in an open-world setting?

Cannon: Well, the whole point is that it's completely up to you. Everything is open from the start and there are 120 events in the game. You can choose where you start and the mode in which you start.

Crispy Gamer: What kinds of races are included this time around?