Burnout Paradise Demo **THUMBS DOWN**

Admittedly, I spent maybe 20-25 minutes with the game.

But, in the past, about 10 seconds was all it took for me to get behind another Burnout title.

This time they're really just gotten full of themselves. I can't stand the new "open city" formula that they STOLE from Midnight Club (which is another series that went down the shitter) and how I have to MEMORIZE this entirely intricate city. This works in a title like GTA where I'm expected to know the city, and I have to do various things within it, and by playing the game I gradually add to my knowledge of the world.

But no. In Burnout Paradise, you're apparently expected to waste a good 2-3 hours randomly CHARTING the city, unlocking locations of gas stations (which give a boost refill because.....why?), auto repair shops (repairing your car, in a game about CRASHING cars), and paint stations (assinine). Why?

Because when you enter a race, you're given an endpoint in the city to race to, and if you don't know where the fuck you're going, and you didn't find any of the above mentioned locations prior to the race, you're fucked. I shouldn't be asked to race 2-3 times just to FIGURE OUT where I'm going. Granted, they attempt to assist you by "flashing" the oncoming turn you need to take to get to your destination, but I'm doing 200+ (I think, somehow they felt it necessary TO REMOVE THE SPEEDOMETER ALLTOGETHER) and I'm having to drive on normal real-world sized streets. Give me a goddamn break.

Realistic world? Thats great, just give me realistic cars.
DO NOT ASK ME TO WEAVE MY ROCKET MISSILE CAR DOWN A ONE-WAY STREET IN BROAD GODDAMN DAYLIGHT.

Oh, and traffic checking is now gone. Hitting any traffic in any direction results in a crash again. Swiping cars is fine, but....UGH!

Fuck this game. Goddamnit I'm so fucking pissed.

I am with you. I am not liking the open city feel, I wish there is just a nice course like prior BO, but I guess with the 5th sequel, they have to do something drastic.

It could still be good, so I am still hopeful it won't be as disorienting as the demo.

I pretty much figured most of the things you mentioned the first time I heard about the open city format and my fears were confirmed last night in the 10 mins I messed with the demo. Oh well, looks like I have an extra $65 I won't be spending.

I actually enjoyed playing the game online (PS3) with Dot50Cal of THIA, but past that, I cant see myself buying it

Spot on, I hate the enclosed 'sand-box' style and having to just drive around to find stuff to unlock.

Also the 'radio' gimp just giving it the blah all the time is really fucking annoying.

One of the major parts with the Burnout games was to keep building up your boost meter by getting near misses whilst driving, not taking a quick diversion to pump it back up in a heartbeat.

As for the stunts crap, it's a crash-bang-racer not Tony-Cocksucker-Hawks-look-at-me-pulling-tricks-and-stunts-for-scores-that-no-one-gives-a-shit-about-but-are-forced-to-do-it-just-to-progress bullshit

I don't know what EA are thinking but I feel that a lot of the fans of the series are going to feel let down by this game and with the time I've spent playing the demo today I know that I won't be buying the game when it's released.

Oh well, looks like another straight to bargain bin release.

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Originally Posted by soopafamicom

Spot on, I hate the enclosed 'sand-box' style and having to just drive around to find stuff to unlock.

Also the 'radio' gimp just giving it the blah all the time is really fucking annoying.

One of the major parts with the Burnout games was to keep building up your boost meter by getting near misses whilst driving, not taking a quick diversion to pump it back up in a heartbeat.

As for the stunts crap, it's a crash-bang-racer not Tony-Cocksucker-Hawks-look-at-me-pulling-tricks-and-stunts-for-scores-that-no-one-gives-a-shit-about-but-are-forced-to-do-it-just-to-progress bullshit

I don't know what EA are thinking but I feel that a lot of the fans of the series are going to feel let down by this game and with the time I've spent playing the demo today I know that I won't be buying the game when it's released.

Oh well, looks like another straight to bargain bin release.

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This is probably one of the few times I've agreed with you on anything.

The Tony Hawk thing is spot-on, man. I entered into one of the Stunt Runs and immediately was like "WTF?! I don't know where ANY of these fucking jumps are!" and as I drove around, I noticed the barrel roll ramps, billboards, etc, laid like I'm supposed to string them all together TH style.

What happened with a racing game that has TRACKS to race? I mean really is it that big of a deal now to have open-ended worlds in EVERY game?

DJ Atomica is a Grade-AAA faggor.

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Originally Posted by Lastblade

It could still be good, so I am still hopeful it won't be as disorienting as the demo.

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There was an article on Magical Wasteland that, among other things, said how silly it is for game journalists to write something like this. Not that I'm insulting you, because obviously you WANT this game to be good (like I do/did) but really, we're barely a month out from release, its not going to be ANY different. Did you even see how SMALL a section of the city is available in the demo compared to the actual game?

Stupid stupid stupid. Takedown is still the pinnacle of this series.

how long has this game been in development? I noticed a compusa ad....

Honestly couldn't agree more, after waiting so very long for the sequel this demo has put me into a state of burnout depression. Everything about the game feels wrong from the new "stunt" mode (seriously this is a game about crashing into cars at 200 mph not doing barrel rolls and big air jumps) to the auto wreck anytime you hit any car(seriously this is a game about crashing into cars at 200 mph). I think the most annoying thing is the fact that when you fail a race you have to drive your happy ass back to the stop light to restart the thing... how fucking boring is that give me one click racing again please. Just so angry about this game it has fallen short in every aspect for me except maybe graphics it did look pretty sweet on my 360. Double thumbs down all the way for me which sux cuz i pre-ordered it months ago. Oh well at least the culdcept saga demo was nice

eric

Same here. I was playing it online, as well as offline for about an hour or so and I wanted the game to go back to what it was. Where the fuck is the stage select!?

I have to go to a traffic light to start an event? Then I got lost on the way to a race, I even followed the other cars and tried to just take out the other racers. Even the radio host is a schmuck. Saying "All the best racers KNOW where all the best stuff is, so learn the map!" Umm..NO! How about I just select what I want to do like in the old games and fuck this sandbox shit!

How the hell are the crash events going to work? I have to go to a garage, get the car I want, then I gotta drive to the place to start it, in a thing that handles like a boat..THEN do it? Come on!

It's really sad because the game looks amazing, the crash effects are nothing short of awesome, I just really wish it was the classic formula. It sucks because the game's coming out NEXT month and they wouldn't take it out.

I played with CheapyD from CheapAssGamer.com last night, I asked him what he thought of it and he didn't answer, so I guess he didn't have his mic on at the time.

Yeah my bro and myself had the same thoughts playing the demo last night.

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Originally Posted by Buro Destruct

There was an article on Magical Wasteland that, among other things, said how silly it is for game journalists to write something like this. Not that I'm insulting you, because obviously you WANT this game to be good (like I do/did) but really, we're barely a month out from release, its not going to be ANY different. Did you even see how SMALL a section of the city is available in the demo compared to the actual game?

Stupid stupid stupid. Takedown is still the pinnacle of this series.

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I am not a game journalist, just an optimist, hehe. I hope the game is better than the demo but it is probably just wishful thinking. I don't like everything you guys mentioned. Force feed open world design into the racing genre is one of the shittiest thing to come out of GTA's success.

Doesnt look much better than Revenge on Xbox gfx wise, not a terrible game but made a pain in the arse with this new stuff, meh.

If anyone's watched the latest 1up Show, its PROOF that the entirety of mainstream gaming media is fucking bought and paid for.

They practially cum all over its face by the end of their "discussion".

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Originally Posted by Buro Destruct

If anyone's watched the latest 1up Show, its PROOF that the entirety of mainstream gaming media is fucking bought and paid for.

They practially cum all over its face by the end of their "discussion".

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I didn't see the show, but on the 1UP-Yours podcast they basically did the same thing, albeit briefly.

OMFG it's a SANDBOX racing game!!!1

in other words....I'll still be playing Burnout 3, the best of the series.

It's actually maybe not horrible. I played for a long time on XBox Live with some kid I met from England who loves it. All we mostly did was go off jumps and crash into each other though, but that was pretty amusing.

The free roaming has potential for some great multiplayer games that haven't been tried in a racing game before. Also, the 1-player career events themselves should be okay, once you've driven to them. The graphics have been completely overhauled, and look pretty good (Burnout Revenge was a last-gen game that was mostly just smoothed out for the 360).

I'll reserve judgment until the final product is out. I'm hoping they'll use the demo as a chance to beta test and fix any last minute issues.

Never played any of the games in this series before, so when I downloaded the PS3 version demo I was coming to it with a clean slate.

It was entertaining enough for 20 minutes, but by the end of the session it felt like I had seen everything this game (the full version) has to offer.

Also couldn't really see what satisfaction there is in finding the 'secret' shortcuts that are all clearly labelled with bright yellow signs...

*Goes back to GT5 Prologue*

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Originally Posted by SamuraiShodownSensei

how long has this game been in development? I noticed a compusa ad....

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lol...i saw that as well.


I agree with most other folks, I hate the sandbox type approach to this. I played the demo for about 20 or 30 minutes and felt like I had seen most all of this before.

I really, really hope this game tanks at retail. Last thing we need is the remaining racing games to decide to go to a sandbox type format as well...especially since EA ruined Need for Speed like this years ago.



Could you imagine PGR, GT or, god forbid, Ridge Racer adapting this format?


I would probably set myself ablaze in the middle of the street if this happened.

What puzzles me is that people have the premise any of these games will be good in the first place :conf:

:spock:

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Originally Posted by kernow

What puzzles me is that people have the premise any of these games will be good in the first place :conf:

:spock:

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Burnout 3 was actually quite good, if you turned off the shitty EA Trax.

meh

Burnout Revenge is a lot of fun.

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Originally Posted by kernow

What puzzles me is that people have the premise any of these games will be good in the first place :conf:

:spock:

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What puzzles me is why you frequently go out of your way to add your opinion to discussions you clearly don't care about. Do you do this in the real world too?

its a discussion board :spock:

I added my opinion. now just love me for it

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Originally Posted by kernow

its a discussion board :spock:

I added my opinion. now just love me for it

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I love you, but not for your opinions.

:crying:

Couldn't agree more. I made myself late for work getting back to lunch on Thursday just so I could finish the download. Then I came home, played it for 25 minutes (finished two races, the hot lap deal, and some random driving and failed the stunt race repeatedly), and turned it off in disgust.

I played the living shit off out revenge on both the original XB and the 360 both, and Paradise is just boring as hell. Pacing sucks is probably my biggest problem, I utterly hate having to drive around between races in BO. BO is supposed to be all about adrenaline, and taking 5 minutes to try to remember where the hell the race is or find it on the damn map is a good way to lose your last shot of it.

And no checking sure does suck, too.

When the only positive thing that anyone in the thread can think to say is that random crashing is sort of fun, that's a bad sign.

I'm just going to go out and get Revenge on the 360. I got Takedown 3 on a buy 2 get one free deal at Toys R Us and played it to death. (Thank you God for custom sountracks! EA Trax SUCKS!!)

I hate reading other people's posts on other message boards that like the changes, some of them not even have played the other games in the series. I saw one person say "NFS Game" and I wanted to reach through the screen and punch whoever wrote that.

Don't change an already great formula. It's not worth it. The only thing I like with Paradise is when you go online it turns into a giant demolition derby. I play it like the old arcade game, where I just go backwards down the street and keep trying to take people out.

I hope they'll patch it, or just come out with the newest one sooner that DOESN'T have the stupid changes to it.

See this is the kind of shit that drives me up a wall. We're all pretty "modern" gamers, we all play next-gen (or last-gen) systems regularly, and we represent a fairly wide variety of gamers.

And we all HATE this demo.

But places like Gamespot, 1up, and other related mainstream sites are loving on this game like its their first-born.

Clearly something is amiss here.

http://www.radicalwaste.com/spamland....php?f=4&t=780

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Originally Posted by Buro Destruct

If anyone's watched the latest 1up Show, its PROOF that the entirety of mainstream gaming media is fucking bought and paid for.

They practially cum all over its face by the end of their "discussion".

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Eh, under normal circumstances I'd agree, but 1up is pretty good about that sort of thing. One or two guys on the podcast has actually played it, and they seem to like a lot... But on a personal level. The podcast itself doesn't endorse the game. Plus one of the other guys asks him about the open-ended thing, saying he'd heard a lot of people don't like it. This is the podcast mind you, I don't watch the 1up show. Fuck, I can barely take all the coughing, sniffling and nose breathing on the podcast. I don't need to get annoyed with those fuckers on a visual level too...

Finally, that fuckin' Timeshift game is really, really heavily advertised on their site, but they routinely bash it as mediocre, so I tend to think that they aren't overtly in the publishers pockets, if nothing else.

Anyways, to get back to the topic, I haven't played Burnout since the 3rd one, but I thought this one sounded like it had promise. But after hearing it described here, I certianly have my doubts... Guess I'll find out first hand after I finish bothering to DL the demo.

P.S. Why does anyone ever, and I mean EVER reply to a post by Kernow? I put that trollin' jackass on ignore like 3 years ago and never looked back.

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Originally Posted by OrochiEddie

in other words....I'll still be playing Burnout 3, the best of the series.

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I couldn't agree more.

I played Burnout 3 to death a few years ago. Now that was a white knuckle racer. I'm not sure what they are trying to accomplish with this new title, but it's not working. One of the main things that ticked me off about this game is the crash/hit detection. I could be speeding towards a head on collision with another player's car, hit them, get takendown, and have the other guy just drive away. We both had the same amount of heath, but somehow the gods saw it fit to grant thier car with a certain magical ability to not get a scratch. Then other times I would hit a player car going a good 2 miles and hour and take them down. A serious WTF moment.

Meh, back to old Burnout 3.

Criterion could've seriously just taken Burnout 3, slapped a new engine on it (NOT EVEN!) and fucking called it Burnout 3: Again, Give Us Your $$$ w/ achievements and I would've bought it in a heartbeat.

i have fond memories of burnout 3, which was pretty fun and a great drinking game.

this however was boring as fuck. i tried getting into it for about 10-20 mins but it just wasn't happening.

oh well.

I say we get a bunch of us online in Burnout 3 to remember the good times. :D

Sounds good JD. I just need to re-load all of my tracks into my 360. I got a bunch of the Initial D soundtracks that I loaded into it and they were so much better to listen to then the rest of the junk they included.

I never played much of 3 online. I didn't unlock many of the cars and whenever I WOULD go online, the host of the game would see me with a beginners car and kick me out, so I'd stay offline.

Just D/L'd the demo. It seems that all my fears were confirmed. I really tried to find some good in there somewhere but I just can't. At least they got rid of traffic checking.

Back to Burnout 3.

other than playing what i like to call "Takedown Tag" (probably or actually known as "Marked Man" in the full game) with other people in the demo, i absolutely agree with what being said here.

so far, Burnout Paradise looks like a rental, at best IMO.

Now that I've actally played the demo myself.... It fuckin' sucks. Like, hard, man. I thought maybe you guys were bellyaching a bit too much, but I was wrong, you're all right on the money. It's boring as fuck, and I hated every second of it.

Which begs the question.... Did anyone here actually like it? So far, I've seen zero positive feedback on it...

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Originally Posted by HeartlessNinny

Now that I've actally played the demo myself.... It fuckin' sucks. Like, hard, man. I thought maybe you guys were bellyaching a bit too much, but I was wrong, you're all right on the money. It's boring as fuck, and I hated every second of it.

Which begs the question.... Did anyone here actually like it? So far, I've seen zero positive feedback on it...

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Go watch 1UP's jerkoff session over it.

I was really starting to like those guys too.

Well, this is disappointing. I didn't even bother with the demo because I assumed it would be good, and I have a couple of friends who are ready to buy it as well. I suppose I should try the demo, but this thread doesn't make it sound promising. :(

Oh, well. On the bright side, I can save some money and put it towards another game. There are just too many games I want/need to buy, and I've been holding off until after Christmas, which hasn't helped. Sometimes it's nice to be able to scratch one off the 'must buy' list.

Burnout, like Madden, is a tiresome franchise at this point.

Not...interested.

I've only seen a few people on IGN's Xbox boards that like the game. Many of them saying that they've never played a Burnout game before, and a very small few that have and like SOME of the changes.

One person went on a tirade saying "How can you pass full judgment on a demo! Wait till the full version comes out!!" and other idiots were calling it "Need for Speed Arcade Edition" and not knowing there IS a Need for Speed GT arcade game that uses STAGE SELECTS.

Try the demo Bish and see for yourself. Personally, I deleted it and downloaded Revenge and liked it a hell of a lot more because it's got the classic formula and I can use my Custom Soundtracks! Hopefully Gamestop will have a used copy for cheep so I can try the full version.

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Originally Posted by YuckMud

Try the demo Bish and see for yourself. Personally, I deleted it and downloaded Revenge and liked it a hell of a lot more because it's got the classic formula and I can use my Custom Soundtracks! Hopefully Gamestop will have a used copy for cheep so I can try the full version.

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I'll give it a go before making a final decision, for sure. I do have Burnout Revenge, which is quite excellent.

Amusing online but that was only for 10 minutes. The announcer is really annoying. One game I wont be buying.

Just got Revenge at EB for 28 bucks...JUST THE GAME. I didn't know they'd take back just the disk. I got the game in a generic GameStop/EB case and no instructions, but then again, does a game like Burnout really need instructions?

Developers Blog on the new Burnout

Of course, going on saying, "Burnout's all about evolution, don't judge it based on a demo and it's not Test Drive or NFS and they won't change the game due to what the fans are saying.

I'll just enjoy playing Revenge and wait for them to come to their senses.

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Originally Posted by YuckMud

Developers Blog on the new Burnout

Of course, going on saying, "Burnout's all about evolution, don't judge it based on a demo and it's not Test Drive or NFS and they won't change the game due to what the fans are saying.

I'll just enjoy playing Revenge and wait for them to come to their senses.

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I read the blog and laughed. Basically he's calling out anyone who prefers the old burnouts because...they're not this Burnout.

Look, I'm sure you read this forum and one hundred others about people complaining. Sandbox is OK at best, but WHY THE FUCK IS THERE NO INSTANT TRAVEL SERVICE?! IS OBLIVION THE ONLY FUCKING GAME THAT GOT THIS FUCKING CONCEPT!?. I don't if theres a 30 second load, it's better over a minute plus of driving back to the starting point. Not every game needs the damn open city system, or if they do there NEEDS to be an option to get to objective points quicker. GTA could greatly benefit from this, so could've NFSU2 and so could Paradise.

Even revenge was fucked up, they made the game way too easy. The appeal of Burnout 3 was how hard the game was. It took a lot of time to win some of those races and in revenge you could plow through way too much. BO3 just gave me that classic feel of old school arcade games, and that feeling is now lost. BoP may be the evolution but it is also the bastardization of a great series.

I still want to spend time with BoP to see if the city is learnable and eventually this issue is bypassed, but until then, I'm just not keen on the choices made for this title.

I'm a Burnout virgin, and I kinda liked the Paradise demo. I may buy Revenge 360 when I scrape up $30, just to get prepared and shit... :)

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Originally Posted by Buro Destruct

Go watch 1UP's jerkoff session over it.

I was really starting to like those guys too.

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Well... I'd only be really pissed if they keep recommending games that suck. Most of the time, I agree with the 1up crew, so it'll take more than this to put me off them.

That said, my warning flag will definitely be up for a while, and I'm gonna be scrutinizing every thing they say. Especially after all that Jeff Gerstmann shit.

Anyways, back on topic: Here's another thing I hated about Paradise. Is Paradise City a city inhabited only by ghosts? There's no one in any of the cars, they just drive themselves!! Lame as fuck. I mean, what are they, sentient machines? Bleh.