Retrospective: Burnout Paradise City

I've got a lot of games in my collection that I haven't finished or performed what is necessary to get to the 'end' of the game's main goal (i.e. successfully navigated Mario through the path a least resistance from Yoshi's House to Bowser's Castle and defeat Bowser in Super Mario World). There are even more games in my collection that I have yet to complete (i.e. unlock all 96 exits in Super Mario World). I even have games that I've obtained recently that I have yet to even place in the console.

I try not to get involved in too many new ventures at once. If you look at my Currently Playing list on the left side of your screen, you'll notice that the list is a little long. It's a bit longer than I would like for it to be. Of those games, I've finished PokéMon Platinum and SoulSilver (due to the nature of PokéMon, I suspect that those two games and White will remain up there for a very long time) and have completed, minus Achievements, Burnout Paradise City. So why start playing a game I've exhausted already when I have so many games I have to yet to complete, finish, or even start?

Burnout Paradise City is that good.

I'm loving Super Meat Boy. Cave Story is one of the best throwback games I've played. Metroid Prime Trilogy is proof that Wii is the best way to experience a first person shooter. but sometimes, I just want to destroy stuff and I want to do it in HD, at 150mph, and in slow motion.

Paradise City is everything that a solid driver should be: it's quick, high energy, non-stop, and never slow. Anyone who has played a Burnout game in the past already knows what to expect. There is, however, one very important distinction between Paradise City and other arcade drivers: no menus. This seems like a little thing, but you can't understand the impact that a menuless arcade driver has until you've experienced it yourself.

No one can match the awesomeness that is Mario Kart.

However, having to deal with this between every event is a real drag.

Picture the drivers you've played in the past. There is a series of steps that must be taken before you begin driving.

1) Insert game disk (or cartridge) or load digital file.
2) Load profile (or whatever saved data the chosen game uses).
3) Select number of players, number of AI, game type, track, and vehicle.
4) Complete in game task such as 'race' (Mario Kart) or kill (Twisted Metal).
5) Repeat steps 3 and 4 as necessary.

Now think of any other type of game you've played. In Super Mario 64, the player doesn't select what world to enter by scrolling through options in a menu. The player is immediately welcomed with a fairly open world for which to explore and discover the games main worlds. A well crafted RPG has a huge world map that links the player to the games smaller worlds. These over worlds contain their own tasks to be completed, adding a ton of value beyond the main game itself. Paradise City does that for the driving genre.

Driving tasks such as races or stunt runs are unlocked by exploring a completely open city and discovering new locales with new tasks to be completed. New cars are earned by driving the streets of Paradise City and taking them down with a well placed tap on the rear bumper or a perfectly timed t-bone in the side. And if 120 events is not enough to satisfy you, there are 50 Super Jump Cameras to strut for, 120 Burnout Billboards to break, and 400 Street Barricades to smash through. Many of these little extras require hours of exploration to find.

Normally I hate trailers for not actually showing what the game is like.

This trailer is a perfect representation of you're getting.

Project Gotham Racing is great, but having to sort through and endless sea of menus and cars just to get the the starting line breaks up the action way too much. Even the simplicity of Mario Kart's menus slows down the frantic action of my favorite kart racing series.

If you haven't experienced the awesomeness that is Paradise City, it can be purchased digitally for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 for $20. The worth every penny DLC, Big Surf Island, can be purchased for just under $10. If you prefer to play on PC, many online retailers still carry the Paradise City: Ultimate Box, which contains the main game, Big Surf Island, and few other goodies, for around $15.