My Impression of Paradise. And what I have learned, while there.

Learn to swear well. As repeating yourself gets boring? It use to be Tourettes Tuesday, now it’s every day, in this toreutic (to work with metal, I found this while looking up how to spell the other T-word, it was not there or I’m going to learn how to spell non-phonetically, lol) type game.

I have played this game for a good 40 hours plus, got my Burnout Licence yesterday, and the Carson type cars are the rulers of the road for now, from the GT to the Steel Wheels, as they have a similar handling and hold the roads well, and have some gravitas with weight, so don’t get taken down as much or die to much when you clip a car or wall. And hand Braking to a stop outside any house I have to deliver Pizza to is very fun and gets the bugger to look out their windows to see I have delivered once again, and on time too.

So got me game a day early, and tooled around, went up to the mountains, as I wanted to drift for a bit and find ‘Hidden Areas’ and I must say the view is great. The whole game is very splendid to the eye.

While we are on sight, the sound in this game, is put together very well, is an understatement, when you crash, the sound drops, like you have been flung from the car and you can hear it from where your battered body lay if you had one, or similar to the sound effect movies use for shell shocked soldiers, under heavy fire from artillery. The cars I have played all sound great and different, from engine noise to tire screeches, to the crashes themselves, a smorgasbord of sound, that in 7.1 is very disconcerting as you feel like it, when a nasty crash does happen. The sound trax lasted me till last night, then I adjusted it to the Burnout Trax, from the other games, to play in events, and 3 other trax, the others I said ‘don’t play’ and I hope they stay that way, as the first time I did some restrictions, it did not work? But they were great for a while, lots of reflections, from playing the game, to making it I would say?

The first couple of cars I earned were ok until I got my Watson, and then ‘Burned It’, after some play with the ‘R’, for its upgrade for a Burnout 2 version, which is small enough to go in between any traffic and not crash, and looks good too, with a metallic black finish. The back button to look for just the specific Burning routes for each car was easy to use, though for each car that has an upgradable option, has a highlighted Red Star Icon, that does show up on the map, but does get hidden by the Junk Yard Icons? This can be done for all events by the way.

So I decide to find the best routes to the 8 finishing points in the game, like the spots on a compass, with the main ones, North (Country Club), East (is it the Water Works?), South (Naval Yard) and West (Wind Farm). Yes folks there are only 8 finishing points, lots of starts mind, but only 8 places to finish a race. So if you have that in mind, getting to your destination, is to know where it all ends, and finding the route that suits you best. Yes, that route that suits you may be not that fast as yet, but at least you crash less, as you know where you are going per say. I learned to start from the broken bridge, just a 10 second high speed drive from the Wild Cats Stadium, due West. And to drive to all the points from there, teaches you the map lay out, as well as just cruising, looking for Short Cuts, Bill Boards and Smashes.

The Game is set up for you to learn the map the hard way, the map is ok for an indicator, but rubbish during races on multi-player, the GPS/Compass, is ok, but it’s timing for the next turn is off, and will always flash up, if you need to turn even if it’s not the right route, you know the fastest one, which is the one we are most interested in! I prefer to just go with my mind map, and take indications from the map to show me the next check point, and use the Compass, as a backup.  Some short cuts are pointless at high speed, though they are crash proof’ish once inside, like the paint shop, boost stations and repair stations.

When I say Crash proof’ish, I mean when the cut sequence cuts in, your safe as it where, and the short cuts have smooth sides, so you don’t catch yourself. But only when you’re in them, the entrance in to said parts, are hang ups from hell, to crash at as well as the exits.

 At the point of crashing is another minor pain, your spawning point is always less than to be desired, I ended up a good block away a few times, the wrong direction or being thrown out of a short cut, that puts me racing elsewhere. Though normally if I do crash in a short cut, they normally put me on the road, which the race is on most of the time?

But the good thing is that there are land marks, from buildings, types of road, the highway, I-88, the railway tracks, colour and lighting to indicate where you are, you just have had to travel there before, to know where you are at? So by the time you have finished the game, played with friends, and done a good 30 hours of game play the map is more recognisable. Eventually, street and road names will become familiar, that chaining them together to get to a finish point will be second nature.

But that is what I think the problem may be, the interface, is very basic, in terms of real driving today and previous racing games.  The map should rotate, like other games, or the GPS should be built into the Heads-up-display (yes I know this one is, but an arrow to indicate where to go like other games, would be nice, as the indicator on your car is no help if playing in ‘In car’ view, the street signs flash when you are on that turn, not  before), you know the TV screen it’s self, the check points should be an orange glowing shaft, like Midnight Club. This is a game after all, and making it user friendly, for every gamer, Pro or Knoob.

It’s good to have a thinking man’s game, but most people will give up, if they have to think too hard, it is a game after all. It was even said, that the map should be replaced with a Speedo, as looking at it does not help in a race, but at least the Speedo, will tell me I’m travelling slow enough to hit that short cut right. Or the map should have the option to zoom in and out, giving a larger view per say in races and smaller as it gets to its destination?

And this is where on-line racing becomes a problem, I have set up 14 races, one lot in 5 rounds as I was playing about with it at the time and 9 others, that I set up for people to learn the map and see if it was possible to do lap races as it where. Most got the approval from The ‘Du, as we went round them with no traffic, just the 2 of us to see if they did work.

Some minor worries as a check point can only be put on junctions which is fine, but when coming to said junction does the player go straight on or turn, and when I say turn, I mean hand brake it left or right? That map in the right hand bottom corner, only shows a small area of the map, so some check points can’t be seen as it were, and where, as you race, so where is the next check point? I built some maps that had used up all 15 check points, but it was only a short race, but I wanted to make sure people were following the right route, so that in the future I can use less check points, and use the others to make a lapped race.  

Now you can place a Start almost anywhere, but with only 8 finish points, it does restrict where you can race, point to point is ok, but it you want a finish in the middle of town or just race in town or near a stunt area for Challenges, that can’t be done, well it can but always finishing in the same spot. As the host there are a lot of options to mess about with but if you want to keep your other Paradiser’s happy, and mix it up a bit, with a race and some Challenges and race again, you can’t hand it to them on a plate. So some finishing spot should be near stunt areas or places of interest?

Also when creating your own race, it very hard to place check points, as other check points you have placed cover over the area, so you can’t see where to place one. It helps to move some check points then put them back, after you placed another. The map zooms out when you place but when placed zooms back in? I think it would be better the other way round? The creator map should be as big as the screen not just to the left side of it. Or be a fixed view which you can then scroll around, and place check points without them getting hidden, then zoom out to see the over all. Midnight Club 3 had a better map creator, sorry guys, but yours is not very user friendly, unless you stick with a point to point formula. Which get borings, as seeing another player is rare, if you’re good, up front or bad at the back with a possible DNF hanging over your head?

I even created a lapped race, that went up and down the same stretch of road, so that head-ons would happen, and oncoming and stunts could be done, I thought it was a laugh, others thought, I paid $60’s to go up and down a road, harsh words to me, but hey they can create one whenever they want in their own rooms, but at least after the first run/lap no-one was getting lost and quitting!

Also the check points are not large enough, they don’t encompass, the short cuts that are near the check point area, so people will choose the short cut, but as they travel down the road they have just realised that they have to go back as they missed the check point!

Where the kcuf is Road Rage online?! Yes sure you can set up you own, ad hock version, but since Burnout 2’s Pursuit mode, Burnout 3 ‘TAKEDOWN’ and wanting to kill the guy in first in Burnout 1 and Revenge. Road Rage is part of the formula now, its Burnout, and not including it in Paradise online, was a big disappointment, sure it will be DLC, or some variant of it, like Infection from Halo 3 and other FPS. But having a RED VS BLUE or multi team in Paradise should have been on one of those first Yellow Sticky Post Its ideas.

I see Marked Man, as an online feature that people will make up and have going by the posts on this site, as long as certain cars have been unlocked, like the cars similar in the off line game, the Carbon GT is it (still have to unlock it), similar to people having Road Rage, with Cop Cars VS Whatever car the runners want except a cop car. But Road Rage had Boost on all the time, for the RED team, no option for that now is there?

ShowTime, is after touch gone wrong, in my opinion, it is fun for a while and has to be done to finish the game, and when you are on a roll, literally, and finding buses and doing 50+ cars, other traffic and signs it’s ok, but where are the Large trucks, Petrol Tankers, for huge explosions, Taxis, as they are a boon of the racer? Why is it only buses that give you multipliers, other traffic, like the above list, would have been a nice inclusion? I know that this game is sort of based in America, but I miss the Tuk-Tuk, and Asian tracks, sorry, Asian ambience, and a good score multiplier too. Did you hear they have had to get rid of them in Brighton, very sad indeed!

The off line game is great once you know where you are going, running at 60 frames per second, why is that a selling point; all games should be done this way, as the norm? Hey why not 100fps, next time, that would show the other game developers. The races are ok, for point to point stuff, the AI is tough and tough with each other too, and is very fun to watch. Sure this is an open game, but no looping tracks, sorry routes, or circuit type races, why, and why not?

The handling of the cars are great, each type handles differently, so finding a car to suit you, just takes unlocking them all and testing them, to find ‘your car’. That drifts well, brakes well, hand brakes well; flat spins and barrel rolls like you want etc, that will take time. Yes the later cars you do unlock will be better, but some are very light and crash very quickly, when tapping anything from an opponent or object.

I want to drift every corner, and that can’t happen, so a hand brake was put in to do those tight corners, so that sort of upsets the flow, as the camera changes, when you do use that X button.

Also when going through a check point there is a flash like you going through a Speed Camera set up from hell. That really throws me, a flash up of ‘check point crossed’ across the screen would have been fine, as well as an orange mark on the road so I can see it? And cut sequences, as you go through Drive Throu’s upsets the flow of the race as well as Super Jumps, an option to turn that off as well as the Takedown Camera and Crash Cam, would have been nice. Or is it after you have done, can’t be sure or remember??

 Yes, you can turn off DJ Atomika, but still he spews out more stuff so until he repeats himself too often he stays on, for me anyway. I prefer Jenny, is that her name, she was there at the start of the game then gone like a lost wet dream, sorry Jen not sordid , you do have a great voice, way better to listen too than Atomika, imo. Also Traffic can be turned off in online races, which is good for a couple of rounds for people to get use to a track.

As for choice of no replay, that is there for a reason, it’s a driving game, you’re supposed to drive everywhere, and since the licence upgrades go by events, it is easier to just do each event as you progress not just do race, race, race or whatever your poison. It seems that each type of event (no not every event or there would be 250 cars or 120 cars, depending on what site you read it from) gives you a different type of car, e.g. stunt event, win a stunt car etc. I don’t miss the restart option, as the game would have been finished yesterday or sooner, for just the events. The object of the game is to drive about looking for stuff, sure a bit like GTA, but the map is the game, I shall say that again, the map is the game. What you do in it is up to you?

 But they were wrong about you could do anything in the game, there are restrictions, some mentioned above, and sure you can make up lots of stuff, as long as you have some imagination, but everything that was in previous games should have been in this game, (and if it worked for other games copied), as long as they relaxed the loading issue. There still is loading, all still disguised, as race set up, cut scenes etc, it not very long and the same could have been done with re-try etc, to keep everyone happy.

This game is frustrating, it’s a crashing game with some racing thrown in, which after time will be a racing game, with some crashing happening once in a while, I hope.

With the online versions of previous Burnouts, the games flowed very well, this one does not at the moment, short cuts are just off, at high speed, sure we have a brake, but that was only supposed to be touched to do a drift, and flow slightly sideways though a corner/short cut, not come down to some undetermined speed (see now a Speedo would help) so you don’t crash.

I do like the game, it amazing in so many aspects, but game play does sell a game, and not everyone is playing, so something is not right.

The learning curve for this game to race is steep, the other stuff, like Stunt run and Showtime, are good edition to the franchise, but being able to race and road rage are going to take time, sure it’s only the first week, but I was expected to be doing the other modes and challenges on line while I wait for the room to fill up, then get down to some serious racing and road rage, and that is not happening!

Also I do stick with my forum post about how I understand what Criterion are trying to do with this game,  and I still get it, but they just did not understand what their the core audience wanted and I don’t mean that they did not know what they were doing or were ignorant of the players of their games but Criterion only play their game during the Build and a little time after and once in a while to see how it’s doing, but they follow the rules they have set up since they built it, then they are making the next one.

Also short cut should have yellow flashing lights after you have gone through them, so you can see them, again and use them again, not just for an achievement.

Burnout is about racing fast or running fast from the RED’s (like that French film that is quoted by Atomika and other car chase movies) that was what was the most fun since, Burnout 2 Point of Impact, Burnout 3 Takedown and Revenge were released to the general public, and trying to do this in Paradise is very hard to do at the moment. And no I did not want a Revenge 2, I would have bought it mind, but Paradises Open World, does not flow well, unless it’s point to point over a distance. Of course this is the point of view of a Racer/Road Rager, still only 40 hours into the game, and considering how many hours I put into the others, I thought I would be better at this game?

That bug/glitch from Revenge, was used to go fast, Paradise is fast, true, until you crash into something that should keep you going, like a bad short cut.

Oh and a Pile up mode would have been nice, like crash mode from yore, where that street and its traffic still keep coming, from where you crashed, oh crap that is Show Time, lol.

And where is the Boost Start, taking that out of the game was criminal, 3, 2, 1 nadda, not happy. Though I let my imagination think it was there.

I would write more, but I need to deliver some more pizza!