REVIEW GAMESBurnout Paradise reinvigorated Criterion's ultra-successful smash-up
racing series when it launched this time last year on the Xbox 360 and
PlayStation 3, and Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box brings the series'
trademark racing action to the PC for the first time. With solid online
and offline play, an almost staggering number of events, and more than
70 vehicles, Ultimate Box is at the front of the PC racer pack.
The amount of variety in the game is huge, and how you approach it is up
to you; explore Paradise City's open world at leisure, unlock the
70-plus vehicles one at a time through single-player events, or join
other players for races and challenges online. Couple this deep variety
with the fact that it's hugely fun, and Burnout Paradise is easy to
recommend. In addition to all of the content from the original console
game, Ultimate Box also includes all of Burnout Paradise's downloadable
content released to date. First up, there's Codename: Cagney, which adds
the Stunt Run, Marked Man, and Road Rage modes to online multiplayer.
The Bikes pack adds two-wheeled racing and a day/night cycle to the
series for the first time. And last, there's Burnout Party, the first
paid-for content to hit the game. Burnout Party is a
pass-the-controller-style offline party mode for two to eight players
and is a fun new way to experience Burnout.
The Ultimate Box crams bikes, night races, and a heap of new modes into the series.
Gameplay options are largely unchanged from the console version and
include normal race, Stunt Run, Marked Man, Road Rage, and Burning
Route. For those new to the Burnout series, in Stunt Run you chain
together drifts, jumps, and boosts to achieve combos; in Road Rage
events you need to eliminate opponents by smashing them into traffic or
objects; and in Marked Man you have to reach the finish line before your
opponents can destroy your car. Burning Route consists of time trials
from point to point, and by completing them you'll unlock an upgraded
model of your current ride. Unlike in Burnout 3, The crash mode and
aftertouch takedowns from Burnout 3 are missing from Paradise, but it
does have the Showtime mode, which lets you take control of a wreck
through the streets of Paradise City and rack up a damage bill in the
process. Showtime mode isn't as strategically crafted as the challenges
in Crash mode, but you'll still get to dish out plenty of carnage on
unsuspecting traffic.
The biggest new feature this time around is the Burnout Paradise Party
Pack, which adds an offline pass-the-controller multiplayer challenge
mode for up to eight friends. Once you've set up the number of players
and game types, you'll compete in a series of minigames where you earn
points for successfully passing a challenge or beating your opponents'
scores. The Party Pack offers instant gameplay for when you and your
friends don't want to compete in longer, more demanding events, and it
consists of three challenge types: stunts, skill, and speed. Stunts are a
collection of insane tricks, such as successfully landing a cliff-top
jump. Skill challenges include driving into oncoming traffic with boost
on for as long as possible. Speed challenges might have you smashing a
few billboards and then racing back to the start within a designated
time limit. The Party Pack is a great addition that finally brings
offline multiplayer to Burnout Paradise.
Some challenges involve nothing more than reaching seemingly inaccessible areas.
Getting online is as simple as hitting a button during gameplay, at
which point you'll join your friends or enter a random lobby. The online
mode is seamless, and there are no loading times; you can drop in and
out of online games at will. You can set up simple point-to-point races
all over the city when hosting a multiplayer session, or tackle a
Freeburn Challenge set by the developers, with different challenges
depending on the number of players. Burnout Paradise included 350
challenges, and there are now an additional 140 challenges with the new
packs. The challenge types are varied and include straight races,
beat-the-clock events, jumping over other players' rides, and other
more-complex multipart challenges, such as meeting at a designated place
and racing a route to an end point while hitting specific jumps along
the way. Challenges are a lot of fun, especially when you have a large
group of friends to play with, and they give the online play a lot of
longevity.
You'll spend the majority of your time in Paradise City on four wheels,
but there's an option to use just two. Bikes are a great addition to the
game; and while you can only compete in time trial events, there are
different events for daytime and nighttime. Bikes come without boost
since they're already blisteringly fast, and they won't take damage
either. All of the bikes are extremely light and nimble and are so fast
that they almost make the cars feel a tad sluggish by comparison. While
it would have been great to see damage modelling on the bikes, and more
bikes included, you're guaranteed to have a blast with the two bikes at
the start and the two upgraded models you can unlock after completing
all of the time trials.
Visually, the PC version is even more of a sumptuous feast than its
console brethren. Running at its highest resolution, Paradise City has
never looked crisper or more vibrant. Cars smash, pop, scrape, and
deform just as you'd expect, and the particle effects make the wanton
destruction seem real. The weather effects brought in with the Bikes
pack look great, with fog, glowing nighttime neon, and the half-light of
dusk all rendered with style.
It wouldn't be Burnout if the wrecks weren't superbly detailed and satisfying.
The audio is also top-notch, with traffic and ambient noises providing a
backdrop for the high-pitched whines and throaty growls of the game's
cars and bikes. Unfortunately, DJ Atomica is back again from Burnout 3
and is still an irritation for the most part. With its bland and generic
rock soundtrack, the audio certainly doesn't live up to the high
standards set by the visuals. While there are a few notable artists,
including Guns N' Roses (providing the game's title track), Jane's
Addiction, LCD Soundsystem, and Faith No More, these are outnumbered by
the generic guitar rock and electronic tracks from past Burnout games
and tracks from a number of less-illustrious artists.
Emerging a year after the original console release, Burnout Paradise:
The Ultimate Box doesn't just manage to keep up with the pace of the
competition; it's at the front of the pack. If you own one of the
console versions and already have the DLC packs, there's no major
benefit to upgrading, but if you're new to Burnout Paradise, The
Ultimate Box is the best Burnout experience to date. With a mass of
online and offline events and modes, dozens of cars, the addition of
bike and night races, and an all-new party mode for up to eight friends,
The Ultimate Box is instantly gratifying and long-lasting high-octane
entertainment.
Medal OF Honor Warfighter-FLT
Medal of Honor - Warfighter (c) EA
Supplied by: FAIRLIGHT Release Date: 24/10/2012
Cracked by: FAIRLIGHT Game Type: FPS
Packaged by: FAIRLIGHT Image Format: ISO
DISCS: 2 DVDs Protection: EADRM
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