Burnout bikes stall 'til September

While downloadable content is now an established and even expected part of a game's release, Criterion's update plan for Burnout Paradise stands out as one of the most ambitious yet. When the game launched earlier this year, the developer promised a yearlong series of updates that would not only add significant new features to the open-world racer, but that would all be released for free.

Criterion has this week indicated that the third and largest update to the game has been delayed. The "Davis" release has now been renamed the "Bike Pack" and put back a month for release in September.

While Criterion's Web site still claims that Davis will be released in August 2008, a post by Jeremy Chubb, a producer at Criterion Games, on the Official PlayStation blog dated August 5, says that the update will now be arriving "next month."

The major additions in the Bike Pack include motorbikes and day and night cycles--both firsts for the Burnout series. There will also be 70 new challenges especially for the bikes, as well as a new dynamic weather update. According to Chubb's post, there will be two motorcycles immediately available within the Bike Pack, the FV1100 street bike and Firehawk racing model.

Chubb also said, "the most radical changes to Burnout since we began the series are coming this year," hinting at the upcoming Island update that will add an entirely new island to Paradise City. We contacted publisher EA games for a release date on both packs, but were told to "check the Criterion Web site for more information."

For more on Burnout Paradise, see our previous coverage of the game on the PS3, Xbox 360 and forthcoming PC version.