Burnout Paradise Remastered Is Significantly Improved Over The Original PC Version

Burnout Paradise Remastered launches soon, and it'll give players access to a much better-looking version of the beloved racing game from Criterion. However, it was uncertain if the remaster really would deliver substantial improvements over the original PC version. According to analysis carried out by Digital Foundary, PC players have something to look forward to in the remaster.

Digital Foundry looked at Burnout Paradise Remastered and compared it to the best version of the original release: the PC version. This original release had some graphical hitches and issues, even though modern systems can comfortably max it out at high resolutions. The analysis discovered that the remaster fixes these problems, especially regarding ambient occlusion, and it significantly improves all-around visual fidelity. For example, the game will be able to run at much higher native resolution across all systems, and the remaster's developer, Stellar Entertainment, has remade certain textures in higher resolutions.

There are also a number of more subtle changes that enhance the overall graphical quality. Collisions between vehicles throw off more sparks; doing donuts produces a lot more smoke; and shadow map quality has been improved.

Digital Foundry does point out a few places of disappointing visual quality, including the full-motion video sequences and the fact that motion blur has been completely removed. However, overall Digital Foundry concludes that the remaster is much improved over the original.

"The verdict is that Stellar Entertainment's remastering work is exactly that--an honouring of the style and spirit of the original game," Digital Foundry's Thomas Morgan wrote. "It refreshes the content for the current-gen machines, and the displays they are typically hooked up to. Nothing sticks out and everything is authentic to the original vision--in effect, the developer has delivered the Burnout Paradise experience you always thought you had in the first place, even though head-to-head comparisons reveal anything but."

Digital Foundry has a lot more in its full analysis, which you can read here. Burnout Paradise Remastered launches Friday, March 16 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. If you're an EA Access member, you can play 10 hours of the full game right now on Xbox One as a free trial. You can buy the game for $40 / £35 / AU $48.