Burnout Paradise could very well be one of the best racing games of all time.
DESIGN:
The design in Burnout Paradise is amazing as it places you into an open world and allows you to do what you want, when you want. There are many different race types such as standard races, takedown events called road rage, stunt runs,etc. There are also events called burning routes, which are races that you must enter in a certain car. If you win a burning route you get an upgraded version of your car. The overall point of the game it to win as many events as possible to earn new driving licences. There is also a new feature called road rules. This is were you try to beat a set time on an individual road, which is similar to a time trial. There is also a showtime rule, which is a replacement for crash events. In a showtime event you take your car and blow it up down a street and try to cause as much damage as possible. Just like road rules you try to beat a set amount, in this case a dollar amount, and own that road. Besides the event and road/showtime rules there are also many yellow gates and billboards to crash through and over 75 cars to collect. Burnout Paradise also has a very good online, however i do not use it all that much so I'm not going to comment on it in detail (it is good though).
Another great design feature of Burnout Paradise is that there is a ton of downloadable content such as new islands, motorcycles, more cars, new game modes, etc. However most of these must be purchased with real money in the psn store.
GAMEPLAY:
The gameplay in Burnout Paradise is some of the best gameplay in any racing game ever. The driving is so easy to learn but still has enough depth so you can master it by playing it for a while. One thing that people must understand about this game is that it is not a racing sim, it's suppose to be over the top with speed and crashes. However there is still a ton of realism in how the cars movement and driving. One of the interesting things about Burnout Paradise is that there are no check points as you have to find your own way through the city. However the racing is really fun and the gameplay is excellent.
PRESENTATION:
Burnout Paradise has some of the bet visuals in any racing game ever. Its amazing how there is barely any pop in as you are flying through the city. The cars and city look amazing and there are barely any visual hiccups. The sound effects are also amazing as the car and crashes sound are awesome. The sound track is solid however the DJ Atomica is quiet annoying and some times tells you useless information that you do not want to hear about.
Overall Burnout Paradise is a very well designed game that has a tonsof fun factor. The gameplay is easy and fun and the game never becomes too hard or too easy. The visuals and sound are outstanding, which really add to the wow factor of the game. It is quiet hard to find something about this game that is wrong but a few minor details hold it from being perfect. Burnout Paradise is just simply an amazing video game.