Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box – PC

Burnout Paradise Remastered brings many improvements to an already impressive game from last gen, and remains one of the best racing experiences available.

Life Is A Highway

Burnout Paradise made an already successful franchise reach new heights when it launched on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. And Burnout Paradise Remastered brings the series’ trademark racing and wrecking action to PS4 and Xbox One. Robust online and solid offline play, an almost overwhelming number of events, more than 70 vehicles, all keep the title in pole position.

The game and it open world map are huge. At first glance it can be all a bit too much. Luckily the game allows you to explore Paradise City at your own pace. You can unlock the enormous roster of cars one at a time in single-player events or jump online for races and challenges against friends. No matter what you choose, fun is guaranteed thanks in no small part to the stellar racing mixed perfectly with all-out arcade action.

Even though the base game is bursting with content, this remaster also includes all of Burnout Paradise’s DLC. The Codename: Cagney pack adds Stunt Run, Marked Man, and Road Rage modes to multiplayer. The Bikes pack adds two-wheeled racing which, although limited to time trials, are immensely fun. And Burnout Party adds a pass-the-controller-style couch party mode for two to eight players and is a fun new way to experience Burnout.

I Wanna Ride It

Gameplay options are largely unchanged from the original release. It includes standard racing, Stunt Run, Marked Man, Road Rage, Burning Route, and Showtime. In Stunt Run you chain together drifts, jumps, and boosts to achieve combos. Road Rage is a last man standing affair where you’ll need to smash opponents off the road… or into oncoming traffic. Marked Man sees you heading to the finish line before your opponents can destroy your car. Burning Route consists of timed races from point to point, each one offers an upgrade for several cars in the roster. Showtime lets you take control of a wreck through the streets of Paradise City and rack up a damage bill in the process.

Getting online involves simply hitting a button at anytime during gameplay. You’ll instantly join your friends or enter a random lobby. You can drop in and out freely. When hosting a game you can set up custom point-to-point races, or tackle a Freeburn Challenge set by the developers. Burnout Paradise included 350 challenges, the DLC adds another 140. These include standard races, time trials, as well as multi-step challenges. Such as meeting at a designated place, racing a route while hitting specific jumps along the way. Challenges are a lot of fun, especially with friends.

All Night Long

Visually, the remaster is beautiful. It isn’t hugely different from last-gen, but this is more a testament to just how gorgeous it was originally rather than a criticism of the new version.

The audio is also great, car engines sound mean, with each having a distinct growl. Ambient noise adds life to the bustling cityscape, but you won’t be hearing much of it as you’ll be turning the absolutely banging rock soundtrack upto 11. The likes of Faith No More, Guns N Roses, Jimmy Eat World and Brand New accompany you around Paradise City. Even Avril Lavigne sounds great when smashing other cars off the road and taking the checkered flag. Annoyingly, DJ Atomica returns to interrupt proceedings. He’ll give useful updates or tips occasionally, but roughly at the five hour mark he descends into inane and repetitive chatter.

Final Thoughts

Burnout Paradise was fantastic and Burnout Paradise Remastered remains at the front of the pack. There’s something for new and returning fans to the series, with this one being the best Burnout experience to date. A huge amount of modes and events in both on and offline, a host of cars, and the addition of bikes. Burnout Paradise: Remastered is gratifying, long-lasting and high-octane entertainment.