I was never fond of racing games. Most of the time, I find them either too hardcore, boring or even too slow paced. Only two licences manage to make my heart goes boom : Vigilant8 and Burnout.
Although I always loved Burnout, I wasn't able to play it for a while because I didn't had the games. I had demos and some of my friends had the games, but I never purchased a Burnout game. In my 20s I purchased Burnout 3, which is great but my cd is scratched. Then I purchased Burnout Paradise on switch, perfectly knowing it was a strange Burnout game, but thinking it'll certainly lead to great multiplayer racing couch games.
Well, it is written at the back of the game's box, but Burnout Paradise doesn't allow local multiplayer. That's disappointing (and let's be honest that's kind of a shame too). Alright then, let's play the game solo.
It is Burnout. If you know you like Burnout, you won't be lost. Basic principles were great in the early 2000s, they're still great nowadays. In Burnout, you have to win the race. By any means necessary. Destroying your opponent isn't only allowed, it is encouraged. It gives you way more boost, that is among the most satisfying boost of all racing games of all times. This boost allows you to do 3 things :
- Destroying more opponents, which gives you more boost
- Doing stunts, really really impressive, dumb, unrealistic and spectacular stunts, which gives you more boost
- Going faster, which eventually lead to you winning the race.
This is wonderful design-wise because it is based on a very simple yet efficient gameplay loop, thriving in good level design, encouraging high risk moves (attacking your opponents) and rewarding your success with high rewards (boost).
Then, burnout paradise comes with its novelty : open world.
- Is it a good Idea ? I don't know.
- Does it make sens ? I don't know.
- Is it correctly executed ? I don't know.
Yet, I understand what Criterion tried with this open world. The equation is simple : open worlds, by essence, rely on navigation. Burnout has a unique gampelay core, which is fun navigation. Let's make the game a constant and giant open world, that forces the player to drive because this is what we want because our driving system is fun. Besides, let's take the benefit from open world by giving the player a total freedom when it comes to shortcuts and itinerary.
This. This above has been done in the most all-in way. This is what burnout PARADISE is. This is its intention.
This comes with a lot of qualities. You learn paradise city. You make it your own true driving playground, with your favourite itinerary you tend to take a lot. Your encouraged to explore hidden spots to find shortcuts or even secrets and collectibles. You drive smartly : you have to keep attention to the actual act of driving as well as the organization of your intinerary. This organization relies on a sign systems, that blink on top of the screen when you must take a road. Then, when you fail, you have to improvise, which is very stimulating.
Yet, this hardcoreness can be very frustrating. I lost a ton of races because I missed a road because I simply didn't saw the blinking sings at the top of the screen. That is to say I wasn't bad at driving (wich is the core of the game), I was bad at reading the map (which, in my opinion, isn't supposed to be the core of a racing game). There is no restart button : if a race is lost, you better stop your engine to quit the race and launch another race. That is to say you cannot easily retry something you've failed, because between each tries your supposed to reach the begining of the race. There is no menu at all : if you want to start a race or change your vehicle, you have to reach a specific point that allows you to do so.
As I said earlier, I don't know if all of this is a good idea. I think it is not. Yet, I am forced, as a designer, to highlight the great execution of this idea. Criterion believe in it and formalized it seriously. This is highly respectable, this was very surprising at first. This might be very challenging. This might be very frustrating. But at the end of the day, I'm sure I'll remember it. That's certainly the mark of a good videogame, and that's what make me love playing videogame.
Hopefully, Burnout paradise is still a Burnout, and knocking a car on a wall is fun on its own. Paradise is simply another taste of the Burnout formula, which I am glad it exists.
Although I always loved Burnout, I wasn't able to play it for a while because I didn't had the games. I had demos and some of my friends had the games, but I never purchased a Burnout game. In my 20s I purchased Burnout 3, which is great but my cd is scratched. Then I purchased Burnout Paradise on switch, perfectly knowing it was a strange Burnout game, but thinking it'll certainly lead to great multiplayer racing couch games.
Well, it is written at the back of the game's box, but Burnout Paradise doesn't allow local multiplayer. That's disappointing (and let's be honest that's kind of a shame too). Alright then, let's play the game solo.
It is Burnout. If you know you like Burnout, you won't be lost. Basic principles were great in the early 2000s, they're still great nowadays. In Burnout, you have to win the race. By any means necessary. Destroying your opponent isn't only allowed, it is encouraged. It gives you way more boost, that is among the most satisfying boost of all racing games of all times. This boost allows you to do 3 things :
- Destroying more opponents, which gives you more boost
- Doing stunts, really really impressive, dumb, unrealistic and spectacular stunts, which gives you more boost
- Going faster, which eventually lead to you winning the race.
This is wonderful design-wise because it is based on a very simple yet efficient gameplay loop, thriving in good level design, encouraging high risk moves (attacking your opponents) and rewarding your success with high rewards (boost).
Then, burnout paradise comes with its novelty : open world.
- Is it a good Idea ? I don't know.
- Does it make sens ? I don't know.
- Is it correctly executed ? I don't know.
Yet, I understand what Criterion tried with this open world. The equation is simple : open worlds, by essence, rely on navigation. Burnout has a unique gampelay core, which is fun navigation. Let's make the game a constant and giant open world, that forces the player to drive because this is what we want because our driving system is fun. Besides, let's take the benefit from open world by giving the player a total freedom when it comes to shortcuts and itinerary.
This. This above has been done in the most all-in way. This is what burnout PARADISE is. This is its intention.
This comes with a lot of qualities. You learn paradise city. You make it your own true driving playground, with your favourite itinerary you tend to take a lot. Your encouraged to explore hidden spots to find shortcuts or even secrets and collectibles. You drive smartly : you have to keep attention to the actual act of driving as well as the organization of your intinerary. This organization relies on a sign systems, that blink on top of the screen when you must take a road. Then, when you fail, you have to improvise, which is very stimulating.
Yet, this hardcoreness can be very frustrating. I lost a ton of races because I missed a road because I simply didn't saw the blinking sings at the top of the screen. That is to say I wasn't bad at driving (wich is the core of the game), I was bad at reading the map (which, in my opinion, isn't supposed to be the core of a racing game). There is no restart button : if a race is lost, you better stop your engine to quit the race and launch another race. That is to say you cannot easily retry something you've failed, because between each tries your supposed to reach the begining of the race. There is no menu at all : if you want to start a race or change your vehicle, you have to reach a specific point that allows you to do so.
As I said earlier, I don't know if all of this is a good idea. I think it is not. Yet, I am forced, as a designer, to highlight the great execution of this idea. Criterion believe in it and formalized it seriously. This is highly respectable, this was very surprising at first. This might be very challenging. This might be very frustrating. But at the end of the day, I'm sure I'll remember it. That's certainly the mark of a good videogame, and that's what make me love playing videogame.
Hopefully, Burnout paradise is still a Burnout, and knocking a car on a wall is fun on its own. Paradise is simply another taste of the Burnout formula, which I am glad it exists.