Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box

If you own one of the console versions and already have the DLC packs, there's no major benefit to upgrading, but if you're new to Burnout Paradise, The Ultimate Box is the best Burnout experience to date. With a mass of online and offline events and modes, dozens of cars, the addition of bike and night races, and an all-new party mode for up to eight friends, The Ultimate Box is instantly gratifying and long-lasting high-octane entertainment.

The open world design of Burnout Paradise has its advantages and disadvantages. While you're afforded a welcome degree of freedom when it comes to completing challenges and roaming around, some of the more structured content can become repetitive after extended play sessions, and there's a definite learning curve associated with getting to know how the world's various avenues lock together. If you're willing to put in the time, there's plenty of content here to enjoy, including getting a handle on how all the various car models control and boost.

There's more opacity here than there probably should be, but once you penetrate its dark shell and figure out what, exactly, is going on, Burnout Paradise is nothing short of amazing. The team at Criterion took a big chance and it's paid off very well. The game revamps the stock formula in major ways without losing most of the high-speed racing flavor that you hope to see from something with Burnout in the title.

Burnout Paradise plays it safe and stays right on the bumper of previous versions. The open-ended world doesn’t always work, but this is one of those games that’s inherently fun, regardless of whether you’re attempting to make progress. Those with a need for speed, or crumpled sheet metal, will put it to the floor and never look back.

Criterion has really changed the way you’ll look at the structure of racing games. While other racers have tried open worlds (Test Drive Unlimited, for instance), there have been none that have offered the same sense of freedom, ease of use, and level of polish. Criterion has finally taken off your training wheels, and after playing Burnout Paradise, there's little doubt that you'll never want them back on.

The open-world design isn't just a lazy gimmick--it's a wonderfully executed concept that doesn't rob the game of the series' most beloved tenet: the act of driving fast and wrecking hard. If you're one of the people who tried the Burnout Paradise demo and formed a rather negative opinion of the game, you're not alone. But if you have any affection for the series, you really owe it to yourself to give the full game a look. The demo did little to truly represent what a superbly fun racer this game can be.