Picture the scene, you pop your brand new game in your PS3, eagerly await for the opening screen and then all of a sudden it springs to life, the soundtrack, which happens to be a Guns & Roses classic in the form of Paradise City kicks in and then all of a sudden you are in the mood for some action, which is just as well really because Burnout Paradise is certainly not short on that.

Burnout Paradise is the fifth game in this long running series and perhaps one of the best yet. The biggest change in Burnout Paradise is the introduction of an open world for players to do whatever they desire, while not all the events are available from the beginning, once you unlock the games 75 cars you will be able to take part in all of them, it might just take you a while to do this that’s all.

The open world design is fantastic, there are plenty of hidden areas to find as well as jumps, billboards (which you are required to crash through) and others great spots where you can take your car, most of these are great for racking up the points during stunt run challenges, which are accessed along with the other challenges by pulling up at any set of traffic lights and pushing L2 + R2.

The challenges are the main area of the game, these include races (get from A to B faster than your opponents), duals (where you race against one opponent), road rage (where you must takedown a set number of opponents before the time runs out) and stunt runs (which basically comes down to you showing off by pulling outrageous maneuvers to beat the target score before the time runs out). One event we haven’t mention yet is the burning routes, these are tailor made routes for specific cars, once you have unlocked the required car, simply drive to the point where you can take the challenge and then speed from point A to B within the time limit, do this successfully and you will get a brand new ride.

When you begin the game you are awarded with a learners permit, completing a challenge awards you with a point on your license, complete enough of the challenges to reach the required total wins for your current grade and your license will be upgraded to the next level, with each upgrade you will be required to achieve more wins before your license can be upgraded again, this system works quite well and gives you something to aim towards, which is always nice as it stops the game from getting a bit tedious.

Instead of having a garage to store your cars in, Burnout Paradise provides you with a junkyard, you simply go here to pick which car you wish to use. Cars are acquired by achieving an upgrade on your license and occasionally by winning challenges (although in this case you need to catch them first). When you win a challenge and a new car becomes unlocked, DJ Atomica (who is the games narrator in the form of a radio DJ) will announce this, it is then up to you to keep an eye out for this car driving around the streets and once you find it, take it down, do this successfully and the car is yours.

The cars within the game are generally spilt into three different categories, speed, aggression and stunt. Speed cars are fast and sporty and obviously therefore the best for races, stunt cars however are designed for jumps and tricks, whereas aggressive cars are more bulky and strong but not so fast and therefore ideal for taking down an opponent.

When you have acquired a new car and visit your junkyard to use it, you will find that it is never in the best state, however this is easily solved as you can simply drive through an auto repair store and the car will then be as good as new. The auto repair isn’t the only drive thru within the game though, others include a paint shop (if you would like your car to have an instant spray job) and a gas station (for a quick boost refill), the gas station especially can come in very handy during a race.

As well as the challenges, Burnout Paradise now also includes Showtime, this is started at anytime by pressing the shoulder buttons, here you basically need to cause as much wreckage as possible by bouncing from one car to another, for each car you hit points are received as well as boost, multipliers are earned for hitting buses, although it tends to be random how many buses come along at once (a bit like in real life really). Depending how good you are at showtime you could potentially continue your crash from one street to another, although the total score is only counted for the street you begin in. This is an extremely challenging and fun mode to play especially if you can keep your crash going for a long time.

The main menu in the game includes a map, when you start out this will be pretty blank just waiting for you to explore the city. Every time you find a new landmark such as a drive thru or an event, this will then be permanently marked on your map, making it easy for you to find them again. The map also comes in handy during races although it can be quite difficult to see where you are going on the mini view which is presented in-game, therefore sometimes it is easier to press select during a race to enter the menu for a full view of the map, although it has to be said that this isn’t ideal.

One of the biggest selling points of Burnout Paradise is its online multiplayer, this is perhaps the best online experience since the excellent Call of Duty 4 hit our consoles. Up to seven other players take part in the online mode (which is named Freeburn Online), during play you can takedown opponents, take part in challenges (such as races etc) and also compete for the best times and most takedowns etc, each time you takedown an opponent you are then greeted with their mugshot, which is great as you can see the frustration on their face at the moment you took them out. The online mode really couldn’t have been implemented any better, it seems to work flawlessly everytime and only helps add to the value of the game.

Graphically Burnout Paradise certainly doesn’t disappoint, the environments

look fantastic and are very well drawn, the streets are crowded with NPC vehicles which provide plenty of opportunity for spectacular crashes, which themselves are another reason to praise the developer’s ability for making this game look good. The sound compliments the graphics perfectly, the engine and crash effects are very realistic and really add to the awe you feel when your car is smashed up.

Burnout Paradise really is a fantastic game, apart from the few issues, such as having to view the full map during a race, it is hard to know how the game could have been done any better. This is definitely the new racer to beat on the Playstation 3, well at least until Gran Turismo decides to make an appearance.

Overall Rating: 9.2/10