Burnout Paradise - Reception and Awards

Reception and Awards

Burnout Paradise was well received, earning (among other things) the Editor's Choice in GameSpot. Metacritic has the game calculated at 88 out of 100 for the Xbox 360 release and 87 for the PS3. Game Rankings calculated an 88% for the Xbox 360 and an 88% for the PS3 version. GamePro, Giant Bomb and Game Chronicles gave the game a perfect score. Reviewers praised the game's open world, stating "Burnout Paradise is an amazing open-world racing game that stays true to the Burnout legacy", but that the large world may "feel a little daunting at first." New gameplay mechanics such as gas stations and body repair shops were also praised which "mitigate potential frustration when the heat is on." Hyper's Daniel Wilks commends the game for its "great sense of speed and things that go boom". IGN's Chris Roper praised the vehicle unlock system, which gives the player a new vehicle with each license, and also gives the player the opportunity to "take down" certain vehicles, which earns the player a reward if completed. He further lauded the game as "controlled chaos".

While the game was well received, some reviewers were disappointed that there was no option to restart a race or event. Instead the player had to either fail the event, or cancel the race by bringing the vehicle to a stop for a few seconds, and then return to the specific place on the map to try that particular race or event again. Criterion responded to this criticism by stating that they don't feel that this is a problem and that adding a "retry" option would introduce loading screens, which they "hate with a passion". Despite this, the option to restart an event was later added to the game via a free software update. One reviewer found DJ Atomika, the game's guide, to be "instantly dislikeable".

Paradise won several awards in 2008, with Spike TV, Gametrailers and GameSpot all awarding it Best Driving Game. Additionally, Paradise won GameSpot's award for Best Downloadable Content by in 2008. Burnout Paradise became 2008’s Most Decorated Driving Game.