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Burnout Paradise (PS3) Status: Stopped playing - Something better came along I started playing this game on Wednesday 11 August, 2010 // I stopped playing this game on: Monday 13 August, 2012
Current opinion of this game
It's really good. Really.
August 13, 2012 04:26:50 PM
Ok, this game goes back on the shelf now (that I've unlocked a whole bunch of trophies I had missed). I still really like it and these few more hours I put in have in fact surprised me, since I've "uncovered" a few things I had missed entirely the first time around. To start from the beginning, I noticed a trophy called "Set a Time Road Rule on any Road". It's awarded for beating any of the original Time Road Rule scores. I had no idea what that was about and since it was an "early" trophy - I figured I must have simply overlooked it. It turns out that each road in the game has a score - equal to the shortest time taken to get from one end of the road to another. You just have to start at one (any) end, and go as fast as you can to the other end. Pretty easy... So, I did that a few times (taking care to locate short roads I felt would be easier to handle...) and noticed the radio DJ/narrator character talking about "Showtime Road Rules" . There's a trophy for beating one of those as well (which I didn't have) and it took me a while to realize what I had to do to "start" showtime mode. It's crash mode! (the mode where you get points for creating the most expensive pileup ever). In the original Burnout games each crash was a scene that was setup - you basically drove and then tweaked. In Paradise, once you trigger Showtime mode you have to bounce the car around trying to get it to hit as much stuff as possible. Buses are invaluable since you get a multiplier. Each "hop" saps a bit from the burnout meter which is replenished when you hit something (that explodes, I think). Anyways...it was pretty neat to realize that this mode was actually still in the game - and a bit embarrassing to realize this so late. So, I did that for a while (to get 2 achievements, one for beating an existing score, the other for beating 10 scores). In all, a productive play session if I must say...
July 30, 2012 11:53:41 AM
So I had stopped playing this (got a little bored and wanted to move on to another game) and I picked it up again. Am I a bad person if I only picked this up again because I realized there were a bunch of easy trophies I hadn't earned? Yes, it's true. I've spent a few more hours (I had only spent six on it before, which seems bizarrely low) picking up "easy" trophies. The game's still great and one of the nice things I've realized is that there is actually MORE to do in the game than I knew about initially: (1) There are "spray paint" spots to change the paint job on your car (and an achievement for visiting the first time) (2) There's an airfield with some really neat spots/places for jumping and doing stunts (achievement for visiting). (3) You can get scored for parking (if you pull a stunt). (also an achievement). I'm now using the handbrake a lot more when I race (and miss a turn). (4) There are a bunch of parking lots you can enter (and jump off the roof). I don't think there's an achievement for finding them all... (5) I was able to do "doughnuts" on the tarmac! (no achievement for that, but there's an achievement for a floor spin - which I think is a horizontal rotation while flying off a ramp... still working on that one). (6) There are A LOT more events than I though originally. Last night I must have found about 10 or so...just in the "downtown" area. Yes, there's an achievement for finding them all.. Along the way I earned by "A" license (silver trophy), jumped over an opponent (in the online mode, which I hadn't tried earlier, also an achievement for that), and picked up a few new vehicles.
August 16, 2010 12:51:44 PM
I wanted to play this the other night. When the game booted, a message popped up that I had to download an update. Really? Do I HAVE to? It turns out that yes. Approximately 2 hours later...I was finally able to play the game. Whatever happened to put the disc in and play? Why can't I just play the game and CHOOSE to update whenever I want to? Is the (almost 1GB) update really THAT critical? Sigh. I can't play online yet either, because I have to update my console.

Burnout Paradise (PS3)