• Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!

So did Burnout Paradise kill the franchise?

Paradise was the only modern driving game I've played. I loved the open-world aspect of it; being able to just drive around randomly.
 
I think Criterion 'killed' in their quest to develop a new IP (referring to what was announced during E3).

I enjoyed Paradise, but I think it's universally agreed upon that Burnout 3 was better.
I still play my copy of Burnout 3 occasionally.
 
nawwafh said:
The open world killed it.. Buirnout didnt need that..
Racing was a chore in that game.. not knowing where to go half the time..
We need a true sequel of 3 : Takedown.. with none of that open world BS..
Click to expand...

While I enjoyed Burnout Paradise... I soooo want a new Burnout in the vain of Takedown... Give me the Crash Mode back please!
 
I dont think so at all. I played most of the burnouts and thought they were very meh. Didnt hate but didnt really love em. I loved Paradise though. One of the best games last gen for me.
 
Have EA gutted Criterion yet?

A new Burnout in the style of Burnout 2/3 would be grand, but I would settle for a remaster of the first 3 games. Burnout 2 is still the peak for me with the best crash mode and best track design.

Edit: it is funny seeing a bunch of people talking about crash mode and saying how Burnout 3 was the peak. The crash mode in that game (and Revenge) was nowhere near as good as Burnout 2.
 
Paradise was a fantastic game but it never felt like a Burnout game. It just felt like a Need for Speed game, which is what they ended up making anyway. I just want Takedown. More of that. And not that crummy top-down arcade takedown thing they put out, that wasn't even remotely the same as Takedown.
 
3 was still the highlight of the series for me, but I still managed to sink 100 hours into this and get all the trophies. It had great support from Criterion, but it never set the charts on fire and EA just decided to go all in with Need for Speed as their premier racing franchise.
 
Adam Blue said:
Yeah, killed it for me.

But I thought it was a successful game - and because generally anything EA has that makes money, they will continue to make. I'm curious as to what the story is here.
Click to expand...
EA wanted Criterion to make Need for Speed instead of Burnout. That's the story.
 
It was a great game, my main complaint was no restart button (which I think they fixed in a patch eventually, not sure). I would love a new burnout game, but doubt it will happen sadly :(
 
I hated Paradise so much, the open world is that shit I don't like. Well designed tracks taking full advantage of the blistering speed and chaos is what's money.

Why gaming gods, why can't I get a true sequel to Takedown/Revenge?
 
I remember first playing the demo on PS3, and wondering what happened to the Burnout that had I loved. I didn't buy the game until four years later, and finally it had me hooked. I think a lot of fans just weren't ready for the open world Paradise presented, but I think Need for Speed "killed" the franchise for now.
 
Burnout Paradise is the best arcade racing game I played last gen, stayed for weeks in my PS3 drive without me playing anything else! I'd love if they make another one, also I made lots of gaming friendships through its online multiplayer events! And those challenges were epic, doing certain flips and stuff was so much fun!
 
I don't like open world in this game at all and It wIthout a doubt kills all experience for me. They need to come back to the roots of the franchise, make a true next-gen Burnout with realistic damage system and make car crashes even more awesome and entertaining to watch.
 
Poimandres said:
Have EA gutted Criterion yet?

A new Burnout in the style of Burnout 2/3 would be grand, but I would settle for a remaster of the first 3 games. Burnout 2 is still the peak for me with the best crash mode and best track design.

Edit: it is funny seeing a bunch of people talking about crash mode and saying how Burnout 3 was the peak. The crash mode in that game (and Revenge) was nowhere near as good as Burnout 2.
Click to expand...

Yes, Criterion is only in name only. The big players left.
 
CartridgeBlower said:
I know the game is either love it or hate it, and I know the team mostly makes Need for Speed games now...but what happened? It's kind of crazy in this day and age of yearly sequels that there hasn't been a new Burnout game since January 2008 -- going on seven years!
Click to expand...

I think you answered your own question. They've taken over the NFS franchise.

And honestly, I guess I should give the more recent NFS games a shot. I never really liked the series but maybe with Burnout devs behind it, it is much better now.
 
TAJ said:
It definitely killed my interest in the franchise. I played the shit out of the previous games.
I messed with Paradise for maybe an hour and never touched it again.
Click to expand...

Same here, except that I tried real hard to enjoy Paradise for maybe 2 hours (and after the "restart option" update that is).
 
Burnout Paradise was a success. The franchise died because Need for Speed is a bigger name than Burnout and EA wanted to put their best team on the bigger name. It's as simple as that.
 
EA realized that Need for Speed sold more than Burnout and that a Need for Speed made by a competent dev sold even more than a shitty Need for Speed.
 
DidntKnowJack said:
Personally I think EA killed it in their quest for the Need For Speed IP to succeed.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I think the game did pretty well, but not NFS numbers / projected numbers.

Sure, Paradise was a dramatic change / evolution, but I think the franchise could have continued in that direction with sequels if EA / Criterion wanted it too.
 
The problem with Paradise was that there was only essentially 8 "tracks", since there are only 8 destinations. You find your way to the best route to each of the 8 and then every race is the same from there onwards. It was pointless.

I'm not saying that an arcade racing game can't have an open world map design, just look at Midnight Club, it was fantastically fun.
 
ShowDog said:
Criterion racing games are Criterion racing games... It doesn't so much matter what name you put on the cover.
Click to expand...

I disagree. I sunk countless hours into Burnout Paradise and Need for Speed: Most Wanted felt soulless in comparison. It absolutely seemed held back by the IP. The effort was there, but it didn't have the heart.

Poimandres said:
Of course they did.

Where are they now?
Click to expand...

I believe Ghost Games (Need for Speed Rivals) is chiefly staffed by ex-Criterion people. Some have left EA altogether, I would imagine.
 
CartridgeBlower said:
I know the game is either love it or hate it, and I know the team mostly makes Need for Speed games now...but what happened? It's kind of crazy in this day and age of yearly sequels that there hasn't been a new Burnout game since January 2008 -- going on seven years!

I always sensed the game didn't do as well as they had hoped, and even though many on GAF love it, I do think the fanbase was kind of turned off by the changes. I'm one of those fans, so if Burnout ever did come back, I'd like it to return to its roots. Crash mode was amazing. How do we not have a new version of it? Stellar graphics, great sense of speed, wrecks were so detailed.

So what does the future hold for Burnout, if anything?
Click to expand...


Need for Speed killed it.

Burnout is one of the very few game franchises that left us on a high note.
 
It seems that no one remembers it, but Burnout Crash! killed the franchise. From what I recall, it was a top-down crash mode only XBLA game. With Kinect integration...
 
Abstruse Moose said:
Lack of crash mode killed it.
Click to expand...

I wholeheartedly agree. The new world was an interesting idea, but the way to stop and find races just felt boring, and I loved NFS Unlimited with all it's problems. I would have preferred an optional menu based way of starting things, and of course access to the beloved crash mode.
 
puffyshirt said:
It was definitely my least favorite entry (aside from the original). I never really understood the praise it got. Track design is an art for to me, nothing can beat a super well designed track in a racing game, and open worlds completely ruin all of that.
Click to expand...

this.

it´s just ridiculous to look for arrows on the track whether I should take this turn or not ...
 
Paradise is the best Burnout game ever and one of the best games released last gen. I cannot wait for Criterion's #beyondcars project!
 
I enjoyed it, but it was probably the worst of the series. Open world driving can't possibly compete against pre made courses. The game just didn't feel like burnout.
 
Loved it...the open world didnt bother me during races...your turn signald on your car blink when you have a turn coming up...no need to stare at the map.
 
There are many aspects in the Burnout series that make the games so fun, including the following:

1. Unrivaled arcade driving physics.
2. Awesome vehicle destruction.
3. Good race design.
4. Crash mode.

Burnout Paradise maintained 1 & 2 but lost 3 & 4. Still a good game, but could have been a better Burnout game.

Imo Burnout Paradise did not kill the series. It felt more like a first attempt at a new style of Burnout game, rough around the edges but with potential for improvement. An open-world Burnout game that maintained all 4 aspects would have been amazing.

And then Burnout Crash & NFS happened.
 
CartridgeBlower said:
there hasn't been a new Burnout game since January 2008 -- going on seven years!
Click to expand...
Burnout-crash-logo.png
 
I would kill for another Burnout, but since some of the Criterion people are now Ghost Games and a bunch Hello Games, I wouldn't be holding my breath. Paradise is one of my favorite games of all time, and it already has a PC version... so you guys think it's the right time for a remastered HD collection of the first 4? It would be the closest we'd get to a 'new' one, and harder to fuck up than a new entry.
 
For me it did. Went from being my favourite racing game series to my least favourite racing game.

Having to navigate turn by turn with a map while trying to play in typical burnout reckless style is just the worst combination.
 
Threads like these always seem so bizarre to me. In my circle, Paradise is basically universally loved as one of the GOAT racers. So seeing a bunch of people not like it is a bit of a shock.

I think EA just decided they would rather consolidate into a single racer brand, and naturally chose NFS. The recent Most Wanted was.. similar.. to Paradise City. I feel like nowadays if they really wanted to make one, it would still just be called NFS. Maybe for shits and giggles "Need For Speed: Burnout"
 
If BP killed the franchise it was because it was such a masterpiece that it demoralized the devs to thinking that such lofty heights could never be reached again.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Is there any open world racing games like test drive unlimited or burnout paradise with sprawling single player and exploration?
30
833
ReBurn replied
The Future of the Frost | Frostpunk Franchise Fest
Trailer 
0
113
IbizaPocholo replied
Unironically how did they manage to fuck up a franchise this badly? Halo
2 3
149
2K
clarky replied
How to get into the Resident Evil franchise?
2 3
139
2K
Neff replied
Best Game and the Worst Game of a Franchise
2 3 4
172
2K
simpatico replied
Top Bottom