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So did Burnout Paradise kill the franchise?
- Thread starter CartridgeBlower
- Start date
It might've been different from previous installments, but it is a damn great game in its own right. Some of the haters need to install some updates, download the cheap but absolutely fantastic DLC packs (this was from before EA turned into a greedy monster) and most importantly get a bunch of friends to play with online. If you're still not able to enjoy Paradise after doing all that you might be immune to fun.
I don't think the franchise is dead because Burnout Paradise had bad sales, in fact I believe it sold quite well. nor did EA 'kill' it. It's just that EA wanted Criterion to work on Need for Speed which has way more sale potential and as a franchise needed a boost in quality. We got the spiritual successor Most Wanted out of that, so Burnout Paradise lives on (kinda). Other than that Criterion is busy and they and/or EA might not want to give the franchise to another developer, so it is dead for the foreseeable future at least.
I don't think the franchise is dead because Burnout Paradise had bad sales, in fact I believe it sold quite well. nor did EA 'kill' it. It's just that EA wanted Criterion to work on Need for Speed which has way more sale potential and as a franchise needed a boost in quality. We got the spiritual successor Most Wanted out of that, so Burnout Paradise lives on (kinda). Other than that Criterion is busy and they and/or EA might not want to give the franchise to another developer, so it is dead for the foreseeable future at least.
and open world...
ambar_hitman
Member
2nd favorite racing game of last gen after FH2.
Agent X
Member
Burnout Paradise was a magnificent game. I don't believe that it "killed" the franchise at all. This is a consequence of EA assigning Criterion to working on Need for Speed. EA probably feels that they're better off focusing on one racing game rather than two. Since Need for Speed is the more popular and recognizable series, they put all of their effort into the NFS games, while Burnout takes a back seat.
Criterion staffers have hinted that "Burnout is not dead" and they'd like to go back to it someday. While I haven't seen any evidence that would show this is likely to happen, I'd personally love to see a revival of Burnout.
Criterion staffers have hinted that "Burnout is not dead" and they'd like to go back to it someday. While I haven't seen any evidence that would show this is likely to happen, I'd personally love to see a revival of Burnout.
AlphaTwo00
Member
300 + hours on both 360 and PS3. No complaints here.
You know who killed it? NFS and EA's demands for one single racing game and the most sales possible for the brand.
You know who killed it? NFS and EA's demands for one single racing game and the most sales possible for the brand.
BruiserBear
Banned
Burnout Paradise is one of my favorite games ever. It was the ultimate Burnout experience. I could teach a college course on the greatness of this game. The only criticism I'd level would be the lack of crash mode.
It pains me to see the franchise fade away over the years. EA just decided it wasn't a big enough seller.
I loved the two NFS games that Criterion did after Paradise, but they didn't scratch that Burnout itch for me.
It pains me to see the franchise fade away over the years. EA just decided it wasn't a big enough seller.
I loved the two NFS games that Criterion did after Paradise, but they didn't scratch that Burnout itch for me.
While I personally didn't like the direction Burnout Paradise took the series (Burnout 2 followed by Burnout 3 for me the two games that matter), it definitely was popular with a lot of people and sold well...
Think what actually killed the Burnout series was the NFS series, EA saw that Criterion's titles were getting better reviews while NFS was getting higher sales, so they decided to combine the two.
...and as they say, the rest is history.
Think what actually killed the Burnout series was the NFS series, EA saw that Criterion's titles were getting better reviews while NFS was getting higher sales, so they decided to combine the two.
...and as they say, the rest is history.
Moon_frogger
Member
I understand that people are sick of needless open environments but the thing is...paradise did it brilliantly. One of the best racers I've ever played and it's so good I don't even feel the need for a sequel. Bought it twice and now enjoying the hell out of it on pc like I did with ps3 a few years ago.
Baron_Calamity
Member
I don't care what it was called, Burnout Paradise was close to racing perfection. I liked the original Burnouts but they weren't special. Need For Speed, especially those that came after Paradise feel like empty shells.
RobotNinjaHornets
Banned
Burnout 2 was the best and anyone who says 3 is wrong. Crashbreakers, adding power ups to crash mode, boost change, takedowns and licensed music were all things I disliked.
The music was the worst thing for me to be honest, the way the music kicked in when you were boosting in 2 was the best.
The music was the worst thing for me to be honest, the way the music kicked in when you were boosting in 2 was the best.
AlphaTwo00
Member
Had to scroll through all the pages: like clockwork, all Burnout thread starts and ends the same way: Burnout 3 fans show up saying it's the best of the series, then Paradise fans, then Revenge fans, then a few stragglers from 2. Now we're just waiting for that one poor soul who sticks to Dominator to show up.
Noisepurge
Member
a HD trilogy of the last PS2 Burnouts would be awesome
Takedown, Revenge and Dominator all on one disc in HD plz
In Service
Member
AlphaTwo00
Member
There it is.a HD trilogy of the last PS2 Burnouts would be awesome
Takedown, Revenge and Dominator all on one disc in HD plz
Criterion officially disassociates themselves from that game throughout the many e-mails and interviews they gave. It's not from them.
a HD trilogy of the last PS2 Burnouts would be awesome
Takedown, Revenge and Dominator all on one disc in HD plz
No because that would miss the best BO.
Make it Point of Impact, Takedown and Revenge.
sixteen-bit
Member
It was a weird left turn that not everyone liked. I don't regret the $7 or so I spent though.
MrAndySchneider
Banned
No. This killed the franchise:
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Remember Burnout Crash, for XBOX Live Arcade?
I was so hyped for this game after hearing that there'll be a new Burnout, focused on Crush Events. We played the hell out of these in Burnout 3 Takedown. Instead we got this turd.
TransientDreamer
Neo Member
Need for Speed: Underground 2 worked great, largely because it was open-world. Burnout: Revenge worked great as an arcade racer that didn't take itself too seriously. Once it started to incorporate elements of the NFS franchise, it didn't feel at all like a bona fide Burnout title.
Decent game though. And no, I don't think the franchise is dead, just like I don't think Midnight Club is dead. Unfortunately, only so many games can be developed at once. As we all know, EA likes to pick a few franchises and stick with them. Thus why there's no new Medal of Honor coming out.
Decent game though. And no, I don't think the franchise is dead, just like I don't think Midnight Club is dead. Unfortunately, only so many games can be developed at once. As we all know, EA likes to pick a few franchises and stick with them. Thus why there's no new Medal of Honor coming out.
MightyHedgehog
Member
No, it was already in decline thanks to making the danger of traffic nearly irrelevant in previous entries with traffic checking, and upping the flash of crashes (as they happen) to get in the way of the purer racing experience thus eliminating the important sense of fragility and tension. The move to open world wasn't a bad idea, just poorly executed and underbaked for a series that had had some generally very consistent and good track design in the older games. Thankfully, there have been some games released in the years since that do open world racing well by ensuring a tighter racing experience by focusing on more complete track designs residing within the sprawling road networks instead of making most of the races take place on random-feeling sections of track in an open world. For some, BO3 was the last great one, but I felt the series peaked with BO2.
burnout 3 killed the franchise by sacrificing the interesting arcade mechanics for cheap thrills. paradise took the corpse and shifted the franchise successfully into the specialist genre of mindless thing to do with your hands and eyes while listening to podcasts that are more stimulating than chores, gardening and knitting.
AlphaTwo00
Member
Mr.Squirrel
Tom
Loved that game so much.....
Ah I never noticed that in the few hours that I played Paradise, but indeed that might have to do with the fact I was looking at the minimap most of the time to find my way in the open world.
AwakenedCloud
Member
Traffic checking balanced the lanes out. Before BR, there was zero reason to not drive in oncoming traffic. It's much easier to dodge and your boost meter increases at a much faster rate. With the addition of traffic checking, you could potentially get some extra boost in the regular lane, and encouraged the user to switch between lanes.
And here we have him, the anonymous Criterion employee that thought traffic checking was a good idea. ;-)
Note: By oncoming, you mean the opposite lane, yes?
Burnout 3: Takedown balanced this by having you gain massive boost for driving in Oncoming Traffic AND it made you harder to "Takedown" by having you dodge oncoming traffic in addition to the person attempting to take you down doing the same thing.
Traffic Checking basically removed that "risk/reward" system in driving in the opposite lane by wanting you to drive in the same lane traffic with little to no effort outside of "dodge the semis, as those will auto-kill you."
It was a no-skill system and ruined Revenge.
FonkyByNature
Member
I miss Burnout from 1 to 4. Paradise wasn't bad but the fact that it was open world killed the fun for me and then EA took over the whole Criterion studio by making them make Need for Speed in 30fps which really sucked.
I miss Burnout Revenge at a solid 60fps and that insane speed... that was a really good arcade game. There's pretty much nothing of that kind now...
I miss Burnout Revenge at a solid 60fps and that insane speed... that was a really good arcade game. There's pretty much nothing of that kind now...
MightyHedgehog
Member
If so many people were just hanging out in the oncoming lane, making the game too easy, you do a better job of generating more challenging traffic patterns to even out the difficulty of being there. The course designs could also be more mindful of this and become better at tripping up those who spend too much time being there in the first place. As well, there are the competing racers, human or not, which are supposed to put pressure on the player when they feel safe, even in the oncoming lane. Risk/reward was devalued with the advent of traffic checking and the cutaway crash camera which made the player invulnerable for its duration. The big gimmick of this series in the first place, IMO, is the danger of high speed racing in traffic which the added features do nothing but significantly nerf if not outright nullify. The only reason to introduce a new mechanic like that is to appeal to a wider audience who aren't appreciative of the game's original defining element.
Awesome game, in most respects, all that was lacking for me was the old crash mode and expanded party mode.
Even today we still play party mode when having game nights, it's just sad that you can't mess with the paramiters and that there isn't a bigger choice of events/locations.
At least if the player could choose which events to play and not just have it bee a random roll.
Love this game to no end!
Even today we still play party mode when having game nights, it's just sad that you can't mess with the paramiters and that there isn't a bigger choice of events/locations.
At least if the player could choose which events to play and not just have it bee a random roll.
Love this game to no end!
It's not a bad game but it did hurt the Burnout franchise.
I was really bored of how the game worked and I even started way later on pc.
A new Burnout 3 like game would be really awesome.
I don't want a remake, I want a beautiful pc optimised racing game with great online and offline multiplayer and beautiful cars, tracks and spectacular crashes and explosions.
4p splitscreen 60fps would be awesome, too.
And I would really like to tweak everything like AI strength, individual AI (like in Flatout 2) and the goal like 'destroy 30 cars in road rash'.
10 road rash takedowns is a joke.
I was really bored of how the game worked and I even started way later on pc.
A new Burnout 3 like game would be really awesome.
I don't want a remake, I want a beautiful pc optimised racing game with great online and offline multiplayer and beautiful cars, tracks and spectacular crashes and explosions.
4p splitscreen 60fps would be awesome, too.
And I would really like to tweak everything like AI strength, individual AI (like in Flatout 2) and the goal like 'destroy 30 cars in road rash'.
10 road rash takedowns is a joke.
Exactly my thoughts!
With Point of Impact, me and my friends would spend the entire evening racing the same track just to shave off milliseconds of the record time. We sent eachother text messages with our new fastest lap and track times and it was so cool to beat those times by driving perfectly through all the traffic without hitting them at all.
THAT was Burnout.
AwakenedCloud
Member
Yes, I being the ONE person who enjoys traffic checking makes me an undercover cop from an almost abandoned studio. ;-(
What you wrote doesn't sound balanced at all. What you listed were two major benefits for driving into Oncoming traffic with one questionable benefit for driving in the regular lane. I don't agree with the notion that it's harder to take down opponents in the opposite lane either, In B3 there was almost never a reason to stay in the regular lane. Revenge made it into a 75/25 split in favor of opposite lane. You would never win an online race without doing a vast majority of it in Oncoming traffic.
Maybe you're coming from a SP perspective, but you can't turtle in the regular lane and still win a race. Even with traffic checking, the regular lane was situational, not the norm.
And vice versa.
What killed Need for Speed was EA mixing it up with Burnout and Criterion.
I really hated all NfS made by Criterion (- but thats just my opinion).
They would be better off if they let those two franchises be separate. There are people who loved Burnout and people who loved NfS, but don't force them to like the other one by mixing them up...
SerTapTap
Member
No. This killed the franchise:
the fuck is that
Miles Quaritch
Member
An unholy creation that should never be spoken of ever again.
Away with you, foul creation.
PopcornMegaphone
Banned
My favorite racing game ever.
Baby, come back...
Baby, come back...
TheAssist
Member
Played it on release on PS3. Thought it didn't live up to the name. It was really hard to focus on the street when you had to look at the map for your next turn. Also the blinking street signs never gave you a good indication on what kind of turn was coming up. It could be a U-turn or just a slight curve to the right, or even just a lane switch.
It takes some good amount of time, in which you simply learn by failing. Also they had to patch in, that you can restart a race at any given time. So yeah I didnt like it at first (oh and the music wasn't that great imho)
Few years later, I bought it for cheap on PC. Used my own music and it was an absolute blast. Best arcade racer of this generation.
I just came from an NFS game and the controls ... oh my, the controls in burnout are sooo much better. Every time I play an NFS game, I feel like controlling a tank.
In Burnout I have the feeling of absolute control in any situation, at any speed and thats what counts.
So yeah Paradise didn't kill it, but the fact that criterion went to EA and EA went on to integrating Burnout and NFS.
There will be another Burnout though. Its an established franchise with a big fanbase and whenever a time comes, when the NFS name doesn't sell anymore, Burnout will be EA's savior and people here will go apeshit (me included).
It takes some good amount of time, in which you simply learn by failing. Also they had to patch in, that you can restart a race at any given time. So yeah I didnt like it at first (oh and the music wasn't that great imho)
Few years later, I bought it for cheap on PC. Used my own music and it was an absolute blast. Best arcade racer of this generation.
I just came from an NFS game and the controls ... oh my, the controls in burnout are sooo much better. Every time I play an NFS game, I feel like controlling a tank.
In Burnout I have the feeling of absolute control in any situation, at any speed and thats what counts.
So yeah Paradise didn't kill it, but the fact that criterion went to EA and EA went on to integrating Burnout and NFS.
There will be another Burnout though. Its an established franchise with a big fanbase and whenever a time comes, when the NFS name doesn't sell anymore, Burnout will be EA's savior and people here will go apeshit (me included).
Nowhere Man
Member
EA killed Burnout but the open world in Paradise killed it for me. I hate open world racing.