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'Ultimate' Burnout Paradise cruises to European retail Feb. 6th [update]
EA just announced that they'll be releasing the ultimo supremo edition of Burnout Paradise, The Ultimate Box, to retail on February 6th -- in Europe. While North America will get the PC version via retail on November 5th, the 360 and PS3 versions will only make it to European stores. Sad emoticon! Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box includes the full retail edition of Burnout Paradise, both Cagney and the bike DLC updates PLUS the upcoming Party Pack DLC that adds new party game modes, a restart option, easier controls for earlier vehicles and more. The Party Pack DLC will also be available via the XBLM alongside the Ultimate Pack's release, both in Europe and North America (happy emoticon!). Oh, and those who just want the plain edition of Burnout Paradise will be pleased to know that its retail price has dropped to a wallet-friendly $19.99.[Update: The Ultimate Box is exclusive to PC in North America.]
Burnout Paradise Party Pack coming 2/5, Europe to get Ultimate Box
Click for high-resolution image. We have a lot of fans of Burnout Paradise here at PS3 Fanboy. In fact, it won PS3 Fanboy's award for Best Racing Game and Best DLC. Those that have experienced everything Burnout Paradise has to offer can look to more fun in the upcoming multiplayer-focused Party Pack. This premium DLC will be available on the PlayStation Store on February 5th. Not only does it add new modes to your game, it will also give you access to a new batch of Trophies.If you don't have Burnout Paradise yet, there's never been a better time to pick it up. In the US, the game has officially dropped in price to $20. Europeans will be able to purchase Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box, which includes the game and every add-on released so far. Expect that in retail stores on February 6th.Update: In addition to the premium DLC, Burnout Paradise fans can also expect a FREE patch which, according to the Criterion blog, "includes the introduction of our all-new in-game website and awesome in-game store. We've also worked on changes to game modes, visuals, the entire vehicle dynamics system. Oh, and we've added a restart !"%Gallery-35782%
Burnout Paradise: Say hello to the ECTO-1, General Lee and KITT 'parodies'
As you're aware, the upcoming premium DLC for Burnout Paradise will throw four new cars into the mix on Paradise Island. While we've only really spotted the Jansen-88 Special in action, three of the wholly original creations have been kept under wraps ... until now. On the latest episode of CrashTV, Criterion Games have revealed the final three vehicles. Say hello to the Manhattan Spirit, above. You may recognize it ... but trust us it isn't what you think it is. Check out the latest episode of CrashTV after the jump as well as another video of semi-related interest (if you grew up in the 80s). Gallery: Burnout Paradise: Legendary Cars [via Joystiq]
Burnout DLC adds Ecto-1, KITT & The General Lee ... 'parodies'
Just click: Hop inside our gallery tour of Legendary Cars! You've seen Criterion's hovering DeLorean 88 Special in action. Now meet the rest of the Burnout Paradise "Legendary Cars." They're, like, totally original, we swear: %Gallery-41360%Update: Gallery now features Burnout vs. "real" cars comparison pics -- plus video reveal after the break![Thanks Travis!]
All four Burnout Paradise Legendary Cars revealed
Click for high-resolution image. The Back to the Future-inspired hovering 88 Special was just one of four cars to be introduced in the upcoming Legendary Cars DLC pack. Today, Criterion has revealed all four, one of them taking a cue from Ghostbusters. The Manhattan Spirit is based on the film's Ecto-1 -- in the game, it's a stunt car that has some kind of special ability when players hit L3. Hrm.The Carson Nighthawk, based on Night Rider's KITT, has a special lighting array triggered by boosting, which should look fantastic at night. Finally, the Cavalry Bootlegger is a tribute to "The Chicanator," with a massive horn that can be triggered with L3. The fanservice can be seen in all its glory in our gallery.Update: Video after the break.%Gallery-41361%
FanPoll'08: Multiplayer Game of the Year
Since its release in 2002, Xbox Live has been a staple in online console gaming. Years later some players even make their buying purchases based on the small green and gold lettering in the top right corner of game boxes. No online? No buy! We've heard it, thought it and even wrote it all over X3F. This year brought us some incredible online gaming experiences from the Gears 2 Horde Mode to an all out Zombie Apocalypse in Left 4 Dead, here are the nominees for Multiplayer (Competitive and Cooperative) Game of the Year.Read more about these five nominees:Burnout ParadiseCall of Duty: World at WarGears of War 2Left 4 DeadRock Band 2Voting closes at 12:01am on December 30, 2008. Results will be revealed on December 30, 2008. <a href ="http://answers.polldaddy.com/poll/1226509/" >FanPoll'08: Multiplayer Game of the Year</a> <br/> <span style="font-size:9px;"> (<a href ="http://www.polldaddy.com"> surveys</a>)</span>
Holiday wishes from Criterion sends the Jansen 88 Special in flight
If you told us in January that we'd still be excited about Burnout Paradise a year after it released, we'd call you crazy. Games, as we all know, tend to lose their luster over time unless something drastic revitalizes our love affair with them. What could jolt us back into Paradise City? 1.21 Gigawatts? Close.The Jansen 88 Special, one of four new vehicles hitting the streets of Paradise City in the New Year. This virtual DeLorean clone features retractable tires, sending the nuclear-powered car into the air at breakneck speeds. Just remember to save those points kids because this DLC asks a price. Great Scott! Hey, for the amount of free DLC Criterion Games threw at us all year, who can complain? Check out Criterion Games' holiday greeting video featuring the Jansen 88 Special, embedded above. To learn more about 1.21 Gigawatts, jump in for an informative music video.
See Burnout's Jansen 88 Special fly into action
What it lacks in a Flux Capacitor and time circuits, Burnout Paradise's hover-enabled "Jansen 88 Special" more than makes up for in its ability to make us drool, as evidenced in new footage released by Criterion Games. View it after the break!The car, which certainly meets with Doc Brown's seal of approval, is one quarter of the upcoming Legendary Cars Pack, which will also include the Cavalry Bootlegger, Manhattan Spirit and GT Nighthawk. Now, if only our Flux Capacitor would start fluxing so we could leap ahead a few months and try this DLC out for ourselves.
Maddening: NPD data shows weak Dead Space, Mirror's Edge sales
It's a tough road that EA has chosen, one illustrated by the above graph from Gamasutra's recent analysis of November's North American sales results. Reliable and storied football franchise? Selling millions. New IPs and ambitious sequels? Not so much. Though Spore is a notable exception with upward of 2 million copies sold and the Valve-developed Left 4 Dead saw respectable sales on console (both are new IPs), EA's fresh ventures in Mirror's Edge and Dead Space were not rewarded by consumers nearly as much they were by reviewers.Still, does it smack of having "failed miserably," as Gamasutra so bluntly notes? Or did these unknown quantities simply get lost in holiday shelves packed with highly anticipated, highly praised and highly recognizable properties? Highly likely. If EA's smart, it'll follow the Burnout Paradise (which, excluding PSN sales, racked up a surprisingly low 600,000 copies across two platforms) route and re-release those titles in a less deadly period.
Trophy Guide: Burnout Paradise
Read more 'Burnout Paradise' stories Although there are 64 Trophies available for Burnout Paradise; 48 Bronze, 11 Silver, 4 Gold and a Platinum. It is currently one of the easier games to achieve Platinum on. Unfortunately you will need a PSEye in order to clear the game. But as a rule, there are few thumb-breakers in this game. So strap in and get at it. There are trophies to be won. Warning: Trophies are not retroactive, a new game save will be needed if play started before the Trophy patch was released. View Trophy Guide | View Trophy List | Visit Trophy Portal
Burnout Paradise's Big Surf Island now premium DLC
Criterion has announced that its upcoming Burnout Paradise downloadable content Big Surf Island, contrary to previous statements in the developer's podcast, will no longer be offered gratis. Said the developer, "Big Surf is the culmination of everything we learned creating Paradise City, and we want it to bring you a truly spectacular new experience – the highlight of a year of incredible premium content."Surf Island will focus heavily on stunts -- in Criterion's words, the mantra is, "If you can see it, you can drive it." What we don't know at the moment is how much it will cost, or when it will be made available. The car shown in the images, the Dust Storm, will also be available the same time as Surf Island, although there is no indication if it will be free or premium DLC. If you haven't jumped on the Burnout Paradise bandwagon (and subsequently rammed it into a busy intersection, sending the bandwagon flying into a nearby construction site), the Ultimate Box edition is coming in February 2009. Gallery: Burnout Paradise: Big Surf Island
Burnout Big Surf Island DLC detailed
click to enlarge Criterion has posted an update about the upcoming Burnout Paradise DLC, Big Surf Island. As you may have guessed, the DLC adds an entirely new island to the world of Burnout Paradise and it features lots of new locations and things to do. For example, you can drive all the way to the top of the cylindrcal tower in the image above. Big Surf Island also hosts a construction yard which is filled with scaffolds and lots of jumps. Criterion also announced that a new vehicle will be released at the same time as Big Surf Island, a dune buggy called the Dust Storm. You can see several locations from Big Surf Island as well as the Dust Storm in the gallery below.While a specific release date hasn't been announced -- sounds like early next year -- Criterion did announce that Big Surf Island will be premium content, though a specific price has not been revealed.%Gallery-38261%
Burnout Paradise's new island detailed
Ready to check out "Big Surf Island"? Burnout Paradise is expanding quite a bit in 2009, and that includes a brand new island to drive around. The premium DLC won't be free, but considering how much Criterion has already added to the game, we don't mind the opportunity to finally give them money for something. The island is all about crazy jumps, as this new episode of the CrashTV podcast reveals. Don't want to watch the podcast? Check out the screens in our new gallery.[Thanks, Monik!]%Gallery-38136%
Criterion teases next Burnout Paradise DLC pack
That's right, the next one. As in the one after the flying cars, the toy cars and the not-actually-cars. Criterion just keeps on stuffing more content into its open-world racer, with the latest vehicular addition taking the form of the Carson Extreme Hotrod, a "stripped down, ultra low, overpowered straight line monster." You'll find it, along with another impossibly fast hunk of metal, in 2009's "Paradise Boost Specials Pack." According to the developers, both vrooooooms are designed to "re-imagine Burnout Boost." And we doubt they're imagining it any slower. Here we come, walls!
Criterion driving Toy Cars into Burnout Paradise
Were it even slightly informative, we would have made the title of this post "Why You've Always Got to Close With the DeLorean." This week, Criterion revealed the next in a series of DLC that they'll be dropping into Burnout Paradise: the "Toy Car" pack. The nine cars appear to be Paradise Models that have been retooled to resemble ... well, Hot Wheels.Cool? Sure, it is. But is it cool on the level with a time-travelling relic of the 80s? Well, no. That's why (you guessed it) you've always got to close with the DeLorean.
Burnout Paradise gets monster truck and more in Toy Cars DLC
Another Friday, another Burnout Paradise DLC announcement. It looks like Criterion is expanding the game yet again in 2009, with a new series of vehicles in their planned "Toy Cars" pack. This expansion will add a number of interesting cars to the Burnout franchise, such as a monster truck. Simon Phipps from Criterion Games notes on the PlayStation.blog: "We hope you agree that we're keeping up our promise to take Burnout Paradise into places you'd never imagined."There's still more DLC to be announced in the coming weeks. By the end of 2009, we're pretty sure Burnout Paradise will be a completely different game. Wow.
Burnout Paradise's Legendary Jansen 88 Special
After numerous updates, free content and even motorbikes, Criterion will be bringing a set of paid Legendary Cars to Burnout Paradise in 2009. This week, they unveiled the first of four, the Jansen 88 Special which is based on the fan favorite Jansen P12. And the first thing you'll notice is that this Back to the Future inspired ride can hover. Yes sir, a hovering, flame trail creating Jansen 88 Special that (sadly) lacks the ability to travel back in time. Keep on the look out for more Legendary Cars reveals in the weeks to come (Cavalry Bootlegger, Manhattan Spirit and GT Nighthawk) and remember to change your car's oil every 3,000 miles.[Thanks, Cube]
Hovering car coming to Burnout Paradise as DLC
What will those guys at Criterion Games bring us next? Jeremy Chubb, a producer for Burnout Paradise, has just announced that a hovering version of the popular Jansen P12, renamed the Jansen 88 Special, will be headed for the game in the form of paid DLC. Besides the Lamborghini Countach-lookalike, the Cavalry Bootlegger, Manhattan Spirit and the GT Nighthawk will also be made available as DLC -- no price point has been decided, but you can purchase them individually or cheaper if you buy them as a set.[Thanks, squirtforce!]%Gallery-12560%
Burnout Paradise goes Back to the Future
Go ahead: Blink twice. Yep, it's still here. You're not dreaming. Now, would somebody please whip up an award for Best DLC Ever? Thanks -- just hand it over to the folks at Criterion Games.It may be the first time you actually pay for Burnout Paradise DLC, but we're gonna go ahead and put in writing that the Legendary Cars Pack will be well worth your hard-earned PSN money / . Exhibit A: The DeLorean DMC-12 "Jansen 88 Special" (see above). Time traveling? No*. Hovering? Yes! And be on the lookout for Exhibits B, C & D: The Cavalry Bootlegger, Manhattan Spirit and GT Nighthawk. (One of those has to be codename for the "Tumbler," right?) *But there are burning flame trails! %Gallery-36402%[Thanks, Bob]
Burnout Paradise sells 20k copies via PS Store
In an earnings call yesterday, Electronic Arts revealed that Burnout Paradise had been downloaded over 20,000 times in the first three weeks of launch on the PlayStation Store. "In the future we see slower growth in the basic packaged goods business, and higher margins, greater growth and reduced cyclicality [sic] with these new direct-to-consumer businesses," said CEO John Riccitiello, who added that the company is investing $150 million in digital distribution. At $30 per download, that amounts to $600,000 for the publisher (and Sony, who undoubtedly gets a share of that). Riccitiello also said that on average, $14.50 has been spent per user in The Sims 2 online store. For this fiscal year, EA expects $185 million in online revenue. Burnout Paradise "Party" DLC and Ultimate Box set are coming February 2009.
