For years, Criterion has brought their own brand of racing to the table. Their brand has introduced gamers to a racing formula that not only incorporates crashing into the races, but also rewards you for it. Each previous version of Burnout has shown great evolutions in the series, from crash modes to online play, making gamers excited and viciously eager for each new release. Now Burnout Paradise for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 has arrived, bringing the vision of Burnout to next-generation platforms. To many gamers' surprise though, the game isn't just a prettier version of Burnout Revenge. Burnout Paradise is the beginning of a new, fresh approach to the series. Will this new style appeal to the ravenous fans, or will gamers be locked into a state of confusion when they see that there isn't a crash mode? All I know is, no matter what side of the coin you are on, Burnout Paradise is still a great game when the smoke and debris clear.

The first thing you need to do in Burnout Paradise is get your license. No I'm not talking about 100's of grueling hours trying to turn a corner and reach the goal in a time limit like Gran Turismo. When you start up the game you are offered a learner's permit. It is now your job to go into Paradise City, win some events and credibility in order to work your way up to getting your full license. From there on it's all about bragging rights.

The world in Paradise City is open ended, but this doesn't mean that there isn't much structure. Instead of the old school idea of choosing modes from a menu, watching loading screens, racing an event, then being kicked back out to the menu, everything in Paradise is done on the fly. Event points are at stop light junctions. When you come up to each and every stop light in the city you are shown what style of event you can participate in. Now simply hold the L2 and R2 buttons down while in this vicinity and you are wisped into the mode that the junction described.

Events are broken down into Races, Road Rage, Burning Route, Marked Man, and Stunt Run. To veterans of the series, Marked Man and Stunt Run are the two new events. Marked Man is a point to point race where you are the prey and the other drivers are aiming to obliterate you into a pile of scrap metal. If you make it all the way to the finish line without being totaled, you win. Stunt Run is a mode where you boost and drift down stunt locations trying to pull off insane maneuvers to beat a target score within a certain time limit.

Of course there are limitations in the game, such as needing certain cars to do modes, etc. Along the way while earning events and driving around Paradise City you can obtain new vehicles, which will open up entry into these restricted events. My only gripe with the game being set up in this nature is while racing along stretches, if you feel like you are going to lose a race, you can't simply restart a race. You must drive all the way back to the point where you accessed the race and begin again. Sometimes this can be pretty lengthy and there isn't any way to just pull up that spot on a map and warp there.

Burnout Paradise is gorgeous, and while these aren't car models you'll find at a dealership near you, it doesn't matter as each car is detailed and incredible to look at in either pristine condition or after a serious wreck. The environments of Paradise city are also detailed and full of life and is easily one of the best looking racing titles on the PS3 and Xbox 360. This is especially true when you activate Showtime mode and cause some serious havoc. This is an option that can be done anywhere by simply pressing the L1 and R1 buttons and smashing into traffic. If you hit your boost button while in this mode you can bounce off of cars and create more damage along the way.

Of course what fun is causing mayhem if your friends can't join in the fun? Well thanks to online play, this is also easy to obtain and get everyone involved on your friends list. To get online all you do is press the right directional button on the controller to open Easy Drive. It is here where you invite players, join races, or create new events and challenges. This is something I can really see taking off as you never have to leave your current game to jump online; you can even do this while driving 200mph down the road! While online you can join up to 7 other drivers to race, collect mug shots, or complete challenges. The mug shots are obtained by using an Xbox 360 Vision cam or PS Eye camera. You can choose to use your own portrait for your driver's license, and even cooler, when you take out an opponent, the camera will take a snapshot and capture their reaction and send it over to you.

Burnout Paradise is a fine racing game indeed. I only wish there were more Road Rage modes and other varieties spread along the map as I would say a good 65% of the modes are races. While this is fine and certainly fun, I don't buy Burnout titles to race, I buy them for the carnage. Hopefully the creators will give us some downloadable races or modes, or maybe even a proper crash mode option in the future. Even if this never happens, the new direction the developers took is a bold one. Will this pay off? I guess only sales will deem the future of Burnout. Even with my little nitpicks, I find it impossible not to recommend this title to any racing fan.