Former Burnout Devs Release Online Street Racer RGX Showdown - PS4 XOne

It's you against the world in lightning-fast, head-to-head races and hourly online tournaments. Climb the ranks, unlock new cars and customisation options, and claim your championship title.

A look at the technology behind Burnout Paradise video game

Eurogamer managed to get exclusive acces to Criterion Games for this interview with Richard Parr, technical director.

We're talking about the evolution of the Burnout technology over the years and at this point, Criterion's methodology in its Face-Off defying cross-platform development. Eighteen months on from the initial release of Burnout Paradise, it is still the most technically advanced multi-format racing game on console, offering a gameplay experience that is to all intents and purposes identical on both major consoles, and now PC.



"Very early on we made a lot of very right decisions in terms of the architecture and the software and the way we were going to approach things, which has worked extremely well for us. Our aim was to produce an architecture that would work well on PS3, 360 and PC," Parr explains.

Criterion's method of exacting the most performance from the new architecture isn't so much about threading as such, it's all about parallelisation. Rather than lump different game aspects onto different threads (where massive latencies can build as each processor waits for the other to finish its work), game code is highly optimised to make use of what processors are available at any given moment on whatever target hardware, and by choosing the all-important balance points, the experience is like-for-like on all platforms. High-level management code that is unique to each platform then processes the game code according to the hardware that is available.

Read the full interview and see the video's here on Eurogamer...

Criterion developed Need for Speed is in the works

John Pleasants, CEO of EA, has confirmed, during the William Blair Stock Conference, that Need for Speed is being created by Criterion Games (Burnout fame).

So will it be a Burnout clone or a totally new Need for Speed experience. we'll have to wait and see...

Extend Your Paradise on June 11 with Burnout Vacation to Big Surf Island HD video

Burnout Paradise Big Surf Island expansion pack will be available to download for $12.99 on the PLAYSTATION Network and Xbox LIVE Marketplace (1000 MS Points) on June 11 Worldwide.

Burnout Paradise Big Surf Island is a brand new playground that enhances and expands the amazing world of the award-winning driving game, Burnout Paradise. Highlights include fun challenges and events for groups of friends to play online, an exciting new world to discover, the biggest and wildest jumps yet, plus a set of nine new vehicles to experience it all in.



Burnout Paradise Big Surf Island also features an Island specific driver’s license for single player progression, challenging players to explore the World, find secret areas and experience a host of new events and challenges.

“Big Surf Island is the most fun players can have in Burnout Paradise and provides incredible value for money,” says Pete Lake, the Big Surf Island Producer at Criterion Games. “We listened to our community and built this massive new playground for them, taking everything they loved about the game and using it to make the Island as much fun as possible. Big Surf Island is packed full of action, everything is bigger and better, from the jumps, to the challenges, to the fun you’ll have playing there.”

Developed at Criterion Games in Guildford, England, Burnout Paradise has won over 55 awards worldwide and is available now for $19.99 on PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system and Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system. The game has been rated E10+ by the ESRB and 7+ for PEGI.

Burnout video game World Record set at ESC gaming centre in Glasgow

Glasgow experienced a weekend of record-breaking as members from gaming community Ready Up set a brand new world record for the longest marathon playing a racing game. The tenacious team of six, led by Kirsten Kearney, kicked off the record attempt at 10:00 am on Saturday 18th April, at the ESC Gaming Centre - and spent the succeeding 24 hours propped down on bean bags playing Burnout Paradise with only a few short breaks. At 10:00 am on Sunday 19th April, the successful record attempt culminated in an official certificate presentation by Guinness World Records adjudicators who were present to witness the achievement.

A proud, and exhausted, Kearney said: "I am so thankful to our team and supporters from Ready Up for seeing this challenge through. Half way through the attempt I started to doubt whether I would be able to stay awake, but as the night continued I actually became more alert, and by the time we finished I was just so excited that we'd made it into next year's Gamer's Edition with a new world record that I didn't even feel tired anymore."

The record breaking feat served as a fundraiser for gaming charity GamesAid and nearly a hundred online gamers stepped in at different points to join the six record breakers during their 24 hours of continuous play.

Video games record manager Gaz Deaves said: “I’d like to congratulate Kirsten and her team on behalf of Guinness World Records for an impressive demonstration of endurance and skill. This was a brand new record category for us and hopefully Ready Up’s attempt will inspire other gamers to break their own records and get into the book.”

Now in its second year of publishing, Guinness World Records 2009 Gamer's Edition is a comprehensive compilation of highest scores and record breaking achievements across all games and consoles. Among more than 200 pages of records, the book also features facts from the history of gaming, banned and controversial games and the top 50 console games of all time.

Read the post on the ESC website here...

DJ Atomika's Power Playlist in Burnout Paradise City from the sub-zero heights of Peak 3

Hey, it's DJ Atomika back to sea level in Paradise City from the sub-zero heights of Peak 3.

Being a well-worked radio DJ like myself, I've gotta be serious about staying in shape, and man have I got a tip for you. Boost Specials.

Let me tell you, I've traded my Wii Fit - these "Pro" vehicles are giving me all the workout I need.

So head over to the Burnout Store and get yourself the Boost Specials Collection. And once you get behind the wheel, I've got the perfect Power Playlist for you:

They may be from Germany, but they hit the heights in 1990, first on the list is Snap and The Power.
Rocking over from the USA, a record that hit the heights in 1984 it's the instantly recognisable Jump by Van Halen
No Hot Rod fantasy is complete without ZZ Top. Bearded by nature (and one by name) Gimme All Your Lovin' also from the early 80's demands to be in your playlist.
and I'm rounding out today's recommendation with Survivor - Eye of the Tiger - enough said.

This is Atomika, sounding off.

Source: Criterion Games News

Is Split Second as good as Burnout - see for yourself...

Upcoming game Split/Second from Black Rock Studios, the folks behind the excellent off-road racer Pure, racing game to rival Burnout. The game is rumoured to be packed with destruction, environmental and vehicle, that will blow your mind. Look out Burnout Killer people said.

GameTrailers TV had an exclusive Split/Second trailer of this Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 game. It looks great, showing a collapsing bridge, the entire front end of cars being torn to shreds, an exploding gas station and the compulsory - fast cars.

How closely the game will play to Criterion's Burnout series remains to be seen. But whether or not Black Rock is gunning to snatch Criterion's "King of Arcade-style Racing" title, one thing is for certain - Split/Second definitely looks good.

You can check out the full trailer in HD over at GameTrailers here...

Source: Destructoid

Burnout - Toy Cars pack download this Thursday

It's another amazing Downloadable Content Pack for Burnout Paradise - you can look forward to driving these crazy cars around Paradise City when they're made available to buy in 2009.

Regular Burnout fans will recognise 5 Paradise City classics - the Carson GT Concept P12, the Krieger Racing WTR, the Hunter Takedown 4x4 and the Hunter Manhattan, but there are 9 awesome vehicles in this range.

Legendary Cars Arrive in Paradise City on Thursday

Tired of driving around Burnount Paradise City in the cars and bikes? You need only to wait another two days to get some additional choices - Criterion will be releasing the Burnout Paradise Legendary Cars Download Content this Thursday on both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. PC owners unfortunately don't get in on the action just yet - they'll have to wait until March.

The four cars come at a price, however - $2 (160 points) each, with the exception of the Jansen 88 Special the DeLorean above costs $4. You can buy them all in a bundle and you'll save yourself a few bucks with the discounted price tag of $8.

People will be sure to complain about the pricing, but keep in mind just how much Criterion has given away for free since the game was released last January.

How to set your screen to play video games

Want Burnout Paradise and the Burnout Paradise Party Pack to look it's best on your home setup?

Just follow these simple steps and you don't even need to fiddle with your TV settings.

1. When you are driving in Burnout Paradise just hit ‘Start' (or your PC equivalent)
2. Cycle through the tabs to the ‘Under the Hood' menu
3. Select the ‘Screen Brightness' option
4. Now use Left and Right to adjust the brightness.
5. Turn the brightness up a few levels until you see a solid black frame around the image
6. Now slowly turn down the brightness until the black frame just disappears
7. Accept these changes to leave the screen

Now you are setup to view Burnout Paradise in optimal conditions.

If you are running the PC version of Burnout Paradise you have even more control over your screen setup with additional gamma and monitor settings.

Source: Criterion Games

Burnout 3D the future of video games?

Racing game Burnout Paradise is one of the first big commercial games to be produced in 3D, using brand new technology. At the moment, it is early days, but game developers are hoping it could transform the market.

"Before we saw it, we were sceptical," says Doug McConkey, of Criterion Games, the people behind Burnout Paradise 3D.

"We were blown away when we saw it. We just couldn't really take it in. Totally unexpected, a really refreshing surprise and something we're really excited about."

The technology making this possible is being pioneered by tech firm NVIDIA. This is their GeForce 3D graphics card and glasses powering the experience.

Buying their kit will cost you around $200 but you'll also need a top notch monitor to make it all work.

Currently, all the kit you need is being offered in a bundle for around $600 in the US. It's a fair bit of money in a recession but not beyond the realms of possibility for serious gamers.

But the future for 3D gaming looks bright. So bright, you'll need to wear shades.

You can see the Sky News piece here.

To get more info on the Nvidia 3D Vision go here.

Burnout Paradise - The Ultimate Box - PS3 Packshot

During 2008 Criterion transformed Burnout through downloadable content.

They've already released Codename: Cagney and Bikes packs, loaded with amazing new gameplay and for the first time ever: motorcycles!

They've also just announced our awesome Party Pack.

Burnout - Party Pack and Ultimate Box

During 2008 Criterion transformed Burnout through downloadable content.

They've already released Codename: Cagney and Bikes packs, loaded with amazing new gameplay and for the first time ever: motorcycles!

They've also just announced our awesome Party Pack.

These innovations are all available to existing Burnout Paradise players. (Codename: Cagney and Bikes are FREE right now! Party will be available to buy in Feb '09.)

But, if you haven't got Burnout Paradise or you're not an online-connected player, we wanted to give you the chance to join in the fun!



So, this is why they're releasing Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box - a new packaged game for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and for the first time ever - on the PC!

That's right, PC players will finally be able to experience a Burnout game, and we've been working hard to make sure it's something very special indeed.

The Ultimate Box will be available in Feb 2009 and will contain:

* The original Burnout Paradise
* Codename: Cagney
* Burnout Bikes
* Burnout Paradise Party
* Plus a mountain of new refinements

Burnout Paradise The Ultimate Box FREE PC trial available for millions...

Burnout Paradise The Ultimate Box will be arriving on PC in Feb 2009.

Like both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions, this product combines the original Burnout Paradise with all the incredible support content we’ve developed so far! That means our Cagney Pack update, the Bikes Pack and the forthcoming Party Pack are all included.

Here’s what you didn’t know - anyone will be able to trial the game for FREE.

When the full game’s released in Feb ’09, we want all our PC players to be sure it runs perfectly on their system, before they commit to buying it. We also love the game and feel confident that if you try it, you’ll want to sign up for more!

But there’s a lot of game to show you!

In Burnout Paradise, you’re free to explore a massive city, loaded with fun things to do and places to go. Pull up at any of the 120 junctions to start one of 5 event types – Burning Route, Marked Man, Stunt Run, Race and Road Rage. See if you can find the beach, quarry, dirt track and airfield playgrounds spread through our five boroughs. The city also morphs seamlessly into an online world anytime you want to hook up with your friends and cruise around beating challenges.

So rather than restricting what you can do, we're letting you play through the start of the full game for a limited period.

That’s right, you can go anywhere in Paradise City and check out everything on offer in the opening stages of the game.

Read the full post on the official website here...

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Burnout Paradise New 2009 content... Party Pack

This February Burnout Paradise will add a Party Pack...

1. Get together with up to 7 friends and gather round a PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360. Here you can see us lining up for a little Halloween-themed fun with Burnout Party. You can see the full session in episode 11 of our Crash TV video podcast - it's The Halloween Special!

2. Start Burnout Paradise and get the Party Pack update from the Store or Xbox Live

3. Pause to admire the excellent new Party Edition visuals and atmosphere! We've overhauled not just the presentation screens but also the in-game visuals, which are now brighter and more colourful in recognition of Burnout's new party theme.

4. Select 8-player party and get ready for the action.



5. It's pass-the-pad, so you'll only need one controller to play, no matter how many players are involved!

6. The game selects a player at random and drops them into Paradise with a simple, fun challenge to complete.

7. Pick up the winner and run around cheering / commiserate the loser



8. Give it another go! Don't forget, there are extra trophies and achievements available within this pack.

Existing Burnout Paradise owners will be able to purchase this awesome premium Burnout Paradise content as a download from February 2009.

Burnout Paradise Party is also available on disk from February 2009 as a part of Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box.

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New Island (Big Surf Island) for Burnout but not for free

This first shot shows your arrival point on the island. From here, you can make out the awesome cylindrical tower referred to in this Crash TV Episode 15. With the right car, it’s possible to drift all the way to the top of this tower and back again. But you’re unlikely to drive down, because this location is all about massive jumps. For a while, we considered naming it Big Air Island!

The building to the right is the hotel we named after one of our die-hard fans. DBC9MX earned the right name the hotel after winning the Downtown Showtime Showdown competition and chose to name it after his son – Taylor J. You check out the footage in Crash TV


This second shot is the first time we’ve shown you the view looking back down from the island towards the bridge and mainland Paradise City. Our mantra is ‘if you can see it, you can drive it’ – which means that even the bridge to the city features multiple levels and massive jumps.

The construction yard in the foreground is loaded with gameplay and the scaffold at the top features in one of the island’s most memorable pieces of gameplay. Everywhere on the island is like this.



This third image is the first look at the other side of the island, featuring the palm trees that give it a distinctly tropical flavour. The unusual shape of the lighthouse, and the massive ramp in front of it are more tell-tale signs that the geometry is more than just scenery.

And finally, here’s our favourite shot.

This shows the kind of action the island is built for. The scaffold towers in the construction yard can be climbed and all the hoops can be jumped. If you want a taste of what the island is all about, head for the airfield, quarry or beach in Burnout Paradise right now and imagine an area the size of Downtown dedicated to that kind of gameplay. The car featured here is the Dust Storm. It will be made available at the same time as the island.

We’d mentioned in a previous podcast that this would be free content, but we can now confirm that it will be premium paid-for content.

Here’s why. We never expected to create anything this ambitious for the island, but as it progressed we got more and more excited about what it could become. (In fact, that’s the story of all our Downloadable Content.)

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. Burnout already delivers incredible value for money – literally hundreds of hours of gameplay with your original disk or PSN purchase, plus more with the free Cagney Pack and free Burnout Paradise Bikes.

We want Burnout Paradise players to experience the greatest support ever seen in a console game. We’re transforming not just Burnout Paradise, but the whole Burnout franchise through DLC, and we appreciate the support we know you guys will give us for our paid content. We think it’s worth it.

Next week, we’ll bring you the first of our “Paradise City Boroughs” guides - Downtown Paradise. We’ll cover the whole of Paradise City borough-by-borough in some detail, culminating in a big reveal of the island in the new year.

From the official website here...

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Details of Burnout Paradise PC Ultimate Special Editon release

Burnout Paradise The Ultimate Box – a special edition release that includes the award-winning Burnout Paradise game plus the previously-released Burnout Paradise Cagney and Burnout Paradise Bikes content updates, and the brand new Burnout Paradise Party content. Burnout Paradise Party is an offline multiplayer mode designed to allow up to eight friends to “pass-the-pad” in dozens of Burnout challenges. For players that already own Burnout Paradise, Burnout Paradise Party will be sold separately as downloadable content.



Burnout Paradise Party brings the social fun of Burnout Paradise into an offline environment where friends can pass the pad to play competitively. There are dozens of quick-fire, turn-based challenges where players compete in different stunt, speed and skill events. In addition to Burnout Paradise Party, Burnout Paradise The Ultimate Box will include a host of new features including a restart option added for racing, easier control of the early vehicles, and for the PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system the new Burnout Paradise Network. Burnout Paradise Network is another Burnout Paradise social innovation that enables players to keep track of friends and keep up with all the latest Burnout news from either inside or outside the game.

“Whether you’re an experienced player or a gaming novice, Burnout Paradise is a game that anyone can enjoy,” says Pete Lake, Senior Producer at Criterion Games. “With The Ultimate Box, we aimed to deliver the most fun, high quality and high value experience possible to players both online and in the living room.”

Burnout Paradise Party will be on display and available for free play at EA’s booth during the London Games Festival in Trafalgar Square from Oct 31 – Nov 1, 2008.

Developed at Criterion Games in Guildford, England, Burnout Paradise The Ultimate Box is rated E10+ by the ESRB and 7+ for PEGI. Burnout Paradise The Ultimate Box will be available in February 2009 on the PLAYSTATION 3 and Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system and marks the debut of the game on PC.

Read all Burnout posts on gamezplay.org here...

Free Burnout Paradise City Bikes upgrade - watch the video game fun...

Burnout 5 gives players license to wreak havoc in Paradise City, the ultimate seamless racing battleground, with a massive infrastructure of traffic-heavy roads to abuse. Gone is the need to jump in and out of menus and aimlessly search for fun like many open world games; in Burnout 5, every inch of the world is built to deliver heart-stopping Burnout-style gameplay. Every intersection is a potential crash junction and every alleyway is an opportunity to rack up moving violations.


Of course, rules are made to be broken, and when gamers enter Paradise City, they’re assigned a Drivers License that quickly begins to amass a record of player’s most aggressive, reckless and destructive exploits behind the wheel. But it’s not the law that’s eyeing player’s progress … when gamers push things too hard they’ll be squaring off against the city’s most infamous burners, and these legends aren’t interested in who crosses the finish line first.

“Burnout 5 is a complete reinvention of the series, built from the ground up for the PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Xbox 360,” said Alex Ward, director of game design at Criterion Games. “To create truly next-generation gameplay, we needed to create a truly next-generation game, from top to bottom.”

Burnout 5 also delivers the next level of speed and destruction, with brand new next-generation technology allowing gamers to literally rip their cars in half, in the most explosive pile-ups in the series’ history.

Watch Burnout Paradise Bikes video on YouTube here...

See all posts on Burnout at gamezplay.org here...

Burnout Paradise download content free to stop you selling your game...

EA plan a load of new content for Burnout Paradise for free to try to convince you not to sell your game second hand - why?

Game developers and publishers loose out on second hand games sales and they want you to hold onto your games and download additional content.

Jens Uwe fro EA says...

“What we’re trying to do is build business models that are more and more online-supported with additional services and additional content that you get online. So people will see the value in not just getting that physical disc to play at home alone, but actually playing those games online and paying for them.” …

“In our understanding of the business model we are actually giving away the rights to play, and if you just pass it on, pass it on, pass it on, that is not comparable to second-hand sales in the normal physical goods area where you have physical wear-out - second-hand cars, second-hand clothes, second-hand books… they’re all physically wearing out, so you have an inferior quality product.” …

“But digital goods is not actually becoming inferior in quality, so people passing that on is actually very challenging for us.”

The next big change will be the iTunes model where you buy the game online from Xbox Live or PlaySation Store - that removes the option to resell the game.

Bike pack image from new download content on PS3 and Xbox.

Until that happens just enjoy the free updates - Gamezplay.org

Burnout Paradise - Software Update for PS3 and Xbox 360 new cars modes and more...

At the end of this month (June 2008), the software update Cagney will be released for Burnout Paradise on the PS3 and Xbox 360 with a plethora of fixes, changes, and additions. Some very notable changes include a new title screen, live frontpage, new cars, and more modes.

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