Of all the advertisements we've ever thought would show up in our ad-enabled video games, we have to admit we never even considered the possibility of political ads. And yet, there they are. The next time you fire up Burnout Paradise, you may notice some new billboard ads advocating Barack Obama's bid for the US presidency. The ads mention that early voting has begun and list the address of an Obama campaign website.
Holly Rockwood, director of corporate communications at Electronic Arts, told GigaOM, "I can confirm that the Obama campaign has paid for in-game advertising in Burnout," adding that the company accepts advertisements from "credible political candidates" and that, just like ads on TV and radio, they don't necessarily reflect the opinions of EA or its employees. Our suggestion for the next candidate to buy some in-game ads: Ed Hermes.
Today, September 18th, 2008 is a monumental day for Burnout Paradise fanboys, because today is the day Criterion graces us with a new set of Burnout Paradise downloadable content. New DLC that brings bikes into the mix as well as a bunch of new challenges all for (get this) FREE! The new 445MB Burnout Paradise Bike DLC is waiting to make a home on your 360's HDD so, please, make your way to the XBLM and give it a download. Won't you think of the children?
After supposedly being delayed only a few days, the latest update for Burnout Paradise has been delayed once again. The Cagney update, which contains three new game modes, 70 freeburn challenges some new cars and more, will still of course be totally free, but us 360 gamers are now going to have to wait until around the 24th of this month before we see it. Apparently the Microsoft QA team spotted a few bugs and it'll take a few more weeks to squash 'em. Hey, it's always better to nip these things in the bud before they become a larger problem.
Criterion recently announced some "bummer" news regarding Burnout Paradise's upcoming Cagney update, saying that it will not release on July 10th as originally planned. Tear. Due to the Microsoft certification process taking longer than expected, Criterion confirmed that the Paradise's Cagney title update will roll out a few days later, on Monday, July 14th. The PS3 Cagney release will not be affected. So, you can look forward to some hot Cagney update action on the 14th, bringing with it three new freeburn modes, 70 freeburn challenges, new vehicles and a laundry list of gameplay tweaks.
In an interview with Xbox World 360 magazine (as reported by OXM UK), the producer of 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand, Julian Waddows, stated that he hopes Fiddy's new game will do for shooters what Burnout did for the racing genre. He adds further that he wants the game to do, "What Diablo did for RPGs. We wanted to take all that makes the genre fun and exaggerate it." An over-the-top, exaggerated shooter? Oh no, that's never been done before. Seriously though, we kid Blood on the Sand. After all, we certainly wouldn't wish any game to be bad. In theory, there's nothing wrong with Waddows hopes. We just hope that his hopes come to fruition. Otherwise, we'll probably just lose hope altogether.
Editor's note: Since we're on the subject, let's get someone started on porting Diablo II to XBLA, mkay?
Posted Apr 23rd 2008 5:30PM by Dustin Burg
Filed under: News
Team Criterion is taking a page out of PGR4's book with the announcement that they'll be introducing motorcycles to the Burnout Paradise mix. Just revealed as part of Paradise's August Davis update (which will release after the Bogart and Cagney updates, of course) are motorcycles which will get their own set of challenges, game modes and even some new locations. Joining the introduction of motorcycles, the Davis update will also add the ability to roam the streets at night to let players experience all the night time visual goodness Paradise City has to offer. Come August, motorcycles and darkness get added to Burnout Paradise ... w00tacular!
Posted Apr 16th 2008 11:00AM by Dustin Burg
Filed under: News
Over on Criterion Games' official website, they posted details about some new game modes that are headed to Burnout Paradise in the near future as part of the game's Cagney update which shouldn't be confused with next week's Bogart update. The three new Freeburn game modes showcased (other new additions will be announced in the future) are Online Stunt Run, Online Road Rage and Online Marked Man. We conveniently posted a description of each Freeburn game mode after the break for your reading enjoyment, but we must say that Online Road Road seems like a crash fest of fun where teamwork is rewarded by seeing chunks of car peel from your opponents' car body as if they were part of an orange rind. Criterion promises more Cagney update info and new Freeburn race modes sometime soon'ish.
The devs over at Criterion must be happy, their game was received well, their upcoming DLC is looking good and Burnout Paradise, their newest game, has sold over a million units. Now whether you liked the gameplay changes that were introduced or not, this is definitely good news. Selling a million copies in the gaming world almost guarantees a sequel, and this should give Criterion the chance to smooth over any bumps in their game formula. And, not only did Burnout Paradise sell a million units, but those sales pushed the total for the entire Burnout series to over 15 million pieces of software sold. Congrats Criterion, keep up the good work!
It has been some time since we got anything out of Criterion about their DLC. The last big news was that some the islands available for download would be free, with no mention of what the islands would be like or what would happen on them. Well since the opening of their dev blog was designed to rectify situations like this, the team posted two new videos giving a brief glimpse of the island and the ride there.
From the only released image we can tell that Criterion is going for a slick vacation feel and the first video is an eye in the sky view that gives us an idea of the size that Criterion has in mind (big!). The second video is a bit longer than the first and showcases the Dust Storm's journey into and around the city, giving us an on-the-ground feel for the size (again, big!).
Posted Mar 14th 2008 11:30AM by Dustin Burg
Filed under: News
Fantastic news for Burnout Paradise fans who were looking forward to the upcoming "Islands" downloadable content. We just learned that the content is going to be offered for free! Criterion's own Alex Ward jumped onto their official forums to confirm that the upcoming Island DLC will be a free download and will add new locations as well as new vehicles to the mix. But don't get used to receiving free Burnout Paradise DLC, as Ward make it clear that other DLC releases in the future will be paid content. No worries now though, because we have free DLC headed our way, new vehicles to crash and new bridges to burn.
Yesterday, Criterion informed (and teased) everyone about upcoming Burnout Paradise downloadable content and finally revealed how exactly they will incorporate DLC without dividing the community. The short answer. Bridges.
Criterion's Alex Ward hopped on the forums to tell everyone that all upcoming Paradise DLC will be bridges that lead off of Paradise City into new DLC worlds and experiences. This of course is a great way to not divide the community, because anyone who doesn't have the DLC simply cannot cross the bridge and instead will remain in Paradise City. Genius! Criterion also dangled a carrot in front of our noses by giving us a video (embedded above) of a new vehicle, The Dust Storm, that'll be included in the next DLC batch. Yummy!
Posted Mar 5th 2008 11:00AM by Dustin Burg
Filed under: News
Since Burnout Paradise released this past January, Criterion has been busy taking notes, getting feedback and listening to the Burnout community. Getting feedback all in an effort to make Paradise City more enjoyable via a title update.
The upcoming Burnout Paradise title update will tweak / fix numerous issues found in the land of Paradise City including surround sound fixes, gameplay enhancements, random hang up fixes and just general bug squashing. And after glancing over the list of changes, you'll be happy to know that there's a bunch of high profile problems that are being fixified. We don't have a specific release date for when the title update will go live, but the fellas at Criterion promise to keep us informed. Until then, head towards the break and take a gander through the complete list of Paradise changes that are coming to an Xbox 360 near you.
The results for last week's Burnout Paradise fanpoll are in, and we're actually a little surprised. For those that don't recall, we asked how gamers felt about the treatment of Crash Mode in Burnout Paradise. While previous iterations of Burnout had dedicated Crash Modes with pre-designed courses, Burnout Paradise introduces Showtime, which essentially allows players to turn any crash into an impromptu Crash Mode. So how did our readers feel about Showtime? Find out after the break.
Posted Feb 1st 2008 12:15PM by Dustin Burg
Filed under: News
Hearkening back to the days of Crackdown, it has recently come to our attention that Burnout Paradise requires a hard drive to experience online multiplayer. Yes sir, it does.
The reason for a HDD is because Paradise needs to do a bunch of environment caching and streaming to make the online experience as buttery smooth as possible. But before you jump on EA's back for hiding such an important detail, know that that they didn't. It actually says, clear as day on the back of the box, that online multiplayer requires a HDD. So, no fault to them. We just wish Microsoft would mandate a giant "HDD Required for (insert word here)" sticker on the front of the game box. Though, we're sure Microsoft wouldn't want that either. It wouldn't be feng shui. Then again, no sticker would fix the "problem" that Burnout Paradise online play requires a HDD. Sorry Xbox Arcade owners, we feel for you.
You know, in most cases -- most cases, mind you -- driving around like a maniac is a bad thing. It makes people angry, which in turn makes them drive more recklessly. Most importantly, it puts the life of the driver and the lives of those around that driver in danger. Burnout, however, is not most cases. In Burnout, you'd be crazy not to drive like a maniac. It's like some kind of road rage fantasy. Do whatever the hell you feel like. Drive on the wrong side of the road. Ignore that red light. Pass on the right. Yeah, we know it's naughty, but that's what makes it feel so good.
Oh, and just so you know, Burnout Paradise is the sole Xbox 360 release this week. Hope you enjoy it.
After supposedly being delayed only a few days, the latest update for Burnout Paradise has been delayed once again. The Cagney update, which contains three new game modes, 70 freeburn challenges some new cars and more, will still of course be totally free, but us 360 gamers are now going to have to wait until around the 24th of this month before we see it. Apparently the Microsoft QA team spotted a few bugs and it'll take a few more weeks to squash 'em. Hey, it's always better to nip these things in the bud before they become a larger problem.
The devs over at Criterion must be happy, their game was received well, their upcoming DLC is looking good and Burnout Paradise, their newest game, has sold over a million units. Now whether you liked the gameplay changes that were introduced or not, this is definitely good news. Selling a million copies in the gaming world almost guarantees a sequel, and this should give Criterion the chance to smooth over any bumps in their game formula. And, not only did Burnout Paradise sell a million units, but those sales pushed the total for the entire Burnout series to over 15 million pieces of software sold. Congrats Criterion, keep up the good work!
