Burnout Paradise

» System: PS4 (tested), Xbox One » Buy it from: Retail, online » Buy it for: £34.99

We’ve really come to miss the Burnout series over its decade-long absence from our screens, and this brand-new remaster confirms that there’s more to that than rose-tinted memories. We’ve always loved how the series encouraged us to take insane risks at terrifying speeds, and narrowly pulling off a high speed stunt in a shower of sparks is no less exhilarating today.

Burnout Paradise adapted the series’ combat racing formula into an open world environment, and there’s still not much like it. It’s truly open – although races have fixed end points, how you reach them is up to you. The loose route guidance might not be to everyone’s tastes, but we feel that it really encourages you to explore the city, as following the other racers is fine but you can do far better finding your own route and smashing through a shortcut or two. Additionally, you’ll find the usual time trials and destruction derbies, and there are plenty of challenges to undertake while wandering the map – smashing billboards, destroying gates and performing dangerous jumps.

All of the original DLC from Burnout Paradise has been included in this release, and the visuals have been remastered. The work done here is subtle – while it definitely doesn’t look like a brand-new game for 2018, there are a number of improvements to textures, lighting and special effects. These are enough to ensure that the game always matches the original creative vision, event at true 1080p and above. The original game was already running at 60fps and that hasn’t changed here.

In leaving the core game alone and concentrating on a graphical overhaul, EA has preserved what made Burnout Paradise so good back in 2008, but it does feel like it could have used some modern quality of life enhancements such as fast travel. Previous players might feel that the mid-tier price point is a bit much with that in mind (especially Xbox One owners who can play the 360 version), but Burnout Paradise: Remastered still offers plenty of fun for that money. >> Score 86%

[PS4] Left: Hunting down bilboards it still as fun as ever. Especially since we’ve forgotten where they are. »[PS4] Below: Graphically and performance-wise the game has been touched up.