Burnout Paradise

I downloaded the Burnout Paradise demo (PS3 version) yesterday. I must say it looks great, and plays well. My only complaint of the demo is the introduction sequence cannot be skipped. Also, there are times when the game pauses, and the announcer guy gives you tips on what to do, and these cannot be skipped, either. So, anytime you want to play the demo, it's probably three minutes of crap before you can get to the actual game, with shorter one minute or less breaks every so often.

That part is highly annoying.

Other than that, I think the demo is fun. Though, I avoided doing any missions until my second time through, and when I tried them, I wish I kept skipping them. To me, it's too confusing to try and catch a turn when I'm supposed to, because the only indication I get is a flashing street sign on the top of the screen. By that time, I'm going so fast that I'm concentrating more on the road and less on indicators. If there was a giant arrow, I'd probably be able to follow it better. Or maybe a path drawn on the mini-map.

I'm not really able to play a game where I'm driving at high speeds, and have to make split-second decisions. One reason I don't like street racing games. Although Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit on the PS1 was excellent, and it had enough of a "street" feel for me.

But, I found myself having much more fun just crashing into stuff. Trying to roll my car into a "Drive away" crash, and also going as fast as possible and going head-on into a wall. The damage models are well done, and it looks impressive, and ultimately satisfying, to see my car (and others) be totally destroyed.

So, basically I had more fun driving around like a lunatic than I did actually doing any missions. I think this is what Burnout is supposed to be, anyway. Just a giant city filled with potential destruction and insanity. Just forget the races and all that junk, and go destroy things. It's good, old fashioned, mindless fun.