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Burnout Paradise: Open World, Dammit
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One Game Feature by MAtt Dujnic, 1/29/08
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The first things that you notice when you play Burnout:Paradise are the breakneck speeds, the crash physics, and DJ Atomica. The first two things are awesome, in that they literally inspire awe - a feeling I can only get from Burnout nowadays, the racing genre being as cut-and-dried as it is. The third thing, mister DJ, is... interesting. He cheerfully introduces you to the Criterion's stubborn artistic vision for this fifth iteration of the series. That vision (more like a crusade), reads like this: “Paradise City is an open world, and you will enjoy it as an open world, in the way that we see fit. Dammit.”
You, in your car, are cut loose in 250 virtual miles of gorgeous open roadway, chockablock with jumps and shortcuts. Make no mistake: that is a very, very good thing. But on top of that, there an artistic agenda being hammered home. No doubt, an agenda that was considered next-gen.
That is: you can drive anywhere, but you must drive. Races and events are scattered all over the map, so just go pick one. That is, pick one by driving to it. It's a driving game, so drive. Menu? You want a menu of all available races? You can't drive a menu, you drive a road. Go out there and drive to the race.
Oh, you've finished a race. Did you win? No? Drive back and try again. A retry option? You want to warp back to the beginning of the race? That sounds suspiciously like something you'd find in a menu! Menus aren't driving! Warping isn't driving! This is a driving game!
I can imagine the arguments that went on in Criterion's design offices. The “old guard” demanded convenient menus, but the “new order” preached about how next-gen games have to toss out old crutches and redefine the play experience. No more retrying races. No more obsessing over one event. If you lose, just try something different. If you win, kudos! If you don't want to compete at all, that's fine too! But drive, drive, drive. All that you need is there on the road!
But that's not ultimately true. When it comes down to it, there are menus in the game. All of those tawdry necessities like music volume, credits, and save/load are still located on the pause menu. Criterion, if you are going to go on your little crusade, you really must follow through. So then, why am I not forced to drive through my junkyards to save? Why am I not watching the game credits at a drive-in movie? Why aren't the volume sliders... I don't know, conveyor belts that I have to manipulate with my tires?
'Ah,' you say, 'but none of those bits are racing elements; MAtt is just being a grump.' Well, okay. I'll give you a menu that does relate to racing: Hop online (through a convenient online menu) and race with your friends. How does a race begin? Do you all have to find each other an pull up at a stoplight? No. The host calls up a menu, picks a race, and all other players are warped to the starting gate.
I appreciate what the team was trying to do, but there is clear hypocrisy in the Burnout: Paradise religion. Perhaps the old guard did win a few arguments, which is why we are allowed to adjust our volume in a menu, and not on a damn conveyor belt. I think we have to be thankful that the crusade only went so far; it's a pity that cooler heads didn't prevail enough to disband it altogether. Menus. Menus are convenient. I'd hate to think of convenience as a last-generation feature.
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'Open World, Dammit'
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#&rendershop#
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