The Second Impression

I am glad I went against my first impressions when it came to the new Burnout game. I had played the demo, and was quite unimpressed. There wasn't much road to roam or things to do in the truncated piece of the city they provided. I was thinking about actually not buying the game, a first since I got my first taste with Burnout 3. But I went ahead and picked it up, and I am not disappointed so far.

Yes, there are a lot of things taken out of the game, when compared to the previous entry, Burnout Revenge. I miss the revenge rivals, and the aftertouch, and the crash mode, and especially the local multiplayer. And I still am a bit put off about the more realistic physics.... the cars actually feel weightier and you don't pinball the cars around like before. It does lose a bit of what made Burnout unique, and there are already plenty of Racing sims.

But Burnout Paradise offers enjoyment by allowing you to drive at very high speed around all over the city, free from any forced objective. Couple that with the lack of loading times, and it's fantastic driving mayhem.

I am only an hour into the game, and have attempted very few actual events so far, so my thoughts on the game haven't been finalized, of course. I'll see how long the new things will keep me from missing the changes they have made. Or how long I can stand the radio DJ announcer. (He was fine on SSX3, when he'd mention your character by name and talk about how you're doing... but here he gets on my nerves. Perhaps because he keeps popping in with new tips. Grr.)

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Side Note:
Why have games abandoned true custom soundtracks? I have a hard drive full of songs I'd like to hear while playing the game, not whatever random rock anthems they want me to be impressed by their acquisition of. Sure, I can shut off their songs and play mine through the 360's music player, but then they play over potentially important tips and cutscenes. The old Tony Hawk and Burnout games would incorporate my songs... why not anymore? Now all I have working for me is DOA Xtreme 2.
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But this whole episode with the off-putting demo makes me wonder if demos really help sell games? I suppose if they include an entire unabridged level or more, they would give a full sense of the game. But the ones I've played were truncated or missing important sounds or such. I've never played a demo that sold me on a game. Most either persuaded me against it or just didn't affect me at all. They sure don't work with these open-world type games.