EA's tainted fingerprints are all over this game
I'll begin by getting the good out of the way. The driving is fast and exhilirating, Paradise City itself is simple gorgeous and burnout fans will love it, while Average Joe will be entertained.
My problem is the air of falseness hanging over this title like a choking smog. The constant " If only you had an Xbox 360 Camera(tm) then this would be so much better" and "Playing online and gaining rivals is really awesome, try it out now" make this game much damper than it should be.
The n00b friendly tutorials wind me up, as do watching the same, unskippable animations when I pick a car or finish an event. But worst of all is DJ Atomika. EAs attempt to communicate with the kids using a cheesy voice failed, his constant gibbering driving me to the point of insanity. His obnoxious jives when you lose anything and spoon feeding every drop of non-sequential info is so irritating I have knocked a star of just for that.
The other star has been dropped for some shoddy gameplay. Paradise City is really just urban and rural, I'd have liked more variety, even Cars managed that. And I feel the whole town would have more personality with an active day system and history. The only character is DJ f***ing Atomika, and the only reference to the town is a reference to the cheap mayor not repairing potholes. It should have been more like GTA, with pedestrians, radios and self humour. How about explaining why half the town is private property on top of a train station and why ramps are everywhere. Why not have traffic updates when I showtime myself $1.5 millions worth of destruction.
They could have thrown in more game-types while they're at. The handful all take place on just about the same roads, finishing all events is an exercise in mindless repetition.
Paradise is a great game and has all the material for a generous 4.5, but shoving stuff down my throat and oh-so-annoying faults smear this game all over.
