Burnout Paradise The Ultimate Box is an all-in-one package, full of carnage, twisted and swirled metal pieces – and lot’s of speed.
The Ultimate Box entails all the free content packs, and the party pack that you would have to pay for if you only have the original release.
I was a little surprised to see a complete re-release of this game from Criterion and EA for the two consoles, so it comes off as a money-grabbing attempt. It is a new release for PC.
Cheap alternative
It can not pay to sell the game if you already have it to get the new version, for that I would recommend buying the expansion pack, that is not free. Everything else was released for free from day one, including bikes, night driving etc. The original release and the ultimate box can use the saves from both versions.
Wheelies and high speed on two wheels. Ultimate Box contains the previous free expansion packs that you could download to the first version. I still prefer to be on four wheels, though I do enjoy being on two. Driving on the bikes in this game made me remember Hang-On that I used to play on Sega Master System long ago.
The graphics has of course improved a lot since then, and Burnout Paradise most definitely is between the top line-up of games when it comes to graphics. Paradise City is an experience in itself, the night time update just makes it even more immersive and varying.
The experience
Some of the bike races require either day or night, though the road rage mode isn’t particular making much sense when on two wheels and being the lighter vehicle on the road. Online isn’t much different from the singleplayer experience, you cruise the city with other players and you can start races in intersections.
Party Pack; pass the controller gameplay. You just need one controller for this mode and does not require being connected to the internet or more controllers or even profiles. No splitscreen either, you take turns, for up to 8 players.
From short and simple stunt jumps and time trials to the more challenging tasks like near passes which can be daunting since some cars swerve to avoid the insane jerk thats about to hit them. The party pack seems super fun if you have friends over – and this is also the expansion that costs money if you have the original release.
Amazing for new owners!
If you do not have the game at all, I can recommend going for the Ultimate Box version to get all the extra stuff and you don’t have to manually update the expansions. Do you have it already, buy the Party Pack via Xbox Marketplace or PSN Store. If you are not playing with friends locally, don’t buy it, it won’t add anything to the game beyond the pass-the-controller mode.
The upgrades is great and prolongs the game time and the craving to stay in Paradise City – I restarted my hunt for achievements in the game. To be honest, Criterion and EA could have added more achievements with the expansions (the playstation got added trophies and the whole lists have differences!)
The Ultimate Box ain’t that ultimative. It would have been more honest if the name had been “Complete Edition”, “Now with Party” or “Burnout Paradise Party”. All these expansions are great, but overrated for a re-release, especially since most DLC’s are free.
This edition is getting a big drop in the score on replay because nearly everything it includes beyond main game is free to download, thus making this edition kinda irrelevant.
