The idea of the Burnout series has always appealed, even though I picked up Burnout 3 for the PlayStation 2 and quickly tired of it. Load times completely killed the momentum of that game. Still, the idea was appealing, and I've been following Criterion's work on Burnout Paradise. They've been releasing lots of free content. Many enthusiast press folk expressed love for the game. The price point was impressively low ($30). So today the PC demo dropped, and I jumped on it.
It's a mixed bag.
Pros:
- Very stable, even through multiple Alt-Tabbings
- 60FPS on high graphics settings
Cons:
- intrusive (and apparently broken) EA online sign in
- EA "download manager" installs itself to system tray
- unable to enable game pad for analog steering
- unable to even find list of controls in game
- large map that gets in the way when enemy cars are attacking from the right
- combination of interface elements make screen feel lopsided and cramped
- slow demo car that gives no impression of speed
For as long as the PC version has taken, and how polished the technical aspects of the engine seem to be, the lack of game pad support or even control setting menus is pretty baffling. And the default controls are pretty terrible. Steering with the arrows while holding down A to accelerate?
I'm used to using JoyToKey to compensate for the shortcomings of indie games, but I was expecting more from a game designed for game pads with over a year's time spent in porting.
And while it may just be the lack of analog control, I'm not sure I like the feel of Paradise's driving in the first place. When I start fighting with other cars for position, it feels like a completely different physics model takes over. It's jarring and I'm not getting enough feedback from it to know what I'm supposed to be doing to "win" those types of conflicts. Trying to do the classic PIT maneuver to no effect was very frustrating.
And is the fact that the EA sign in process doesn't seem to be working going to mean I can't play the game online at all? This was high on my list of prospective LAN party games to replace FlatOut (which I'd always thought of as a cheesy Burnout imitator :\ ).
A year's worth of anticipation, a company making a lot of good moves, and in fifteen minutes of play, I don't know if I want to bother touching the thing ever again. It just feels bad.
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