EA Announces Burnout Paradise For PS3, 360

Major publisher Electronic Arts has officially announced plans to release the next game in Criterion's collision-centric Burnout racing series with Burnout Paradise for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The game, which is again being developed by the EA-owned Criterion Games, will launch in winter 2007. As earlier confirmed by EA, this latest edition of the franchise will move from the series' traditional lineup of pre-formatted races, and instead adopt an open-ended 'sandbox' style game world offering players “an unprecedented level of crash deformation” where players can “do anything, anywhere, anytime.” The announcement further notes that players will “explore the city, discover events, and look for the best opportunities to crash, jump and pull signature takedowns.” Burnout Paradise follows the recently launched Burnout Dominator, released in March 2007 exclusively for the PlayStation 2 and PSP, as well as the current-gen debut of Burnout Revenge in late 2005 and Xbox 360 SKU debut in early 2006. “We have been working towards Burnout Paradise for quite some time. Next generation consoles have opened up a raft of new gameplay opportunities and the Criterion team has leapt at the chance to innovate and raise the bar to an all-new high,” commented Pete Hawley, the game's executive producer. He added: “There are going to be some big surprises and a lot of new features but the core of the game is still pure Burnout. Instant accessibility will be reinforced by innovative on-line capabilities which will see Burnout Paradise smash racing conventions.”