One of the first racing experiences I had on the PC was in the Need for Speed franchise. While NFS is still going strong, the franchise has struggled with its identity a bit in recent years and has been eclipsed on the consoles by EA’s Burnout – a much more visceral and compelling racing game. But Burnout was not available on the PC … well, until now.

Burnout Paradise The Ultimate Box is the same game that released last year on the 360 and PS3 consoles, but reconfigured for the PC. The Ultimate Box means you get the original Paradise game, plus the downloadable content that was released for the console title (DLC for short), as well as the new Party offline multiplayer, which allows players to participate in three race types (Skill, Stunt, and Speed) off one machine in a turn-based format.

Before delving into the nuances of what Paradise brings to the PC, it needs to be mentioned that the PC disk received was not the retail version being sent to stores. It was early code that did not connect to servers to test out multiplayer capabilities. The game would fail to recognize established EA accounts and even, at one point, stated the player trying to access online areas was too young to play online. Thanks for the compliment, but I passed “too young” a while ago … well, physically.

Also, the default control settings are built for the keyboard. If you don’t already, get a gamepad; you will be much happier with the results. The keyboard is very stiff and very touchy. It’s easy to tap an arrow key and wind up oversteering. A nice little Logitech gamepad was used and not only did the game immediately recognize it without having to struggle through the options to try to find the controller setup, but proved also to be somewhat intuitive in the default layout (no manual, so the controls were all ‘guess and by golly, that works!’).

Generally the interface was cumbersome to work through in the disk received. It took several minutes to find the area where the ‘save game’ button was. This portion was not optimized for release and will hopefully be addressed in the retail version.

Ok, got all that?

On to what Burnout Paradise The Ultimate Box offers for the PC. You get the core game, and the Cagney and Bike DLC, plus the Party Pack DLC. You get an open-world game that allows you to stop at any stoplight, spin your wheels and hope into a race. The races come in a variety of flavors. There is the time trial (just beat the time to the finish line), a race in which you have opponents and you have to find and cross the finish line to win it; and a race in which you have to crash a certain number of opponents within the time limit. In addition, should you see an opponent roaming the streets (they are the ones exceeding the speed limit and driving as erratically as you), if you crash them, you get their vehicle.

The general goal is to increase your standing by winning races. You start with a learner’s permit and elevate up the ranks in terms of the ‘class’ of license you are given. Win ‘x’ amount of races will give you a new class and unlock new cars. All the cars available to you are held at the junk yard – it’s like your garage. To fix up a car, drive through an auto repair station. To repower the boost meter, drive through a gas station. Really, the game is not that complex.

But what it does lack in complexity, it makes up for in challenge. As you increase your game ranking, the races become tougher to win. But racing is not the only mark you can leave on this city. It is a veritable potpourri of Easter eggs – ramps to jump and billboards to crash through. The game charts everything you do, and records it for posterity and your own personal bests.

Aurally, the game rips through a 5.1 speaker setup with solid sounds and music that spans the older rock to more modern upbeat tunes. You have the Guns ‘n Roses theme, Paradise City, and even some Avril Lavigne (Girlfriend), just to mention a few of the tracks that jump out initially. It’s a solid lineup of tunes and one of the better compilations to hit an EA title in some time.

The game is visually compelling with great car models and solid environments. The crashes will not fail to impress. There is the slow-motion filter applied to each crash so you can see the destruction in agonizing detail. The camera will even swing around to give you various views.

The Burnout franchise has finally come to the PC and in spectacular fashion. This is a great title. If you own a console version, there is no need to get this one – it’s the same material. However, if you are a PC gamer and have been waiting for a solid racing game to come to the platform, it has arrived.

Gameplay: 8.7
The menu interface is a bit of a mess, and there are some load times, but in the area that truly counts – the racing – the game is a treat.  

Graphics: 9.4
From the slow-motion crashes to the environmental details, lighting and textures, this is a visually appealing game.

Sound: 9.0
The typical racing sounds you would expect coupled with a very good musical soundtrack.  

Difficulty: Medium

Concept: 8.8
This is the same package released to consoles, so in that regard, it’s not entirely new. However, this is the first time the series has released on the PC and in that regard, this is a very good thing.

Multiplayer: NA
While the game should have a robust online component, the opportunity to test it was not available.

Overall: 9.0
The interface needs to be reworked from the version received, but when it comes to the gameplay, this is a stand-out title.