Burnout Bikes

  • By JusticeCovert, GameSpot
  • Posted Sep 18, 2008 2:26 am GMT

Downloadable content for console games has gotten out of hand. Not only are we increasingly being expected to pay for extras that seem like they should have been included in the box, but a lot of the extra content is being made available on the same day as the games arrive in stores. I have no idea...

Downloadable content for console games has gotten out of hand. Not only are we increasingly being expected to pay for extras that seem like they should have been included in the box, but a lot of the extra content is being made available on the same day as the games arrive in stores. I have no idea how much money these premium downloads make for the companies involved, but given that the trend doesn't appear to be going anywhere I'm assuming that enough of you are buying them to make it worth their while. I'm not here to write an editorial on which types of DLC I do or don't have a problem with, though, nor to chastise you for sending games companies the wrong message with your dollars. Nope, I'm here to ask a favor: Please, don't any of you tell anyone even remotely involved with UK-based developer Criterion about this premium DLC thing--those guys have been pumping out worthwhile updates for Burnout Paradise for months now, and they've never charged a penny for any of them.

Because the much-publicized "Bikes Pack" for Burnout Paradise is being given away for free this week, it's not something that we feel the need to review. It's a significant enough new feature for an old enough game, though, that we felt compelled to give you some kind of heads-up on it in case you either missed the game when it was released in January or have been looking for an excuse to get back into it. For what it's worth, I fall into the latter camp. So, I've spent a couple of days with a pre-release version of the update, and while it's not everything that I hoped it would be I've certainly had a lot of fun with it.

Bikes

The update adds four bikes to Burnout Paradise's sizeable collection of four-wheelers, though only two of them are available from the outset. I managed to unlock a third by completing 50 percent of the update's new content, but the fourth is still eluding me as I write this with a completion percentage of 78. Bike-specific content in the update includes 128 Road Rule events and 38 Burning Rides, both divided equally between daytime and (the all-new) nighttime. There are also 70 new Freeburn Challenges to complete online with friends, and stat-tracking for your longest wheelie and longest jump on a bike.

Climbing onto a bike in Paradise City for the first time, you'll certainly be impressed by their speed and acceleration, even if you've spent time behind the wheel of the game's fastest cars. It won't take long for you to notice that the bikes don't support any kind of boost mechanic, though, so while near misses and the like are still dutifully noted on-screen, there's really no reason to try for them. The first time you crash you'll also notice that the glorious vehicular deformation and destruction upon which the Burnout series was practically built is nowhere to be seen when you're on a bike. Most of the time when you crash you'll just instantly reappear on the road as if nothing happened, and on the rare occasions when you get to watch the collision play out the rider vanishes without a trace at the point of impact and the bike gets thrown around without ever taking any significant visible damage. Neither of those things would even be worth mentioning, except that, you know, this is Burnout!

More Bikes

You also can't destroy billboards or smash through shortcut barriers when you're on a bike, because there aren't any. Enough with all of the negativity, though. You can still perform super jumps, you get a second license to take goofy photos for, and crucially, racing from one side of the city to the other on a bike is a very different challenge on two wheels than it is on four. Traffic is generally much easier to avoid, for example, but cornering at speed can be difficult if you don't take something resembling a good racing line. When all's said and done, the Bikes Pack plays more like a conventional racing game than Burnout Paradise normally does. That's no bad thing if you're in the market for a super-fast arcade bike racer that costs absolutely nothing (who isn't?), but it's not quite the "Burnout on bikes" that I was expecting.

34 Comments

  • pixellence

    Posted Dec 23, 2008 2:28 am GMT

    The fact is I bought the game without knowing the bike expansion even existed. And I loved the game and agreed with its 9/10 ratings - the bike expansion was just an added extra to an already fantastic experience. No complaints here :-)

  • dieselboy094

    Posted Nov 24, 2008 5:06 pm GMT

    I believe that when they added thu Bikes add-on to the world it was a good idea. Mainly because it gives the game a new touch to the already wonderful Bornout world. I find that the only bad thing about it is that you can't race AI opponents offline. Other than that, it was a great idea for Criterion to produce the expansion.

  • Blind0bj3ct

    Posted Nov 13, 2008 8:15 pm GMT

    I agree with frogiggy323. Maybe they have something under works for bikes, and what we got is a "small demo" of a new game coming out whenever. Hey, I'd buy a "Burnout Bikes" games. Of course, they'd add sweet slow motion+rag-doll physics+bike being destroyed to pieces and it would all come down to being simply awesome.

  • Speuj

    Posted Nov 10, 2008 11:32 am GMT

    Am I the only one that thinks the total lack of Bike crash animations to be REALLY weak on Criterion's part?

  • chimairawr

    Posted Oct 27, 2008 9:17 am GMT

    To anyone who feels compelled to complain about advertisements in games:

    These sorts of updates are free because of adverts. The ad revenue is what allows Criterion to make its updates free. So either support free updates and put up with ads, or be prepared to pay for any DLC as the result of an ad-free environment.

  • ZachBobBob

    Posted Oct 3, 2008 2:37 pm GMT

    BURNOUT and bikes arn't a very good match!lolollololololol!

  • tudyniuz

    Posted Oct 3, 2008 1:01 pm GMT

    I don't like bikes so I won't be getting this game

  • Dreamerdude26

    Posted Sep 30, 2008 11:18 pm GMT

    I love this update, been playing it a lot since it released. You didn't say anything about the weather effects though which change the whole experience and make it feel like a whole new game. You can even set the time so it's the same time as in your area so if you play in the morning, it'll be morning on the game and so on. They said they may even make it rain in the future but for now it's more of just a visual thing, like fog and an overcast sky. It all looks very impressive though and I wish that other companies would take something away from this type of dlc. you an tell that they truly love their game and want to continue making it the best game they can.

  • acerazer

    Posted Sep 29, 2008 7:40 pm GMT

    Yes, single layer is 25 GB, dual layer is 50 GB.
    We've come a long way since the 700 MB CD on PS1, haha.

  • TeabagChampion

    Posted Sep 28, 2008 11:23 am GMT

    I think that its a pretty clever way for the game manufactures to make a little bit more money by putting the titles out on the market for the consumers (add-ons). I mean, lets look at it this way; can't they fit all of these add-ons to the game while it was being developed? So now your not just paying $59.99 for a game (not to mention tax), but you are also spending an extra $5-$15 dollars for an expansion pack (like in Metal Gear Online from MGS4). And I know that I'm beating around the bush here, but didn't they also say that PS3 games holds more information than both the Nintendo Wii and the XBox 360? So (like Bioshock) why dont they put all of these updates on a game or make the game bigger and better? I don't want to spend more than what I have to.

  • acerazer

    Posted Sep 26, 2008 9:44 am GMT

    Why would you want to remove the update, so you can play on only sunny days again?

  • Julie2724

    Posted Sep 24, 2008 2:36 pm GMT

    I downloaded the latest version too. I have been playing it for almost a week now. I have one question for you guys. When you download a version as this one, how can you remove it? Can it be removed at all? I have looked all over the place to find a way to remove it, and I can't. I read in the blog a fiew days ago that you could remove the update. I believe the upgrade name is davis/davies??? Does anyone have any instructions for me?
    Thanks!

  • GredegHeado-san

    Posted Sep 24, 2008 9:19 am GMT

    I just got a PS3 and Burnout Paradise is my only purchase so far, to support the free content they're sending out. Great game overall, and as a newb to Paradise I can say they integrated the new stuff pretty seamlessly for first-time players.

  • hart704

    Posted Sep 23, 2008 12:55 pm GMT

    The bikes are definitely fun. I'm 101% finished with the new license.

  • frogiggy323

    Posted Sep 23, 2008 11:03 am GMT

    I think the DLC in Burnout is more of a test run to see if they want to use it in future games. So granted it doesn't have bike crashes (which any Burnout fan dreamed of) its awesome that a company is extending the experience for free.

  • guy_cocker GameSpot staff member

    Posted Sep 22, 2008 9:30 am GMT

    I too am loving the bikes. If anything, there's too much to do in Burnout Paradise -- I've already played the game for many, many hours, and there's no end in sight in terms of races and challenges. Still, it's one hell of a jam-packed game.

  • TheRooskie

    Posted Sep 21, 2008 12:56 pm GMT

    This blog makes a very good point about console's in general. Sony and Microsoft really take advantage of customers, especially Microsoft! What are we paying for??? I'm not going at argue that 50 dollars a year is too much, but what is it really for? Do we really need to be paying for content that "should have come in the box."

    Call of Duty 4 had a map pack, and guess what, it was completely free on the PC! Someone needs to slow down and take the time to explain this or at least explain why older content isn't discounted.

  • NightFadez

    Posted Sep 21, 2008 11:22 am GMT

    I paid money for the game. Now I'm enjoying the fact I actually did,instead of other crap by Electronic Arts.

  • blackrivergod

    Posted Sep 20, 2008 6:23 am GMT

    Having been the victim of a near fatal urban bike crash the last thing I would like to see in a game is the rider breaking all of his arms and legs as he smashes into street furniture at 180mph. I think the devs had the same idea As for bike damage its not like a car where a few dented panels don't affect the ability to drive, any damage on a bike means its usually screwed. I still can't wait for this and best of all its free.

  • fenwickhotmail posted Sep 19, 2008 11:57 am GMT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    fenwickhotmail

    Posted Sep 19, 2008 11:57 am GMT (hide)

    Its pointless, doesnt add anything.

  • sieg6529

    Posted Sep 19, 2008 9:34 am GMT

    Or you could just invest in a solid gaming PC and get user-created DLC for free...

  • jakesp

    Posted Sep 19, 2008 1:13 am GMT

    The only issue I have with this DLC is that night time isnt the best thing on a bike but at least the NPC cars finally have a reason to have their headlights on

  • Adam_the_Nerd

    Posted Sep 18, 2008 10:29 pm GMT

    DLC that is FREE, that rhymes and it's good for everybody! that also rhymed

  • SolidSnake35

    Posted Sep 18, 2008 5:55 pm GMT

    That's really good of them to make it free of charge. I reckon I'll get back into some Burnout then. >.>

  • ivanfred

    Posted Sep 18, 2008 3:04 pm GMT

    jets78: i still think burnout 3 was the best in the series =================================
    Burnout Revenge is the best.

  • GreaterthanG0d posted Sep 18, 2008 11:35 am GMT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    GreaterthanG0d

    Posted Sep 18, 2008 11:35 am GMT (hide)

    Screw burnout, GIEF WARHAMMER

  • jets78

    Posted Sep 18, 2008 11:18 am GMT

    i still think burnout 3 was the best in the series

  • Lansdowne5

    Posted Sep 18, 2008 8:22 am GMT

    I downloaded the Bikes Pack earlier today. Apart from the not being able to crash through billboards and no fantastic crash sequences, it's all good. The feeling of speed you get when riding one of these beasts is awesome. The day and night time thing is pretty cool but it's quite difficult to see at night until you get used to it. Overall, completely putting aside the fact that this is a FREE download, this is excellent.

  • Phreezuk

    Posted Sep 18, 2008 4:37 am GMT

    Yep, it's now available on XBL

  • edubuccaneer Site moderator

    Posted Sep 18, 2008 4:28 am GMT

    I hope this comes out for the 360 along with the PS3's release!

  • stuarthanley

    Posted Sep 18, 2008 3:29 am GMT

    Criterion announced ages ago that once you crash, you will get straight back on the bike. They justified this by saying that, as bikes are generally easier to crash, you would get sick of seeing the crash animation over and over. What were you expecting from "Burnout On Bikes"? Slam a motorbike into a building/car/bus/crash barrier and get away with a little bit of crash damage? Don't you think that would be too ridiculous? I personally think the bikes are awesome.

  • Gribb85

    Posted Sep 18, 2008 12:31 am GMT

    Any news on the weather and day night cycle as well?

  • glennwinton

    Posted Sep 17, 2008 11:41 pm GMT

    well, at least it's free, and maybe they will update it again to make the bike feature better

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