Following months of swirling rumors, EA has officially announced Burnout Paradise Remastered. The remaster will launch soon, too — on March 16 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
Developed by Criterion Games, Burnout Paradise originally launched on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2008. While the game kept the high-speed, crash-fueled mechanics of its predecessors, Paradise took series to the open world.
Burnout Paradise Remastered includes the base game and seven add-on packs that released post-launch in 2009:
- Cops and Robbers: Online game mode, redesigned police-themed cars
- Burnout Bikes: Roughly 10 hours of additional content and four bikes
- Burnout Paradise Party: Introduces group party play with controller passing mechanic
- Burnout Paradise Toys: Turns 10 vehicles into toy versions
- Legendary Cars: Four new cars
- Boost Specials: Two special boost-equipped vehicles
- Cagney: Two vehicles and new finishes, new game modes
Additionally, the remastered edition comes with the Big Surf Island expansion, which added a new area to explore, fresh challenges, events, and nine vehicles. All told the included DLC brings roughly 100 additional vehicles, 10 tracks, and a slew of additional challenges to partake in across the open world.
EA said that the game has received a slew of technical enhancements to improve performance and visuals on Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Xbox One X and PS4 Pro users can play in 4K at 60 frames per second.
Like the original game, Paradise Remastered will support four player online and offline multiplayer, including both cooperative and competitive play.
Although the Burnout series received critical acclaim in its heyday, it has been noticeably absent in this generation of console gaming. Paradise has remained the last mainline entry in the franchise. A minimalistic Burnout experience titled Burnout Crash! launched as a downloadable title in 2011, but it was viewed from an aerial perspective and played more like a minigame.
In terms of arcade racers, the Burnout series is one of a kind thanks to its awesome crash physics and emphasis on taking other drivers off the road by any means necessary. While Criterion Games most recently offered development support for Star Wars Battlefront II, perhaps the remaster will convince EA to authorize a new Burnout game.
For now, we’ll happily take a remaster of one of the best arcade racing games of its era. Burnout Paradise Remastered launches March 16 on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. A PC version will launch via Origin later this year.
