Well I think it might well be! Having spent a few hours with this Criterion title on my XBox 360 I can safely say that apart from it being a thoroughly enjoyable racing game, the 3D urban model its based on takes some beating in quality terms. Burnout Paradise's fundamental change compared to older titles is that instead connecting from event to event automatically like in the past, players can explore the whole Burnout Paradise (the name of the virtual city!) world without waiting for new levels. While Burnout does come across as a sandbox, i.e. I spent much of my time exploring the streets and jumping off ramps, oblivious to any premeditated game goals, the openess offered also gives you the chance to freely explore a full-blown 3D virtual city of the highest order.
According to the creators of the game, while they didn't have a specific square area, but they estimated Paradise City to be about 15-to-17 older Burnout tracks merged together. Mountain passes and rural areas are mostly outside of town. However when back to the city, the urban landscape loos like a single dense spot, just like a real metropolis from a distance! Still, when downtown, you are surrounded by detailed buildings, completely obstructed from the previous vantage point. In short the game architecture looks great!
Criterion mentions they copied real buildings and facades from research trips around the world. One of the reference cities, Chicago, was clearly represented with the downtown river, bridges, and brick-and-iron designs. Anyway, you can feast on your eyes on the pics above and you'd also be well advised to check the game out yourselves for what is surely point-of-reference, absolute cutting-edge architectural real-time modelling in 2008!
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