Burnout Paradise Is Getting Remastered, And It's A Thing Of Beauty

[thunderball]

It's been a while since Burnout Paradise held the crown for the best racing game on the block but, come March 16, the king returns to reclaim the throne. Get ready for Burnout Paradise Remastered.

Much like a new rival making a challenge within the game itself, Burnout Paradise Remaster pretty much came out of nowhere to take everyone by surprise today. EA kept this one pretty quiet throughout development, with today's official reveal trailer launching just a couple of weeks before the game itself.

 

The best thing about a stealth launch like this is that we aren't left thinking, "Boy, I can't wait to play this in six months." Instead, anyone looking forward to getting behind the wheel all over again will be able to do so on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One come March 16.

For those who missed out on Burnout Paradise last generation, it's held by many (including yours truly) to be one of the best racing games to ever hit the virtual speedways. The game is set in the fictional Paradise City, boasting crowded city streets, beachfront thoroughfares, winding mountain paths and enough secret locations, hidden items and unlockables to keep the pedal to the metal for an obscene number of hours.

Most intersections on the open map are used to serve as event starts, allowing the player to pick and choose what kind of activity they want to take part in simply by driving up and revving their engine. You can play with friends, solo or with a group of randos, with races and challenges popping up on the fly.

Based on an announcement from EA, all of those features will return in the remastered version of Burnout Paradise, including the "mugshot" feature that takes a quick photo of any opponents you manage to ram off of the course. Even better, all of the game's DLC will be included in the initial package, with the whole shebang going for $39.99. You'll be able to pick up Burnout Paradise Remastered either physical or digital, including the core game along with Big Surf Island, the Party Pack, Burnout Bikes, Boost Special, Legendary Cars, the Cagney Update, Toys and the Cops and Robbers Pack. That's a heck of a lot of racing goodness all in one bundle.

Unlike Shadow of the Colossus, however, this won't be a from the ground up remake of Burnout Paradise. The game has received visual and audio boosts, though, and the original soundtrack is actually intact. Also, we're talking 4K at 60fps on the PlayStation 4 Pro and Xbox One X.

If all of that seems like a joyride worth taking, then mark your calendar for March 16 and get ready to return to the streets of Paradise City.