Burnout Paradise

Burnout Paradise took the tried-and-tested arcade series about speed and crashes and transplanted it into an open city where you never stop in a menu. Paradise City is one continuous stretch of map with highways, a harbor, mountain switchbacks, and construction sites, and a race simply starts by hitting the gas and brake at an intersection at the same time. The game tells you the destination and you have to find your own way there, which turns every race into a test of how well you know the city. Alongside this come other event types: takedown races where you have to wreck opponents, escapes from pursuers, stunt runs for points, and the famous mode where you deliberately crash and try to cause the greatest possible damage.

The driving model is purely arcade but exceptionally well tuned. Reckless driving against traffic, long drifts, and near misses fill up the boost meter, so the game directly pushes the player to drive irresponsibly. Crashes are a spectacle of their own: the camera slows down, sheet metal crumples, and the car tumbles among other vehicles. Victory rewards include new cars that appear on the streets and have to be chased down and wrecked to be unlocked. There's also a genuinely generous online component where you can just roam around one shared world and complete challenges together.

Technically it was one of the most impressive achievements of its time on Xbox 360, since the city runs smoothly and without visible loading even at extreme speeds. Criterion also kept expanding the game for a long time after release with free updates that added motorcycles, day-night cycles, and an entire new island. The atmosphere is carried by laid-back rock and alternative music and an iconic title track that every player instantly associates with this city. Reception was very positive, though some fans regretted the classic menu with a one-button race start. Today Burnout Paradise remains one of the most fun arcade rides there is.