Criterion’s excellent post-release support for Burnout Paradise is one of the more promising examples of how to use the new technology that this generation has brought to the table. They’ve delivered free and frequent updates to the open-world racer while other titles get treated to overpriced and underwhelming amounts of content, if any. After the news that Criterion are working on the next Need For Speed combined with the fact that there aren’t any further updates planned, you have to believe that Big Surf Island is the culmination of eighteen months work.
Big Surf Island is the highly anticipated major expansion for the racer because it adds an all new island to explore. Veterans of the game will relish the chance to jump around some new scenery and boy, will you jump around. The crew down at Criterion have clearly watched how people explored Paradise City and have built Big Surf with a plethora of jumps and shortcuts in mind. The fifteen new Mega Jumps that are strewn around the island are unlike anything you’ve ever flown over previously in Burnout. Not only that but they are quite challenging to land which only adds to that satisfying crash of your vehicle landing upright after a jump.
While in visiting Big Surf Island you can compete in fifteen events but don’t expect anything too shocking. No new events are to be found other than the ‘Island Tour’ events but these are just checkpoint races. These do however showcase hidden parts of the island rather well, especially when you are stepping foot wheel onto Big Surf for the first time. Meanwhile a meagre pittance of ten online challenges are the only multiplayer components to the Island. Maybe I’m being too greedy but compared to the hundreds of core Freeburn Challenges we were treated to, ten just doesn’t seem like enough.
You might also feel short changed if you happened to purchase the movie inspired garage of cars that came out last year. As tempted as I was to drop some points on the Delorean Jansen 88, I didn’t and now I feel much better for not doing so. This is because all of them are unlockable by completing the various challenges on Big Surf Island if albeit in a slightly miniature form. Nevertheless the Toy Jansen 88 still hovers and has the trails while you boost just like the larger big brother, so the only real appeal of that pack is still replicated.
For a thousand points, Big Surf Island is a great pack of content to fit alongside the core game. The change of scenery is worthwhile alone and that’s not even considering the mammoth amount of gates, jumps and events to explore and unlock. You might be done with a majority of the content on Big Surf after about four to six hours but with the structure of the island you won’t feel disappointed with this complementary expansion of an already great game.
Leave a Reply