Criterion: Burnout Paradise to have no loading screens or menus, impossible on Wii

Hankering for more information about Criterion’s upcoming sequel to the Burnout series, Burnout Paradise for the PS3 and Xbox 360? Game producer Nick Channon has your fix, and it seems that in the next-gen sequel of everyone’s favorite high-octane racing title is going to be completely different beast altogether. Check out the entire scoop in the full article.

Accurate-to-the-tiniest-adjustment car driving simulations are all fun and good, but when you simply want to have that sensation of speed (as well as see the ridiculously visceral and awesome results that follow when something smashes into something), then there’s no better title to accommodate our brutish, primitive instincts than the Burnout series. And in this update, we get a closer look at Criterion’s Burnout Paradise for the Microsoft Xbox 360 and Sony PlayStation 3, with game producer Nick Channon in the hot seat.

In the interview, we learn from Nick that the development team has in fact been at the drawing board with Burnout Paradise for almost two years. This is because they started from scratch. They didn’t just take the code from Burnout Revenge and spiffy it up to be able to call it next-gen. Instead, they threw everything away and began anew. This in itself is already exciting, as not only will old hands and newbies be starting at the same level, but it’s a completely different playing field altogether.

Another thing we learn about Burnout Paradise is how it’s reaching out to the oft-ignored demographic, which is the population not really into games. While the game itself is no picnic in terms of difficulty, it eases the transition somewhat with the lack of menus.

That’s right: gone are the many menus you’ll have to click through just to get into a race. The entire game world of Burnout Paradise is the menu and getting to events simply requires you to drive up to it. This also lets you get a feel for the vehicle first, driving around the overworld, before taking on a challenge.

There are a lot more details revealed about the game itself, but one revealed piece of information stands out: as Burnout Paradise stands on the Sony PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Xbox 360, it’s impossible for Criterion to port it over to the Nintendo Wii. The part of the interview that says this, verbatim:

All I’m saying is we couldn’t put Burnout Paradise as it stands on PS3 and 360 onto those platforms.

Bit sad for Wii owners looking for Burnout joy on their console. But still, they haven’t ruled out anything yet, so here’s hoping for a port sometime in the future. Updates as we get them, and you can check out the full interview by clicking on the via link below.

Buy: [ Burnout Paradise (PS3) ]
Buy: [ Burnout Paradise (Xbox 360) ]