Tag Archives: Criterion

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit (Review)

With the successful rebranding of Need for Speed as something a bit more serious with last year’s NFS: Shift, EA might have wished they hadn’t already tasked Criterion Games with taking on the old brand instead of working on a new Burnout game. But hell, we were all more excited than we’d like to admit at the possibility of a Burnout/NFS hybrid even if EA couldn’t be arsed coming up with a new name. But is it a Brangelina or a three-thumbed hillbilly?

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit straps you into the seat of some of the world’s hottest cars as both a racer and a police officer in the fictional US location, Seacrest County. Sea crest consists of many, many desert roads, beaches and mountain passes. But mainly deserts. While the races take place on tarmac there are loads of shortcuts you can take to gain an advantage. Often they’ll be more hazardous and over rough terrain, so you’ll have to judge which ones work best for you and the car you’re driving. There are even a few that may take longer than the original route, you’ll have fun checking them all though.

Continue reading Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit (Review)

Burnout Paradise: Big Surf Island Expansion Pack (Review)

Construction yard

The brand new island just off the Eastern coast of the old map is finally here. An early surprise is that it’s only £9.99 on the PSN ($12.99 or 1000 MS Points), I was expecting at least £15. I mean look at how much they’ve been charging for some of the DLC cars!

Thankfully the new island is fully integrated into the existing Burnout map with no loading screens, which is an impressive feat given the already considerable size. The island itself is about the size of the Downtown area, but has a mix of business district skysrapers, beaches, waterfronts, building sites (with some insane jumps and hoop sections), winding drift roads, and a mountainous dirt track. Continue reading Burnout Paradise: Big Surf Island Expansion Pack (Review)

Burnout’s Big Surf Island Date Revealed

Construction yardWell the date’s finally here. Pack your bags (think up a good excuse to skive work) because June 11th we’re all heading off to Big Surf Island with Burnout Paradise.

We’ve all tried getting a peak from the car park roof across the water to see what’s going on and the recent videos from Criterion have ramped up the excitement considerably over the last few weeks. Continue reading Burnout’s Big Surf Island Date Revealed