I guess this series has finally Burnt Out.
What's unfortunate is that while I like the open world feature in most games, there are some games that it just doesn't work for. Sometimes it's because the few features of the open world are only there to distract you from how horrible the actual meat of the game is: No More Heroes. Sometimes it's just a tacked on gimmick: Nark. And sometimes it just doesn't work with the type of game that they're trying to make: Burnout Paradise.
The problem is that the open world setup doesn't really work too well for a racing game; unless you want to intimately know Paradise City but you've seen what happened to Axle Rose. And while Burnouts of the past have been much more than just racing games, this one is for the most part just a racing game. There are a handful of Road Rages and (the new and interesting) Marked Man (and those do work well in the open world setting) events but most of the map is filled with races and burning laps.
All of this would've been fine if they included crash junctions, but they've only replaced those with a more cartoony feeling Showtime event you can set off anywhere in the city. It's not as cerebral, explosive, or fun as the old crash junctions but you will get a kick out of it every once in a while. It's just hard to believe that with all the dlc they've released for this game they haven't brought back this once-staple of the franchise.
What did they get right? Well... They got the basics right. That sense of breakneck speed is still there, making you feel like you're going much faster than you have any right to. The crashing and battling between the cars is still visceral and animated quite nicely. Also, it's nice to see that in a time where many developers of open world games are forsaking the useable in game rewards for achievement-trophies, Criterion gives you some pretty sweet rides to use if you go around hitting all the collectables: jumps, billboards and the elusive gates.
At best I would recommend a rental for a game like this but I'm almost tempted to say pass on it because (like GTA4) it's such a disappointment when compared to the 3rd and 4th entries to the franchise. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for trying new things but it's been a while and I think it's about time they make a dlc of Crash Junctions returning this series to its former glory.