Burnout Paradise is an open world racing video game developed by Criterion Games and published by Electronic Arts. It is the fifth entry in the Burnout series. The game was released in January 2008 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 and on 5 February 2009 for Microsoft Windows. It was also released on the PlayStation Store in September 2008 and via Xbox Live Marketplace’s Games on Demand 25 August 2009. It was later added to the libraries of Greatest Hits and Platinum Hits titles and was made backward compatible with the Xbox One in November 2016. It is the first game in the Burnout series to be released on PC.
Paradise’s gameplay is set in the fictional „Paradise City”, an open world in which players can compete in several types of races. Players can also compete online, which includes additional game modes, such as „Cops and Robbers”. Several free game updates introduce new features such as a time-of-day cycle and motorcycles. The game also features paid downloadable content in the form of new cars and the fictional „Big Surf Island”.
The game was received well by critics, with aggregate score sites GameRankings reporting an average score of 88% and Metacritic reporting an average score of 88 out of 100. The game won several awards in 2008, with Spike TV, GameTrailers and GameSpot all awarding it Best Driving Game. Reviewers felt the game had an excellent sense of speed, and praised the open world gameplay, a first for the Burnout series.