14 DAY TRIAL // Burnout is one of the most successful new racing game franchises out there. It won over a lot of previous Need For Speed fans with its great gameplay and destructible environments, prompting Electronic Arts to buy the studio responsible for it, Criterion. The latest iteration, Burnout Paradise, is one of the most successful racing games launched last year and it is still being played on the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3.
Now, it seems that Criterion wants to brings its creation to the PC and announced some time ago that a special package, dubbed Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box, would be released sometime in February exclusively for the PC in North America and for both the PC and the other two consoles in Europe. This pack is set to contain the standard Burnout Paradise with the Cagney and Bikes DLC (Downloadable Content) bundled, plus an all-new Party pack, a mode in which players can be host to an ad-hoc offline multiplayer match where every gamer gets the chance to race.
Although Criterion limited itself to saying that it would be released in February, it seems that EA decided to reveal the launch date and announced that North American PC owners would be able to purchase it on February 5, with PC and console owners from Europe getting their hands on it a day later, on February 6. Also, it seems that the Party Pack will be released as a premium download on both the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation Network in order for console owners to get a chance to experience the offline multiplayer fun. PlayStation 3 owners are in for another surprise, as the Burnout Paradise Network will be released for their console, consisting of a live news page in which players can see how their friends are progressing through their own game.
The PC version will also be host to a lot of improvements as opposed to the console version, with added support for multiple displays, ultra-high-end graphics, motion blur or soft shadows. For those of you who prefer to play it on the consoles, the game is available for purchase and download via the Xbox Live Marketplace and the PlayStation Network for just 19.99 dollars.
All that we can do now is count down the days until The Ultimate Box will appear onto all of these platforms and get back to racing in Paradise City.