Just not as good as the PS2 Burnout games.
Let's start with the good:
1) GRAPHICS are pretty good.
2) MUSIC TRAX are pretty good, but only if you like rock (which I do). I must say though that although it is good, it isn't as good as other Burnout games, with the exception of Burnout Dominator, which was basically the same Avril Lavigne song sung in different languages.
3) CRASHING IS BETTER THAN EVER! I almost feel as though I get whiplash just by sitting on my couch with my PS3 controller!
Now, the bad:
1) Although it was an interesting change in pace for the Burnout series, the free-roaming environment didn't quite impress me ENOUGH. It was fun to be able to take a break from racing, road-raging, and the other events once in a while and just play around without any penalties. However, once you entered a race, I think that the programmers should have closed off a course because it is WAY too easy to take a wrong turn or miss a turn and end up hopelessly lost, which means that you come in last place. There ARE these little turn notification things that are supposed to help you out by hinting to you when you should turn, but honestly... when you are driving at like 120+ mph and the scenery is nothing but a blur, HOW CAN YOU TAKE YOUR EYES OFF THE ROAD TO SEE IF YOU SHOULD TURN OR NOT!?!?!?! Yes, the things also make a sound too, but you cant hear them over the SFX. Simply put, when you enter a race, the race track should become closed off. That is all.
2) THEY COMPLETELY ELIMINATED OFF-LINE MULTIPLAYER!!!!!!! WTF EA!?!?!?!?! It seems that the programmers over at EA think that the players either have no real-life buddies who come over and play videogames with them, or they seem to think that all the players' friends have PS3's and a copy of this game. My buds and I used to have hours of fun hanging out at my house and playing Burnout Revenge. Now, the most fun we can have is passing the wireless controller around as we take turns in offline mode. Yeah, they COULD all go out and buy their OWN PS3 and Burnout Paradise copy, but guess what? NOT EVERYONE CAN AFFORD THEM!!!!
For me, this detail was a MAJOR disappointment.
3) The cars in this game just aren't as great as other Burnout games. There are some cars that are like the older games, but it seems that most are junk-yard cars; covered in rust and dirt and hardly even run.
4) Plain and simple: This getting seems to get boring very quickly.
I have owned this game since day 1 of its release here in the USA, but overall, I could only stand playing it for a total time of about 30 hours before I completely got sick of it. Now, the game is just sitting on my game shelf collecting dust. When Soul Calibur IV is released, I will be trading Burnout Paradise in to help in the cost.
In conclusion, this game is ok, but not as good as the older Burnout games. I think that this game requires a certain taste. You may even need to play 90% of the game online too in order to have fun. My recommendation is that if you are thinking of buying this game, RENT IT FIRST! This way you can determine if you want to fork over the 60 bucks to buy it.