name of the game

Paradise by the Dashboard Light

Old-school racing fun is the key to the latest Burnout title

Burnout Paradise

PS3, X360

Like the ’94 Mustang or the recently reimagined Chevy Camaro, Burnout Paradise updates a once great series — not to mention genre — that’s more than ready for a new coat of paint. But first, a look in the rearview mirror.

Simulation-style racing games (Forza Motorsport, Gran Turismo) go all-out to replicate the difficult handling of a performance car. As they race, highly disciplined gearheads accumulate virtual prize money to spend on better tires, fuel injectors and custom detailing. They’ve even been known to play using mocked-up car interiors — as in a driving wheel, foot pedals and real car seat in their living room (or the basement, if there’s a strong female presence around).

Arcade-style games like Burnout, however, reward behaviour that would land you in the crowbar hotel…or worse. You floor it constantly, sideswipe opponents, and if the car sails over a cliff, well, you lose a few seconds, then you’re back in the race. The best ones (like 2004’s Burnout 3: Takedown) are pure adrenaline, at least when you’re actually racing.

To get the rush you have to pick a city, car, track and race type from agonizingly slow menus as your extremities twitch with anticipation and impatience. And while the graphics get better every year, little else has changed — until now.

Welcome to Paradise City where the grass is green, the girls are pretty, and menus, load times and online lobbies are just a memory. To race here, just pull up to one of 120 stoplights and hit the gas. The whole city is open to explore, every street lists stats on its fastest times and biggest crashes, and your driver’s license holds all your records. Demolition fans still get the hilariously destructive “crash” mode, but pileups can happen anywhere — no more preset junctions with standard traffic patterns. And instead of exiting the game to get online, you can find friends and issue challenges with just a button tap.

But fear not longtime fans, the classic Burnout elements are all here: a scorching sense of speed, aggressive computer opponents and cars that still run after shocking damage. Because there’s nothing sweeter than seeing the pancaked hood of your car cross the finish line in a shower of debris, sparks flying from your dangling bumper.

At least on a TV.

Geometry Wars: Galaxies

Wii, DS

Originally a free minigame, then a downloadable Xbox Live Arcade title, this simple but immensely engaging shooter has now earned a place in Nintendo’s lineup. Basically, you’re a little spaceship in a big black galaxy, using lasers and bombs to survive wave after endless wave of marauders.

In fact, Geometry Wars might have the highest casualty count of any recent game, but there’s no blood. You see, these marauders are tiny purple pinwheels, blue triangles, white squiggles...you get the idea. New features include multiplayer and a campaign mode, and believe us — before long you will fear the red ovals as much as any snarling, slime-covered alien.