Burnout Paradise was an influential game for little Matthew. I remember waking up in the mornings many, many years ago and hopping on my PS3. I would open the little white box with the car on the front. I would then put it into the PS3, wait a bit for the 2006 console to load up the game, and launch it. Sitting on the floor, the games iconic song would start playing, and I would be instantly be transported into the world of Paradise City.
That’s how a lot of my mornings would start with. The world had so much to do, like racing from the top of the map to the bottom, and trying to outrun people trying to make you crash. Along with these other things, you could also just drive around the map and not do anything, which is what I tended to do most of my time in the game. I would start off all the way at the left side of the map where the city was, and then in a matter of minutes I would boost all the way to the county area, and go up and down on the many hills, and make my way all the way back. Along the way, I would crash into yellow fences, smash through billboards, and jump over canons.
I played a couple racing games when I was younger, like MotorStorm, Mario Kart, and Grid, but this game was different from the others. Burnout Paradise is an open world racing game, where the player can racer around with bots or real people online. While I never played online, I still had a ton of fun. I would drift around corners, trying my best not to crash full speed into a corner and make everything slow down and see my car get destroyed. I remember my dad watching me play, cheering me on, and me trying not to crash and impress him with my 9-year-old driving skills. 
I really, really, REALLY liked making people crash. I don’t really know what made me like it, but I’d guess it’s probably because I am a little reckless. Seeing the other drivers crash in slow-motion was a cool small break from the game, and then after it, straight back into the game. I would usually win every race when I did them. but when I didn’t, I would drive straight back to the start point of the race and do it over.
After a few years, I stopped playing the game and starting playing other genres of games, but still playing a few racing games. I then upgraded to the PS4, and then a few years later bought the Wii U, and then a few more years later bought the Xbox One, and then bought my PC, and then in 2018 I bought the Switch. On the PS4, I bought Gran Turismo Sport, Need For Speed Rivals, and GTA. On Wii U, I got Mario Kart 8. On Xbox One, I got Forza Horizon 3, and Forza 7. On PC, I got Jalopy. Finally, I got Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on Switch. Finally, in 2018, EA remasted the game I love so much, and I instantly pre-ordered it, and when I got it, I couldn’t put the controller down. It really brought me back to my youth, back on that carpet in the house we moved out of that I loved so. Playing games on weekends so early in the morning that it would wake up my mom and we would start the day super early. Thank you EA, for brining back my youth. As always, thanks for reading, and until next time, game on!
Update from the last blog: I played the Detroit demo again, and holy smokes if you have not played it yet, you need to play it. It’s super intense, and I can’t wait for it to come out🎮
Matt's Got Game 