Big Surf Island Price, Achievements Leaked Early

@HeaveyMental: In this case, very much agreed.

Going on what a quick google search turns up, Burnout Paradise's paid DLC consists of:

Party Pack - 1 new "pass the controller" MP game mode: ($9.99 / £7.99 / 800 MS)
Legendary Cars - 4 new vehicles: ($7.99 / £6.29 / 640 MS)
Toy Cars - 9 new vehicles: ($12.99 / £9.99 / 1000 MS)
Boost Specials - 2 new vehicles: ($4.99 / £3.99 / 400 MS)
Cops and Robbers - 1 new online MP mode, new skins/sirens: ($9.99 / £7.99 / 800 MS)
Big Surf Island - new area, 4 new vehicles (I think): ($12.99 / £9.99 / 1000 MS)

Overall:
1 area
1 "pass the controller" MP game mode
1 online MP game mode
19 vehicles (of which 15 are basically gimmicks)
new skins/sirens for old vehicles
$58.84 / £46.24 / 4640 MS

Maybe it's just me, but that doesn't sound remotely like value for money.

@Born2Shill: Slowdown?

I have played Burnout a lot, the game runs perfect on the PS3.

Hussain Raja

Not to be rude, but I think you're looking at this from the wrong perspective. Big Surf Island is basically a downloadable expansion and is 1/3rd the cost of the original game. New content tends to cost more than stuff that's been around for a year. If you enjoy Burnout Paradise and want more of it, $12.99 is not much to pay. You could go out and buy another game for $19.99, but the problem with that is you wouldn't be paying for more Burnout Paradise.

If you don't play online at all, don't like stunts, are really trying to pinch pennies and aren't hugely into Burnout Paradise, then of course your money is better spent elsewhere. If there's any paid DLC out there you aren't going to get ripped off on, it's Big Surf Island.

CMay

@Alternate, I cho-cho-chose the impossible: If Criterion prefers the PS3, I'd hate to see the slowdown that happens in the X360 version.

Still love the game and can't wait for the Island... just sayin'.

Born2Shill

@EtisArap: I absolutely expecting between $15 - $20 and would only pay as high as $15, so $12 is a bit of a surprise to me. What surprises me more is that I think one of the car pack releases was $13 in total so their pricing structure is really screwed up.

Either ways, I have not bought any of the add-on DLC for Burnout thus far but this will be the DLC that I can bring myself to support and buy at this reasonable price. It is 20% of the original games price point and I would say it brings roughly that much additional content to the table.

Eviltim

Gee, got the game last week for $19.99, sure not gonna spend $12.99 for DLC, that's 65% ! For a few $ more, I can get another nice title for $19.99.

jellyfish

I don't know if I will buy this.

I love Burnout, but it takes forever to go to the actual game!

HALO-32

@SocraticMethod: The first worthy DLC. It's very good value for the money. Compare this - you get 10 or 12 cars plus the island, new events and challenges all for 1000 points, while 4 cars alone are 640 points, the Legendary cars. Or, the Boost Specials, *2* cars for 640 points. Cops and Robbers, a game mode, is 800 points. Paradise Party is 800. Toy collection is 1000.

Sure, you couldn't make 2 cars be like 160 points, it would be a fair price considering what they are giving us, but the developers's work wouldn't be fully compensated. But they shouldn't be overpriced either. Most of this DLC should have been 400-640 instead of 640-1000.

Either way as I said the island is a very good purchase imo. And I haven't forgotten the huge ammount of free stuff they've given us. Paradise is so much better than it was when it came out, you can't say that about every game out there.

@aw3str1k3r: Criterion said before that unfortunately they didnt expect big surf island to become so big and expensive to make, so they had to charge

@Noodle-Works: Unfortunately for you, It's published by EA... so you're supporting them both.

Not that I actually mind EA :)

For the love of God, the achievements are NOT new(s)! Why does kotaku always say that? It isn't true this time & it hasn't been true the other times either. These achievements/trophies have been known by the fanbase since the middle of May. Criterion even mentioned that fact on their website, stating that it's sort of a tradition by now that the trophies "leak" 1 month before the content is released. Heck, even the release date got figured out by the fans a while back because of this tradition.

@CMay: Carriage return has struck again. Tune in at 8 for the gory details.

CMay

This is the first reasonably priced paid DLC, assuming that Price is Right. This Big Surf Island update will easily be worth 10-20 more hours of play offline given all the achievements, billboards/smashes, cars to unlock and then play with, etc. Then if you've got some friends you can easily dump 10-20 more hours over time into the multiplayer just doing new races and challenges, or even doing old content with the new cars.

The offline content in this game is definitely decent, but it really has needed more new cars to unlock with event progression, new event types and all that instead of just novelty paid DLC cars that few are insane enough to waste their money on. They need to expand more on the bikes as well, there's a lot more that can be done there.

In any case, to really get the most out of this game you need to have some friends to play with online. I've had some fun working with friends doing the Timed Challenges online to get 1st place on the leaderboards, just perfecting those routes, corners and jumps. Shaving off every millisecond and doing it cooperatively.

That said, they left a lot to be desired with the various multiplayer modes and it would be a lot easier to find an active server without friends if they added some multiplayer modes that were actually fun instead of just making them the same as the singleplayer game. Instead of playing the other modes, everyone just freeroams around. The challenges aren't fun to do with more than 3-4 people you don't know, becuase almost always one or 2 people will leave and the challenge will be failed. This is why you need a few people you know and can trust to follow through with things online.

Cops and Robbers was a pitiful attempt at adding a
gimmick to Marked Man. They did do a good job adding police skins to all those cars, but again, that's just novelty. Supposedly with the Big Surf Island they added some new multiplayer modes. Right now the only viable multiplayer modes are Race and Stunt. Marked man could be fun, but it needs more options instead of just giving a short amount of time to catch a person which may not be long enough.

There is so much potential for this game to be even more awesome than it is, but it feels like after the game was released, they handed the keys over to a retard and said "just drive straight." Did they just run out of good ideas? Why don't they ask players what they think would be fun to do in Burnout Paradise? I could come up with a gigantic list of singleplayer and multiplayer things that would be insane fun to do and would easily save this game from becoming obsolete in 60 seconds.

That said I have the 360 version, but only play the PC version, because racing games really beg for higher resolutions so you can make sense of objects in the distance when you're at max speed. Sadly, they haven't announced a date for Cops and Robbers or Big Surf Island for the PC. It's a little scary thinking they might not bring them to the PC.

CMay

@MCWHAMMER: I dont "do this in every article" (P.S, go ahead and click my name and you can *gasp* see other comments I have made), I was simply pointing out that rumours that Criterion prefers the PS3 version of the game are seemingly confirmed by this.

@grayfox9996: Makes sense to me.

@Alternate, I cho-cho-chose the impossible: Who cares... trophies or achievements, they're all meaningless. When I start getting paid to unlock them, then it'll start to matter. You sound like the guy that does this on every article though, so that's as far as I'll go.

I hope the price is right! Or maybe less! I was expecting it to be $15. Although, I would've bought it no matter what price it was, since I've been dying for new single/multiplayer content for a while now! I would like it if they did like Valve does on Steam, and discount the other packs for one weekend or one week. Like the Party pack for 50% off (only $4.99!).

Andrew Wimpy

@Alternate, I cho-cho-chose the impossible: Actually, it's because Sony doesn't put a limit on the number of trophies you can have in a game and its DLC, while Microsoft has "soft" limits set (that have been broken several times, such as with The Orange Box).

Of course, they DO prefer the PS3, apparently, considering the game was initially developed for it and ported to the 360 after, from what I can remember. But that's beside the point, in this case - if it were up to them, I'm sure all of the trophies would be achievements, too.

grayfox9996

@HeaveyMental:

I would much rather support this developer than EA and their awful attempts at Madden every year.

If any game genre needs DLC, its sports titles! i think its much more rediculious to spend $60 a year to be playing a slightly different game with only different names on the backs of people's shirts.

a 10 or even 20 dollar DLC update every couple months as the football season naturally progresses? that's something that would innovate and freshen the genre.

Its all opitional. you still can get burn out for 20 and play it without the DLC. and its a great game. everything else is ala carte gaming and an exciting first attempt at bring something NEW to gaming.

you know, not like "Game Franchise Verison 32".

its exciting to see a developer support a product years after its release. Players have responded. its a success. you are the minority, by far.

If you wanna play a new map or drive a new car, you don't have to chuck 60 bucks into the toliet for a marginal sequel, you by a 2 buck DLC and you're cruising in a new ride, or 10 dollar map pack and you've added hours and hours of gameplay to something that would have been gathering dust otherwise.

DLC is the future. if you don't like it, go play tetris. :)

Noodle-Works

It's good to see this game still getting support. I actually have been meaning to pick this game up; now that there's so much content for it and its on the relative cheap, I should take the plunge.

Trey

1000?
FUCK. THAT.

mzo

@MrBionic:

Dammit, I knew something seemed wrong about that.

Clearly, they have invented a new date just for this...

@abort_user: Do you even realize how little sense you made here?

"DLC is despicable, they don't give you enough even when they give you enough PLUS free stuff"

XtaLarge

@Revenge_of_Nekojin: No. It costs a lot to make this content. Why should it be free? They are adding optional content to a game. If you want it, pay for it. Why should everything be free?

Paul Klausing

@HeaveyMental: ive been saying this all along. its despicable.

too little game for too much money. i dont care how much free stuff they did give us. even if this is the real deal and it truly expands the game and is worth every penny i still wont buy it because they proven that theyll dish out too little game for too much money most of the time.

abort_user

@HeaveyMental:

Um.. The original game was $60. This is a new island, not just cars. It adds new game features. If you dont want it, dont buy it - but dont complain about the cost. Its $12. Thats very cheap for so much.

Paul Klausing

Sweet, I was expecting it to be closer to $20. Thats cheap. And dont say it "costs 1/2 as much as the game does", because the game was $60 when it came out. Dumbasses.

Paul Klausing

@Microshock: I call this the VALVe Effect. When a developer gives you things for free, you start to expect everything from free because now you've pledged your loyalty to the game/company.

And then you feel all betrayed when they start charging you for things you really dont need for free anyway.

I guess these Trophies really confirm Criterion likes the PS3 more.

@SocraticMethod: June 11th

chrizs

@Lonewolf_Fenrir: I'm sorry. i fail to see how this has anything to do with the US. Do you think all Americans got together and somehow made a Canadian company charge more?

We can't agree that everybody has the basic human right to affordable health care but we're united to fuck you over on video game pricing? Are you high?

Maybe you should look into your own country to figure out why prices are higher?

And pull your head out.

I_Like_Rabbits

@NfoRcErX: actually, I was thinking ubisoft for some reason, but criterion is actually UK based if I remember correctly. Maybe thats why the brits get it cheaper than the rest of the EU?

@Lonewolf_Fenrir: If you think that's weird, factor in that it's made by a french candian company!

@Kobun: Touche sir. Touche.

QualityJeverage

@HeaveyMental: You will get a heck of a lot more than 10 hours .. You would get even more if it was not for that BLASTED GOD DAMN party chat.

@Kobun: ROFL!

@QualityJeverage: Don't like the game, missed a spot on the car, I said I wanted "Golden Promise" not "Summer Wheat," now I gotta buy throw rugs so I don't catch a cold, and I'm more of a missionary type of person... and now you want me to pay on top of the initial purchase for stuff you should have included in the first place?

(slams door)

@MyBigToe: I'm not sure what your point is, though. Because some of the earlier content is free, it should all be free?

$12.99 (€12.99 in Europe, £9.99 UK)

WHERE THE F..K is the logic on this ?
Seriously!
The € is much higher than the $ and is much nearer the £.
Why do we always get screwed...
Screw you US!

Lonewolf_Fenrir

=@El-Suave:

Dunno about that. It's hardly sf4 extortionate but the year of paradise seems to have concluded in mass inflation.
I liked the attitude of criterion when they spoke of the burnout plan in Edge last year, but the dlc pricetags aren't enticing me to upgrade my experience.

30% across the board cut would be more along my lines.

oskarkeo

@QualityJeverage: One of the best comments I have read on Kotaku in a while.

@Microshock: Considering how other games price their DLC, i'd hardly say this is 'overcharged'?

Also I don't know how much the game costs where you are, but the toy car collection did not cost more than half of the games price.

@Gossy... strictly 4 my ninjas:alot of earthlings live on earth they tend to complain alot unlike other advanced planets.

@HeaveyMental:

Broke or poor? That seems to be most of the people that whine. I don't think its bad deal.

@Teliko: June oneth? ;D

Are you people seeing the ramp in that goddamn screenshot? A whole ISLAND full of that kind of insane stuff? I'm sold.

Good lord people, stop your whining.

A game dev could come to your house, give you a free game and a whole ton of bonus content, wash your car, repaint your kitchen, install new hardwood floors, and perform sexual favours for you, and then when they ask for 10 bucks to take a cab back to the airport, you'd still bitch at them and slam the door in their face.

QualityJeverage

@badong: and to think, all this time I've been calling it Kotaku! Ooops!

@Microshock: Because the studio needs money, since their last game was released over a year and a half ago and they don't have a new one imminent.

@EtisArap: I was personally expecting (and more then willing to pay) 1200 or 1600 Microsoft Points so I'm quite happy if 1000 points ends up being the final price on Thursday.

@Gossy... strictly 4 my ninjas: yes its called welcome to earth.

@HeaveyMental: i think burnout paradise has the most free DLC out there and its totally fun and i wouldn't mind paying for this island

@SocraticMethod:

This Thursday, June 1th.

@Gossy... strictly 4 my ninjas:

Not really. There is always a group to complain about everything. I am personally all for DLC, its not like I have to buy it. The LBP Metal Gear stuff was amazing, and the fact they are keeping alive Burnout this long is astounding.

@HeaveyMental: Oh okay, we've changed the rules again. Can I just fact check what I've got (I have a whole week and a bit to catch up on here so bare with me)...
if devs release DLC then we complain, if they don't release DLC and go for a sequel then we complain. If people marginalise us then we complain, if the mainstream start getting into gaming we call them casuals and complain. If 11 year old geniuses (geni? I'd probably know if I ws a genius) look down on our hobby as immature we complain, if the press demonise us we say they take it too seriously and complain.

Am I missing anything?

I don't understand, wasn't Criterion so into giving everyone free content? Why are they making up for that free content by overcharging for everything?

A toy car collection is not supposed to cost more than half of the game's cost. Especially when it probably took them no longer than a week to shrink down their previous models into it.

@HeaveyMental: Oh well, at least they released the Ultimate Box, which is more than most companies bother to do. Thumbs up for that.

Still, here's hoping they give the game one more go as the Definitive Box or something, including all the commercial DLC there's ever going to be. If they then want to further support the game by releasing additional content for free, that would be nice.

DLC isn't necessarily overpriced or overrated but I kinda miss the times when console games were final and didn't whisper "pssst, spare me an extra fiver (or a tenner (or twenty bucks)) and I'll put up a little extra show" or "oops, I think I have caught a little something but just wait a little, I'll get it patched, and we can continue to have a good time" :'(

@HeaveyMental: The option exists yet to simply not purchase this, or any other dlc, and simply have no new Burnout to play.

They spent a lot of time working on this, and have told us how much that time is worth to them; whether it's worth it or not is up to the individual, but it sounds like you're more on a crusade against dlc in general.

Objectively speaking, there's a lot of content in this pack, and you say you guess it "isn't even a total of 10 hours of play"? I'd say $13 is a fine price for even around 10 hours of play, particularly if Burnout is your jam.

TheBrainNinja

@EtisArap: how is it expensive when they have given so much for free? with the size of it it is totally worth it, and its not just a rehash of used things in a new arrangement, the island is built completely differently then the rest of the game. good for them for continuing to support their game.

buckeyes75

@HeaveyMental: So you know all the details of this DLC? This actually looks like the one piece of DLC worth paying for in Burnout Paradise.

I was expecting it to be around $20, so its cheaper than I thought it would be.

Liked Paradise, might pick this up, though its been a while since I last played it.

R-111

$13 is not a bad price for this if the island really is that big.

Why not just sell it for 1200 to fit in with everything else? Oh well nice to see someone not doing that and allowing people to get a RB2 track aswell as this. I dont know if I will get this though.

The big question remains: When is this coming out?

@Revenge_of_Nekojin: theyve added a hell of alot of content, but for free

MyBigToe

It will be the day when burnout has NATAL! Ohh wait... it does!

Frank West

I was expecting 1200 points, so 1000 is coo.

I can't afford it now though, not after dropping $80 on a whack of classic gaming schtuff.

@HeaveyMental: Whaa, someone is adding totally new content to a 1 1/2 year old game.

Wonder when we will get it for PC.

Shadowace

@HeaveyMental: But the game itself went down in price. Plus they've provided lots of free content as well before charging.

The price is fair considering what they sold some of the other stuff for. Honestly, I expected it to cost at least €15 and wouldn't have been surprised at €20.

El-Suave

@HeaveyMental: Very true

Shit thats expensive... At least they aren't undercharging you Microsoft Points so that you have to buy more than needed, and then buy more shit that you don't want.

EtisArap

i got way bored of burnout, doubt im gonna buy this

Andrew Alexandrescu

all dlc probably now cost more than the original game ... and my guess is it isn't even a total of 10 hours of play

dlc is overrated and overpriced as we see here

HeaveyMental