Video Game Recommendations: Burnout Paradise and Skate 2.

Burnout Paradise is an open-world driving game. I've been waiting my whole life for a video game where all you do is drive around in a graffiti-covered old pickup listening to classical music and destroying 'Private Property' signs, taking occasional breaks to enter running-people-off-the-road contests. I guess there are some races and time trials and alternative rock and stuff too, but who cares?

If you like the old Burnout games, and especially if you like the open-endedness and non-linear nature of open-world/sandbox games, there's a very good chance you'll like this one. It's readily available for twenty bucks these days, and it provides a great example of how to do DLC right. BP doesn't get everything right, but it gets a lot of things right, and it's definitely worth playing.

Skate 2 is a (relatively) realistic open-world skateboarding game. This means, among other things, that it's kinda hard. And like a lot of things that are kinda hard, those moments where you suddenly get it are very satisfying.

If you loved the first couple Tony Hawk games, but then started to get tired of 'em, you might love Skate 2. If you still remember Thrasher: Skate and Destroy for the PSX, you'll almost certainly love Skate 2.  ¶ 3:46 PM