Burnout Paradise: Bikes Pack

Apart from the available light, there's not a vast difference between them though. Based on the Burning Route model, most are straightforward solo sprints from one location to another. The time limits are generous - perhaps too generous given how fast the bikes are - so most experienced players will rattle through them without too much trouble. To put it in perspective, I was finishing a lot of these events with more than thirty seconds still on the clock. It's these events you must complete in order to earn your Bike Licence, and it's worth doing since progress unlocks souped-up versions of the two bikes, one at 50 per cent completion, the other at 100 per cent.

On top of that there are two new sets of Road Rules to break - one for daytime speed runs, one for night - and 20 Paradise Awards, essentially in-game achievements or trophies for accomplishing various feats. There are also 70 new Freeburn Challenges, split into 35 traditional tasks where all the players must complete specified stunts or feats, and 35 timed challenges in which players must complete sequences of stunts against the clock. To use my experience as a highly subjective gauge, after spending six hours on the bikes, I'd completed maybe three quarters of the various event types, and also had a lot of fun just speeding around, setting new Road Rules records.

It's an astonishingly generous spread of free content, the sort of update that most games would happily charge a premium price for. Criterion deserves praise and hugs for the sheer effort that has gone into extending the lifespan of Burnout Paradise, and for doing more than just reciting the predictable "extra cars, extra races" DLC mantra.

That's not to say that there aren't elements worthy of criticism though. It's a shame, for instance, that there's no mixing bikes and cars. As with the vanishing riders, there's a fairly obvious logistical reason for keeping them separate, but it does leave this update feeling slight apart from the main game. Once you select a bike, especially in Freeburn, then the game basically becomes a self-contained Burnout Bikes experience.

It's also strange that there are no traditional races. Eight bikes thundering to the finish line would seem to be an obvious thing to include, but all the events are either solo runs against the clock or Freeburn events where everyone is working together. Even if there's no easy way of balancing the game to allow competitive play with all the vehicles together, it'd still be fun to get online with friends and take it in turns to jump over each other in impromptu Evel Knievel adventures.

And, it has to be said, the dynamic weather system doesn't appear to be very dynamic so far. Despite a considerable amount of time back on the streets of Paradise City, both online and off, during which I've experienced a dozen in-game days and nights, the only noticeable weather change I've seen is an occasional misty morning. Have you experienced anything more exciting? Do write in and tell us.