Burnout Paradise is finally out and I've been playing like I'm possessed. As of this writing, I'm about 20 wins away from an Elite license and can now offer some tips and tricks I've learned. While Burnout Paradise is notable for its open sandbox city, allowing players to do what they want, when they want, there are specific nuggets of wisdom that will help you advance through your career.

Right Car for the Job

To start off, there are four main events in Burnout Paradise, including Road Rage, Racing, Stunt Run and Marked Man. Each of these categories benefits from proper car selection which can make all of the difference.

Road Rage is all about taking other cars down by slamming them in to walls, so therefore you want an Aggressor-class car. Aggressor cars excel at taking hits and dealing out damage.

Marked Man is about keeping your car in one piece as you navigate the streets towards your goal. Once again, an Aggressor class car will help considerably as it will give you a fighting chance against the inevitable AI onslaught.

Racing is all about speed, so you'd normally want to take a Speed class car, but this isn't set in stone. What you opt to use for racing should be based on how you like to drive. Some players are very good at avoiding traffic, so a Racing Class car should be their pick. Other players prefer to take down the opposition while driving aggressively and would benefit from an Aggressor.

Stunt Runs can be done with any car class, but you'll find more success in using a Stunt-class car, as the way in which it receives boost will aid you in your attempt to rack up stunt combos.

Go With the Flow

Instead of wasting time heading back to the garage for a new class of car after every race, I recommend you concentrate on a specific race type, select an appropriate car, and then cruise around town knocking-off events.

Burning Routes

In order to unlock a more powerful version of every car in the game, the appropriate Burning Route must be completed within the time limit. You basically have to run these routes flawlessly, though if a good driver with the burner on can usually crash once and get away with it.

The real trick to Burning Routes is paying attention to the navigation system. While it doesn't point out shortcuts, it does at least steer you in the right direction. Frankly, I have yet to use a shortcut on any Burning Route as it just isn't necessary. It's more important to use your burners as much as possible while avoiding crashes.