Burnout Paradise fans that were hoping that developer Criterion would finally announce a sequel to the highly popular open word racer were surprised again by no announcement of a sequel. Instead, Criterion in conjunction with EA announced Need For Speed Most Wanted.

It would appear, however, that Need for Speed Most Wanted is the spiritual successor to Burnout Paradise. While some might think that it is nothing more than Burnout Paradise with the Cops & Robbers add-on, apparently it is much more. Game footage shown at EA’s press conference seems to back up the fact that the stuff that made Burnout Paradise great is also a part of the new Need for Speed Most Wanted.

Criterion claims that they learned a lot from Burnout Paradise, and Need for Speed Most Wanted reflects what the developers learned from Burnout Paradise; and it is the best of everything all rolled into one game. Criterion claims that the game is a reflection of the studio and developers at this point in time and they have been influenced by a variety of things, including what the studio has produced in the past.

Reaction to the demo and trailers for Need for Speed Most Wanted has been pretty positive, with many indicating that it could be the best Need for Speed title yet. We will have to see when it finally arrives in North America on October 30th and in Europe on November 2nd. The title has been confirmed for release on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, and surprisingly, also for the PlayStation Vita.