Among the modifications to the open-world racer is the oft-requested addition of a restart option, so that players will no longer be forced to drive back to an event's starting point to try again. Vehicle handling has been improved, and difficulty rebalanced.

The free patch arrives on February 6 alongside the paid Party Pack add-on for PS3 and Xbox 360. The PC version, which ships February 5, will include the Party Pack.

The patch notes, as listed on Criterion's official site, follow below:

In-Game Store
• The first change you'll notice (if you're on Playstation 3 or PC) is that we're now using in-game browser to bring something we're calling the Criterion Games Network. More on this next week!

  The next major addition is our in-game store. You'll be able to easily buy new content, like the Party Pack, without leaving the comfort of Burnout Paradise. Just head for either the Main Menu or the Easydrive Menu. We'll add the Legendary Cars, Boost Specials, Toy Cars, Island and more (!), as they become available.

Vehicle dynamics overhaul
• The vehicle handling has undergone it's most substantial overhaul since Burnout Paradise was first released. We've tweaked the handling on the first available cars, like the Hunter Cavalry, to make the game easier and more accessible.

  These cars are now slower, harder to crash and less likely to spin out at low speeds. This'll help any newcomers get into the game, but it also delivers greater variety between the early cars to the faster, more challenging later ones.

  Burnout Paradise - easy to play but hard to master!

Junkyard Stats Display
• We've changed the way we display the performance of the cars in the junkyard. You can now easily compare cars and see that with the rebalanced handling, they're more varied across the whole range. Again, we're aiming for a more fun and accessible experience. And on the subject of the junkyard, you can now filter what you see there. Pick between cars or bikes and when our Legendary Cars, Toy Cars and Boost Specials arrive in the near future they'll also be easier to pick out.

Stunt Run Timer Reinvented
• Fans of Stunt Run will now appreciate that the countdown timer now starts to count down more slowly. If you've never played before, it'll be easier to pick up. For experts, it'll counts down faster depending on how many multipliers you've earned.

  It's just one of a stack of minor changes designed to rebalance and tweak the game for your enjoyment.

Rebalanced Events
• We've modified the difficulty of all events. The speeds of the rival cars and Burning Route times have been changed to accommodate new car speeds.

Road Rage Tweaked
• We've changed the way the timer works in Road Rage - you no longer get time added when you've hit the target number of cars. This means the game has a clearer end point and restricts crazy scores to later Road Rages, making it more challenging for experts - see if you can reach 100+ now! It's been streamlined.

Vibrant Visuals
• Paradise City is filled with a whole world of objects waiting to be discovered. We wanted to make it a little easier to spot them, so we've modified the colours of the Billboards (red) and Smashes (yellow) and Super Jumps (blue). They also now pulse for added visibility.

  We've also overhauled the lighting to bring you more vibrant visuals. We wanted to make it easier to see at night and give everything a more vibrant feel with brighter, more saturated Burnout color.

Restart
• You ask - we deliver. Restart is in! You can now quit or fail an event and choose to restart it.

  You'll be transferred to the start location ready for action. We've always enjoyed the feeling of freedom that Paradise City's open world delivers, but we appreciate that as you run low on events towards the end of the game, you can spend a little too long in transit.

Barrel Rolls for Beginners
• And last but not least, we've transformed the way barrel rolls work in Burnout Paradise. Hit a split-ramp and barrel rolls now automatically right themselves. It means new players can pull off flash moves immediately, but nothing changes for all you experts out there. You can still risk multiple rolls by pushing the right stick in the direction of the roll.