Released on 28/05/2010

• Blur Review

  Reality and fantasy collide

  Mixing real world cars and locales with explosive, futuristic power-ups, Blur is a battle game through and through. There’s little in the way of plot, with Project Gotham Racing developer Bizarre Creations instead choosing to focus on delivering a fast-paced, rewarding and often unpredictable arcade racing experience.

  Career racer

  Blur’s career mode challenges you with defeating nine rivals who you’ll take on in one-on-one battles. To be allowed to compete in these match-ups you’ll need to complete a set amount of races and a series of objectives like taking out a certain number of cars or picking up a range of power-ups. You’ll be rewarded for beating your opponents with a special car and a vehicle perk such as extra ammo or a stronger shield.

  Also on offer are four player split screen offline races, single player beat-the-clock checkpoint ones and a mode that tasks you with taking down as much traffic as possible before the time runs out. With 20 cars on the track, races are intense and frantic across courses like Brighton Beach, Hackney High Street and San Francisco. Once you’ve done your best to avoid the massive first corner pile-ups you’ll want to turn your attention to the weapons.

  Blur’s career mode challenges you with defeating nine rivals who you’ll take on in one-on-one battles.

  Power-ups

  Most of Blur’s power-ups are modern takes on weapons from Mario Kart. Shunt works like a red homing shell, Mine is the equivalent of a banana, Nitro gives you a mushroom-like speed burst and Shock is a little like a blue shell, shooting three bolts of light ahead of first place. You can even drop fake power-ups and fire weapons backwards.

  But while you may have seen similar abilities on offer in past games, Blur’s power-ups have been tweaked and balanced to reach their full potential. Every attack is also avoidable using a mixture of counter-abilities and skill, meaning you can boost away from danger or swerve or deploy your shield at the last minute to avoid harm. Tactical depth is added by the ability to hold and switch between three power-ups, meaning that success on the track is largely about managing and deploying the right ones at the correct time.

  Blur’s single player experience is a solid one but you’d be missing out if you didn’t take the game online.

  Online perks

  Blur’s single player experience is a solid one but you’d be missing out if you didn’t take the game online. A major part of the fun here comes from the extensive use of vehicle perks, dubbed Mods. You’re given 30 seconds between online races to customise your car and Mods. You can use three at a time, from defensive ones like taking less damage to offensive ones likes Nitro and others like an invisibility cloak for you car. Levelling up is fast and satisfying, and unlocking new Mods and cars is a constantly rewarding experience.

  A modern take on Mario Kart featuring the racing equivalent of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’s online perks system, Blur is a fun, frantic and rewarding arcade racing experience that will appeal to core gamers and newcomers alike.

  GAME's Verdict

  

  • +Finely balanced and explosive power-ups.
  • +Twenty-player online racing
  • +Accessible yet strategic gameplay

  

  • -Mixture of realistic and fantasy elements can seem strange
  • -Doesn’t advance the weapons-based racing genre much
  • -Not enough daytime courses

  Review by: Tom ‘The Mod’ Ivan
  Version Tested: Xbox 360
  Review Published: 18.06.10

  Published: 17/06/2010

• Blur has Facebook integration

  Blur has Facebook integration

  As if the prospect of racing around Brighton and Hackney wasn't enough Activision has announced that its forthcoming driving game Blur will support integration with the social networking site Facebook, regardless of whether you're playing on the PC, PS3 or Xbox 360.

  Eurogamer reports that the racing game comes with a Share button, that allows you to send challenges to your friends via Facebook itself. You'll also be able to post game photos, racing statistics and item unlocks. We might skip out on that bit, as we tended to come last during the multiplayer beta. It's the controller's fault. Or something.

  Even if your life isn't currently dominated by Facebook, Blur should still offer pretty much everything you want from a racing game. Coming from Bizarre Creations, the developer behind the brilliant Project Gotham series, Activision's title features crazy power-ups, brutal battle-racing, roomy courses, and a neat levelling system as you progress through the game. It's pretty easy on the eyes too.

  Blur will be hitting the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 this Friday. If you can't wait, you might want to check out Black Rock Studios' explosive racer Split/Second: Velocity. It hit store shelves last week for the same platforms, and is an absolute blast in its own right.

• Blur: Review

  Blurring the lines

  The combination of Mario Kart style weaponry and fully licensed cars to be honest should not work! Its fact, the two just sound silly together. But what the developer Bizarre Creations has done is nothing short of genius.

  If you played PGR 3 or 4 on the Xbox 360 then you?ll already have an understanding of the how the cars will handle. For those who haven?t well, you?re missing out! The cars are fast and handle well, but it's the drifting I always remembered from PGR, which makes a welcome return in Blur.
  

  True Muscle in Muscle cars

  The weapons in Blur are very good too, and to class them as Mario Kart style is possibly a tad unfair, but it is the nearest comparison available. Granted some weapons are similar in effect, the Mine for example in Blur is a swirling ball that sits waiting for some hapless driver, well, so does the Banana Skin!

  As you start your Blur career you?ll have one chapter open to you. But as you drift, draft and blast past your opponents the next chapters will become available. In Blur you?re awarded Lights for coming in 1st, 2nd or 3rd. the more lights you have the sooner you unlock the later chapters.
  

  Crowd pleasing

  But to get at the new more powerful cars, you?ll need to please the crowd! As you perform racing moves, attack and fend of foes you?ll be awarded fan points. But that's not all, in the later chapters you?ll see fan symbols littering the track. Once you?ve gone through the symbol you?ll be challenged to fullfil a fan request be it driving through gates or taking out an opponent using the provided weapon, in return for a boost of fan points.

  The single player is extremely solid, but it's the online mode really brings Blur to life. What you do in Single player doesn?t carry over to the multiplayer, so you have to race harder to increase your level online to get at the better cars. Thankfully though Bizarre Creations gives you the option to race against people of a similar standard so if you?re level 1-10 then that's the group you race with.
  

  Hit 'em where it hurts

  With up to 20 people in one race you will really need to keep your wits about you. The racing can be chaotic but highly enjoyable as you swerve other drivers and their power ups! Unfortunately more times than I care to mention I would get sent flying as I got hit by power up after power up. Which initially angered me to the point of not wanting to play, however, I stuck with it determined for vengeance.

  One aspect of Blur that I really like is the Facebook and Twitter plug in. Increase the rivalry between you and your friends by posting certain achievements to your wall and wait for there comments, be it congratulations or smack talk.

  What also makes Blur so enjoyable to play is the fact it looks so damn good! The cars are beautiful to look at, the power ups don?t look silly or out of place and the menus are slick and easy to navigate. It really is a gorgeously presented game.

  Blur was a bit of a Dark Horse, mixing two very different elements together, that on paper shouldn?t work. But it does and very well at that. Blur is the type of racing game that I love, unpredictable! If you are a fan of arcade racers or want something different to get through the summer, then you should definitely check out Blur!

  

  Into orbit
  + Cars look and handle great.
  + Power-ups aren ridiculously overpowered.
  + Online is Brilliant.

  Down to earth
  - Can get very difficult very quick.
  - Sometimes the fan requests interefere with racing.

   

• Blur - Review

  
  

  

  Blurring the lines

  The combination of Mario Kart style weaponry and fully licensed cars to be honest should not work! Its fact, the two just sound silly together. But what the developer Bizarre Creations has done is nothing short of genius.

  If you played PGR 3 or 4 on the Xbox 360 then you'll already have an understanding of the how the cars will handle. For those who haven't well, you're missing out! The cars are fast and handle well, but it's the drifting I always remembered from PGR, which makes a welcome return in Blur.

  True Muscle in Muscle cars

  The weapons in Blur are very good too, and to class them as Mario Kart style is possibly a tad unfair, but it is the nearest comparison available. Granted some weapons are similar in effect - the Mine in Blur is a swirling ball that sits waiting for some hapless driver, much like the mario Kart Banana Skin!

  As you start your Blur career you'll have one chapter open to you. But as you drift, draft and blast past your opponents the next chapters will become available. In Blur you're awarded Lights for coming in 1st, 2nd or 3rd. the more lights you have the sooner you unlock the later chapters.

  

  Crowd pleasing

  But to get at the new more powerful cars, you'll need to please the crowd! As you perform racing moves, attack and fend of foes you'll be awarded fan points. But that's not all, in the later chapters you'll see fan symbols littering the track. Once you've gone through the symbol you'll be challenged to fullfil a fan request be it driving through gates or taking out an opponent using the provided weapon, in return for a boost of fan points.

  The single player is extremely solid, but it's the online mode really brings Blur to life. What you do in Single player doesn't carry over to the multiplayer, so you have to race harder to increase your level online to get at the better cars. Thankfully though Bizarre Creations gives you the option to race against people of a similar standard so if you're level 1-10 then that's the group you race with.

  

  Hit 'em where it hurts

  With up to 20 people in one race you will really need to keep your wits about you. The racing can be chaotic but highly enjoyable as you swerve other drivers and their power ups! Unfortunately more times than I care to mention I would get sent flying as I got hit by power up after power up. Which initially angered me to the point of not wanting to play, however, I stuck with it determined for vengeance.

  One aspect of Blur that I really like is the Facebook and Twitter plug in. Increase the rivalry between you and your friends by posting certain achievements to your wall and wait for there comments, be it congratulations or smack talk.

  What also makes Blur so enjoyable to play is the fact it looks so damn good! The cars are beautiful to look at, the power ups don't look silly or out of place and the menus are slick and easy to navigate. It really is a gorgeously presented game.

  Blur was a bit of a dark horse, mixing two very different elements together, that on paper shouldn't work. But it does and very well at that. Blur is the type of racing game that I love, unpredictable! If you are a fan of arcade racers or want something different to get through the summer, then you should definitely check out Blur!

  GAME's Verdict

  The Good:

  • Cars look and handle great.
  • Power-ups aren ridiculously overpowered.
  • Online is Brilliant.

  The Bad:

  • Can get very difficult very quickly.
  • Sometimes the fan requests interefere with racing.

   

  Published: 24/06/2010

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