REVIEW - Blur
- Written by Rick Wallace |
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Bizarre Creations, now under the Activision umbrella, returns to the front of the pack with a new racing game which is nothing like anything we’ve seen from them before. Famous for the Project Gotham Racing series, which was a favorite arcade racer among many, the team now brings us an all new arcade racer. This time it’s in the form of an explosive metal crunching kart style racer. You’ll be racing at top speeds in real life settings using real licensed cars and causing utter mayhem for your opponents. There is also a social sense to the game whether you are playing single player or multiplayer which I think is very cool. So let’s hit the track and start talking about Blur and should it be in your library or not.
Visually the game is outstanding. Each racing environment is set in a real world location with stunning visuals at every turn. The cars are fully licensed and come in full detail as you would expect from the team at Bizarre Creations. The special effects that are generated with attacks are phenomenal and really lend a sense of chaos and mayhem to each and every race. Simply said, the game pays attention to many small details that are only noticeable as you play the game more. The game also has a true sense of speed throughout which is amplified when you get a nitro boost.
There is no licensed music in the game just catchy synthesizer rhythms that really give the game a sense of speed and pedal to the metal action. I did hope for some slamming rock while running the tracks, but the instrumental does its job. You’ll have some voiceover work that explains the game to you in different mini tutorial movies, but for the most part it’s just all about balls to the wall racing and wrecking. The car sounds are spot on for each and every vehicle and one of the best examples of great car sounds would be when you are in the Volkswagen Beetle. We all know they have a distinct sound, and it’s in the game and sounds great. |
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Blur offers up plenty of game modes, race varieties and of course can all be played in single player or multiplayer. The first menu you come to in the game is the choice between single player and multiplayer. This is actually very significant since the single player and multiplayer modes are totally separate entities and if you will 2 different campaigns. Let’s start off talking about what you’ll see in the single player.
The main menu for single player contains a ton of options. You’ll see the following options: Career, Stickers, Showroom, Photos, Options, Leaderboards, Friend Challenges, Help and Quit. Yes, I agree that is quite the menu. I’ll talk about the career option last since that is the most significant item. The Stickers option is basically a fancy word for the Achievements. What is really neat about these Stickers is that some of them are tiered achievement which means you’ll have to accomplish multiple goals to unlock it. This is represented by quadrants on the stick itself, and the requirement will be listed in a text box off to the right. Now of course the showroom lets you view all the cars you have unlocked and the ones you need to unlock. The photos option is a photo gallery of in game photos you have taken which can be shared with the world. More on that in a bit. All of the other options are pretty much self explanatory.
So the game play is pretty simple. You’ll race across real life venues using power up weapons to boost yourself to the front of the back or knock off your competition behind you. Your prizes for winning or doing well in races are in the form of Lights, Fans and even opponents cars. Blur has a ranking system which you really can compare to the likes of say Call of Duty. You’ll rank up through the ranks for accomplishing challenges in each and every race. Accomplishing these challenges as well as winning races will earn you fans. These fans are an equivalent to XP, if you will. Each level you obtain has a certain number of fans that has to be attained in order to hit it. This option could be very inviting to a lot of people and while it’s very similar to the COD system, it’s still unique in itself. |
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What makes Blur different from other racers and puts it more in the Kart Racer category is the use of power ups whether they are weapons or boosts. There are 8 power ups that can be picked up on the track while racing: Barge, Bolt, Mine, Nitro, Repair, Shield, Shock and Shunt. Each item has a specific purpose and some cane be fired off forward or backward towards your competition. You’ll also have access to “Mods” that will allow you to customize your racing style and even allow you to grab more fans during each race. Once again, I will compare this to Call of Duty and their perk system. The Mods you choose will compliment your playing style. You can have some extra power when barge cars, or maybe gain an extra lightning bolt for your bolt attack. The choices and combinations of the Mods seem endless and you’ll have to pick what works best for you.
You’ll have various game modes that you will participate in while playing both single player and multiplayer matches. They can range from checkpoint style races to straight up racing to the finish. There are also some head to head match ups in single player that will unlock new cars and Mods for you to use. One other pretty fun mode is a mode call Destruction where you race through a track and take out all the drone cars. Each car you take out with a “Bolt” power up will give you extra time. You’ll also gain points for each car you take out. Watch out though because some drones can attack you as well. Your goal is to finish with as many points as you can before running out of time.
There are a ton of races to compete in while playing single player career. And the more you race, the more fans you will gain. On a side note, even when you do not achieve your goals in a race you will still keep any fans you have gained. As your fan base grows you’ll gain access to new cars which may help you complete races you may be having problems with.
As I mentioned earlier the online world is a whole new venue. Anything you have done in single player does not carry over to online multiplayer. You will start from scratch and have to unlock all the cars, gain fans and start from level one regardless of your single player level. You’ll have 4 different modes of racing: Racing, Motor Mash, Hardcore and Team Modes. So online you can be racing with up to 20 total people in a race which can get quite hectic. There is a matchmaking system in effect, but you’ll still come up against some high ranked drivers. |
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You’ll rank up just as you do in single player by gaining fans. As you progress through each level you’ll unlock brand new cars to use. I hate to do this again, but you’ll also see another Call of Duty resemblance in the fact that there is a Prestige style ranking called Legend Mode. Once you have hit the highest level in the game, you’ll get a new icon and cycle back through the levels again but you’ll also receive a new Legend Car. There are 10 total Legend levels, so in essence you can say there are 550 levels to obtain in Blur. Now that’s some replay value. Let’s just hope there are never any Legend lobbies for quick rank boosting. Sorry, I couldn’t resist on that one.
There are plenty of challenges and even daily ones that are obtainable once you hit rank 13. These daily challenges reset everyday and allow you to gain large amounts of fans for playing each and every day. The rewards for the daily challenges seem to be high amounts of fans, so you’ll want to focus on them. The challenges also have multiple levels that stack up. Once you have completed them though, you’ll have to wait until the next day to receive fans again.
One other thing that I do want to touch on is the social aspect of Blur. You’ll be able to share your accomplishment via Twitter, Facebook and even via Xbox Live Messages. You’ll be able to choose what you want to have posted whether it’s some standard accomplishment text or a photo you took in game. You can also link up your Gamertag to the Blur website via and in game code. There you can track all of your stats right from your PC.
The folks at Bizarre Creations have once again given us a racing title that will have a loyal fan base until we possibly get a Blur 2. The game look exceptional and you’ll have plenty of unlocking to do which really adds to the replay value of this game. With all the Leaderboards and smack talk that can take place via the social options, Blur really stands out above any other game. The ability to party up and play is also a great addition to the game. There are so many things in the game that I just do not have the time to mention, but what I can say is that if you are a racing game fanatic then you need to head out and get Blur right away. Even if you are a casual gamer who loves Kart style games, then you should own Blur. Blur is hours upon hours of fun and excitement no matter what skill level game you are |
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SUGGESTIONS |
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All I can say is just support the game with lots of DLC. This is a great Kart Racer and that is something the Xbox 360 really was lacking in its library. Great job team.. |
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Release Date
5/25/2010
Publisher
Activision
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OVERALL |
92 |
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GAMEPLAY |
93 |
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SOUND |
85 |
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GRAPHICS |
88 |
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REPLAY VALUE |
95 |
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