May 2010 was a good month for racing fans, with two new arcade racing titles coming toe to toe to battle it out for supremacy for best kart racing game that year. First came Split/Second: Velocity from Black Rock Studios & Disney, then just a few days later came Blur from Bizarre Creations & Activision. Its completely up to personal preference whether the winner of this battle deservedly won, but in my eyes Blur was robbed of a victory which was rightfully its to take.
Blur is, in layman’s terms, Mario Kart for big boys. Using real world cars & locations but throwing in some spectacular visual effects & power-ups to ground it very much in arcade racer territory. Blur's story is simple, you are a newcomer to the street racing scene and must rise through the ranks to become the best racer in the world, to do this you must win countless races of various types & even battle the best of the best in head to head contests to not only earn the right to say you beat them, but to take their personalised car from them. The single player mode is nothing extraordinary but multiplayer is where the game really comes to prove that it is quite possibly the best racing game of 2010. With up to 20 players racing round tight & expertly designed circuits in some of the worlds most beautiful locales all whilst trying to destroy each other with power-ups, its something of utter genius.
So Blur's racing style is what should be first pinned down. Its very much an arcade racer due to its forgiving handling style & use of power-ups. You also don't earn cash as you don't buy anything, instead it's all periodically unlocked for you by earning fans. You earn fans by pulling of stylish manoeuvres such as long drifts, using power-ups or driving fast for long periods of time. You also earn fans by gaining lights, lights need to be earned to progress in single player and are usually earned by placing 1st in races & completing each tracks individual challenge (such as driving through rings or using a certain power up on multiple racers).
Power-ups range from 'Bolts' (a 3 shot weapon that fires small pink spikes at enemies to nudge them) & 'Shock' (Fires three beams of lightening ahead of the racer in 1st which they have to attempt to dodge), to Boosts and Shields. The games most infamous weapon however is the 'Shunt', the equivalent of Mario Kart's Red Shell which homes in on the player in front of you and can be a real pain to try and shake off before it hits you. Whilst all power-ups are needed, the Shunt feels a little overpowered and too commonly available.
Blur is, in layman’s terms, Mario Kart for big boys. Using real world cars & locations but throwing in some spectacular visual effects & power-ups to ground it very much in arcade racer territory. Blur's story is simple, you are a newcomer to the street racing scene and must rise through the ranks to become the best racer in the world, to do this you must win countless races of various types & even battle the best of the best in head to head contests to not only earn the right to say you beat them, but to take their personalised car from them. The single player mode is nothing extraordinary but multiplayer is where the game really comes to prove that it is quite possibly the best racing game of 2010. With up to 20 players racing round tight & expertly designed circuits in some of the worlds most beautiful locales all whilst trying to destroy each other with power-ups, its something of utter genius.
So Blur's racing style is what should be first pinned down. Its very much an arcade racer due to its forgiving handling style & use of power-ups. You also don't earn cash as you don't buy anything, instead it's all periodically unlocked for you by earning fans. You earn fans by pulling of stylish manoeuvres such as long drifts, using power-ups or driving fast for long periods of time. You also earn fans by gaining lights, lights need to be earned to progress in single player and are usually earned by placing 1st in races & completing each tracks individual challenge (such as driving through rings or using a certain power up on multiple racers).
Power-ups range from 'Bolts' (a 3 shot weapon that fires small pink spikes at enemies to nudge them) & 'Shock' (Fires three beams of lightening ahead of the racer in 1st which they have to attempt to dodge), to Boosts and Shields. The games most infamous weapon however is the 'Shunt', the equivalent of Mario Kart's Red Shell which homes in on the player in front of you and can be a real pain to try and shake off before it hits you. Whilst all power-ups are needed, the Shunt feels a little overpowered and too commonly available.
All the cars are based on real vehicles from manufacturers like Audi & BMW. Real world locations such as Barcelona, London, and Tokyo are also featured each with their own distinct visual style & interesting track design. To unlock cars you must rank up from earning fans and the best way to earn fans is by earning lights, so the two components work hand in hand with each other.
Blur's multiplayer takes a Call of Duty style levelling system, 50 ranks and 10 'Legend' ranks. Gametypes vary from straight up races with the option being up to 10 or 20 players, team racing events where two teams of 10 compete to be the winners across multiple races, a demolition derby gametype & even a mode where power-ups are turned off designed for those who have mastered the games racing style and is one of the most competitive and interesting gametypes.
Blur's visual style is both beautiful and unique. Reflecting on the game's title, Blur, the visual style is bright & full of coloured lights which when driving at speed will blur causing the screen to become a beautiful mess of coloured lights surrounding the track. Cars will also leave small trails of lights from where brake-lights blur giving the game a real sense of speed.
Its also has high attention to detail on both cars & tracks, nowhere near the standard of the likes of Forza but impressive nonetheless with cars reflecting the blur of lights on its bodywork & skid marks being permanently left on the track for the remainder of the race. Particle effects are also great with lingering smoke & dirt that kicks up when you drive over it, to the point of even bouncing off of others cars & creating small sound effects of little rocks scratching across the paintwork. The sound is also great with a licensed soundtrack consisting of electronic music & cars sounding meaty with the roar of engines & screech of tires.
But it isn't without its problems. Blur only has a handful of tracks and once you have played a few hours you begin to feel like you've seen everything the game has to offer.
Unfortunately with Bizarre Creations being no longer with us and the games poor sales figures, Blur became a forgotten gem with no sequel in sight. Activision have tried to appease the fans by releasing a mobile title 'Blur Overdrive' but to little success as it had nothing that made the original game fun in it.
Blur's multiplayer takes a Call of Duty style levelling system, 50 ranks and 10 'Legend' ranks. Gametypes vary from straight up races with the option being up to 10 or 20 players, team racing events where two teams of 10 compete to be the winners across multiple races, a demolition derby gametype & even a mode where power-ups are turned off designed for those who have mastered the games racing style and is one of the most competitive and interesting gametypes.
Blur's visual style is both beautiful and unique. Reflecting on the game's title, Blur, the visual style is bright & full of coloured lights which when driving at speed will blur causing the screen to become a beautiful mess of coloured lights surrounding the track. Cars will also leave small trails of lights from where brake-lights blur giving the game a real sense of speed.
Its also has high attention to detail on both cars & tracks, nowhere near the standard of the likes of Forza but impressive nonetheless with cars reflecting the blur of lights on its bodywork & skid marks being permanently left on the track for the remainder of the race. Particle effects are also great with lingering smoke & dirt that kicks up when you drive over it, to the point of even bouncing off of others cars & creating small sound effects of little rocks scratching across the paintwork. The sound is also great with a licensed soundtrack consisting of electronic music & cars sounding meaty with the roar of engines & screech of tires.
But it isn't without its problems. Blur only has a handful of tracks and once you have played a few hours you begin to feel like you've seen everything the game has to offer.
Unfortunately with Bizarre Creations being no longer with us and the games poor sales figures, Blur became a forgotten gem with no sequel in sight. Activision have tried to appease the fans by releasing a mobile title 'Blur Overdrive' but to little success as it had nothing that made the original game fun in it.
STORY: 4/10
GAMEPLAY: 9/10
PRESENTATION: 9/10
LIFESPAN: 8/10
SCORE: 8/10
Blur is a excellent title that didn't gain the commercial success it deserved and a game that if not already experienced should be by every racing fan.