Blur

Posted June 9, 2012 by Speed - 0 comments

Is it me or has the gaming industry lost its head? No racing in eight months followed by a hurricane month of racing games. If you developers want to share revenue I won’t mind giving you my account number. Blur has to compete with two other titles, Sony’s kart title Modnation Racers and Disney’s Hollywood racer Split/Second: Velocity. Let’s see which burnt rubber smells the best!

Blur is actually a mix between the “realism” and “maturity” of Split/Second and the weapons arsenal of games like Mario Kart and Modnation Racers. Maybe even a bit more related to Mario Kart thanks to the commercial Bizarre Creations launched. Of course Blur is a lot more realistic, something that made my grey cells become car sick as Blur uses real cars like BMWs, Audis, Volkswagens and so on. At first sight there’s some getting used to seeing how your beamer can shoot off purple electrical bolts, how your Audi can drop mines and your Volkswagen has homing missiles. I wish this was reality…

Just like in Split/Second racing ended up second. Everything is about getting the fans behind you and collecting lights by means of winning races and annoying the competition with your power-ups. In total there’s eight of those which can be used both for offense as well as defense. While racing you’ll find icons with which you can drop a mine, get a shield and the ability to go supersonic for a few seconds and power-ups that allow to shoot three electrical pulses, send lightning bolts to the leader, create a shockwave around your car or repair your car. Each of the power-ups can be fired off to someone in front of you as well as towards your back which is deal to destroy upcoming projectiles. In total three can be collected and they’re interchangeable.

The singleplayer is short and powerful but also lacks inspiration. In the name of (fill in your God), at least put some effort into linking a story to this mode. We don’t need an eight Oscar winning tale but give us something! As I said the idea is to get the fans behind you and collect lights. Fans join you by “pleasing the audience” which can be done by fulfilling certain goals like driving through ports, make your opponents’ lives miserable and making certain racing moves. Getting fans also means getting new cars and stickers. Lights are received by ending in the Top3 and will give access to new races.

Contrary to Split/Second there’s plenty of variation in tracks and cars. At least 20 circuits and plenty of rides from brands like BMW, Ford, Corvette, Audi, Volkswagen, Dodge, Mercedes and Lotus are present and all equipped with mine throwers, electrical pulses, shields and more. Talk about full option…

The multiplayer is the chrome spinner on the wheel. You can race online with up to twenty people in several racing variations. As beginner you get dropped in the driving school where you take on racers with a ranking below ten. Then modes gradually get unlocked and one of the more fun ones is the Twisted Metal look-a-like Motor Mash where you have to do as much damage as possible. Modern Warfare-like you get rewarded for just about any action you do and when completing micro-missions you get mods aka “perks” that give you additional advantages.

It’s ended in a neck to neck race where the foto finish made it clear that Blur is the racing game of the month. The large variety of challenges, cars, tracks and power-ups shifted my preference from Split/Second to Blur. Especially the multiplayer will have a long lifespan. I’m stealing the conclusion from my previous review: rent Split/Second and buy Blur!

Split/Second: Velocity Skate 3