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Blur
With a pedigree that consists of the likes of Project Gotham Racing and Geometry Wars there's no doubt that Bizarre Creations are capable of producing quality games with an eye catching visual flair. Blur seem to be a culmination of the best elements from the two aforementioned games and its hard not to be impressed with its style. While it is a arcade racing experience filled to the brim with power-ups and crazy lighting effects all of the vehicles are licensed and handle quite realistically which at first seem at odds with the arcade action. It takes a while before everything starts to feel "right" but when it does you'll be hooked right to the end.
In career mode you are given a choice of cars and have to take on a roster of nine opponents spread out across nine tiers each with their own set of demands before you are deemed worthy of racing them and winning their car. The races in each tier is split up into three different type of events like pure straightforward racing, destruction (where the aim is to destroy as many opponents as possible) and checkpoint which is pretty self-explanatory. This might not sound like much but trust me Blur has enough things happening at all times to keep you glued to your gamepad (Highly recommended peripheral for this type of game). While playing you are constantly earning "fan points" which helps you to "level-up" and unlock all kinds of cool new cars. This is a very nice feature as it means no race is ever wasted. Even if you come in dead last you will at least have earned a few fan points which can unlock some new stuff. The main aim is to earn "lights" which is the Blur equivalent of medals and will unlock new tracks and tiers. Netting first place will earn you five gold lights but you can earn two extra per track by completing fan challenges or earning more than a certain amount of fans in the race. This ensures that there is always a feeling of progress and things to aim for during a race even if you are outclassed by the competition. Speaking of the competition in the single player campaign there are 19 other cars with you in the races and as you can imagine this makes for some hectic action. Throw some cool power-ups into the mix which look like they belong in a Wipeout game not a realistic looking car racing game with licensed cars and you have a recipe for mayhem. Dropping mines, shunting other cars or nitro boosting in a blur of speed and colour keeps the racing fresh and exciting and makes for a adrenaline fuelled playing experience. I can honestly say I never got bored while playing this game which is not something all racing games can lay claim to. The realistic car handling can take some getting used to especially the drifting which can feel very stiff and will have you slamming into plenty of corners before you have fully mastered it. What I love about the power-up system is that none of the weapons are overpowered and there is an offensive or defensive use for each one of them. Making strategic use of each power-up is a big part of every race and since you can only carry 3 of them at a time its crucial to use them at the right time. There are plenty of them scattered across the tracks but just remember your opponents are pretty ruthless and won't hesitate to make scrap metal out of you so don't underestimate the importance of your rear-view mirror. What I found interesting is that the developers have made sure you don't run amok for extra fan points by driving the tracks backwards or anything like that, as soon as your car isn't pointed forward you will reset which is actually quite a welcome feature as it prevents abuse. Visually Blur is quite nice but never really excels in any department. The cars look very nice but there's nothing here that hasn't been seen before. The range of cars that include the likes of Fords, Renaults, Audi and Chevrolet is very nice but like I said there's nothing about them that would set them apart from other games in the genre. Likewise the tracks are pretty cool and while based on real-world locations some artistic licence have been taken with them. There's plenty of eye catching effects like fireworks lighting up the sky and pools of water to splash through but if you take away all the colourful power-up effects you are left with a pretty average looking game. The presentation is very nice though and the whole thing runs at breakneck speed so you won't really notice it unless you really pay attention but with the likes of Split-Second on the market Blur needed a bit more than Technicolor power-up effects to boost its visuals. The game is very stable which is a welcome change for the computer market so I didn't mind the less than stellar visuals so much. The audio fits the game perfect with some nice voice over work from your female mentor and plenty of suitable racing effects. The sound effects are great but be sure to turn on the soundtrack as well as there are some really nice tunes to race to. The controls are good if you play with a gamepad and apart from the slightly stiff drift mechanics you'll be hurling around the tracks in no time. The opponent A.I is pretty aggressive and Blur isn't one of the easiest games I've ever played but it never became tedious or frustration. The single player modes experience cap is level 25 which can be reached pretty quickly if you are thorough but by then you will have more than enough cars to mess around with. Blur has been called Mario Kart for grown-ups and I'm inclined to agree. The stylish visuals, banging soundtrack and over-the-top power-ups merge quite well wit the real-world tracks and licensed cars and overall I can heartily recommend Blur if you want something new in the genre. It feels a bit like Flatout meets Need For Speed at first but you'll soon discover that it has its own unique identity. |
System Requirements
TAGS: Blur, Fan Points, Bizarre Creations, lights, Fan Challenges
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