Blur review

Will racing simulator nuts and cartoony kart-heads come together?

GamesRadar+ Verdict

Pros

  • +

    Chaotic

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    frenzied multiplayer combat

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    Substantial single-player component

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    20 racers on one track

Cons

  • -

    Weapons are mostly Mario Kart rip-offs

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    Racing mechanics feel insubstantial

  • -

    Sits in a limbo between hardcore and kart racing

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Who exactly do developers Bizarre Creations see as the perfect audience for Blur? If you consider yourself a car nerd then most likely you’ll want one of the many, many games which features licensed vehicles to have at least some handling and performance similarities with their real-life counterparts.

If you’re a fan of kart games or weapon-based arcade racers then chances are you’re expecting hoverships or balloon-headed monkey drivers. Ideally, hoverships driven by balloon-headed monkeys. Blur has combined Mario Kart and Wipeout’s gameplay with Project Gotham’s eclectic taste in cars and (seeing Land Rovers racing competi-tively with rusted VW Beetles and Nissan 350Zs), and has you firing plasma balls and triggering energy waves. It leaves a peculiar taste.

Are we making too much of a snap judgement here? Are we getting all intolerant in our old age? After all, Project Gotham was hardly a simulator and Blur harks back (somewhat unfashionably) to the likes of Need for Speed: Underground and Midnight Club 2 – two titles that embraced reality only lightly. The Midnight Club series especially has long mixed real cars with power-ups and online play.

Although Blur will be primarily played as an online title, it also has a substantial single-player component. In this mode, your ultimate aim is to defeat nine rivals, whom you are allowed to compete against in one-on-one races after completing a set amount of races and meeting some of their specific objectives (such as wrecking X amount of cars or landing X number of power-ups).

Beat them and you’ll be rewarded with their special ride and a power-up ‘mod’ (such as extra Bolt ammo or a stronger shield) to use in future races. In addition to straight-up races, you’ll also get to take part in beat-the-clock Checkpoint races and a mode called Destruction where you must take down as much traffic as possible using your Bolt attack before the time runs out.

More info

GenreRacing
DescriptionWhile controlling photo-realistic cars, gamers can use offensive and defensive attacks as they battle for the lead and careen through real-world track locations ranging from L.A. and San Francisco to the streets of Hackney, UK and the treacherous roads of Barcelona, Spain.
Platform"Xbox 360","PS3","PC"
US censor rating"Rating Pending","Rating Pending","Rating Pending"
UK censor rating"","",""
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