Blur Game Review

Aug 2, 2010

Let me start by saying I am not a racing fan.  NASCAR is a mystery to me and games like Need for Speed or Project Gotham have never seen the inside of my Xbox.  But after hearing about Blur from clan mates and seeing more and more of them playing it, I figured why not and picked it up and boy am I  happy that I did!  Blur is the FPS of racing games and delivers solid game play with amazing action!  I have seen critics pan this title based on its racing chops, but let me tell you, as someone who isn’t a racing enthusiast, I love this title!  Nothing beats using the games power-ups to rain destruction down upon your enemies, err opponents cars, just as easily as an AC-130 in MW2!

Power-ups are akin to perks in COD and you can store up to 3 at a time.  Some are geared towards offense while others are defensive in nature.  Hurling a plasma ball (called a Shunt) at your fellow racers is both visually exciting and viscerally entertaining as you see them engulfed in red flames as they flip out of your path.  Creating a blue shockwave (a Barge) that sends all opponents close to you spinning into walls and off the track, well it just kicks ass!  Aside from these two you also have Mine that allows you to drop  mini stars of black and orange death on the course, hitting one will shake both your car and your nerves.  Calling in a lightning strike with the Shock power-up creates multiple lightning columns further down the track that wreak havoc with cars electrical systems and Bolt sends what look like kinetically charged playing cards ala Gambit from the X-Men into your foes.  Used wisely, these abilities can turn the tide of any race.  To combat these devastating weapons you have Shield which will engulf your car in a white bubble of protection or Nitro which will catapult your car to unimaginable speeds and out of harm’s way and into the lead.  Repair is used to heal your car, so keeping track of where these are placed can mean the difference between wrecking and finishing the race.

Perfectly balanced, the power-ups offer a great deal of depth beyond simply lining up and taking the shot, you need to think about which to use and when. When you hear the warning tones of a Shunt homing in on you, you’ll need to master the technique and timing of using the 360 degree shockwave of the Barge or a Bolt shot backwards (yes you can direct your offensive weapons to fire behind you as well as to the front so the rearview mirror isn’t just for show!) to try and destroy the inbound ball of destruction.  It’s the balance of offensive and defensive capabilities of each power-up that gives Blur an edge; a necessity for creating a fun and exciting environment that transcends the standard racing or Kart game.  This provides the scope for varying tactics, such as keeping a Shield or Repair in store for later, or stocking up with a powerful trio of Shunts or maybe a collection of Nitro for the final straight away.  How you play is up to you and there is no right or wrong way when it comes to winning the race!

Blur’s single-player campaign is set up in sections. You start as a nobody racer who needs to complete challenges laid out by the level’s boss.  There are nine different stages, each housing a range of different events with a one on-one boss battle at the end.  Beyond the traditional Race, Blur features Destruction and Checkpoint events.  Each of them have you against a constantly ticking down timer, however you have the means to keep it extended with skillful play.  Destruction is just that, the idea being to defeat waves of opponent cars and you receive a time boost when you successfully do so.  Checkpoint is a simple Time Trial that pits you against the clock.  Fans are award for completing races as well as thrilling them with killer moves and using your power-ups efficiently in game.  The more creative you are the more fans you get.  The more fans you get the more cars you unlock.  Winning the favor of the crowd is both figuratively and literally rewarding.

Each race in the SP has 3 components or goals.  First is winning the race which awards “lights” (think stars from MW2 Spec Ops mode).  The better you do the more lights you receive.  Next you have Fans.  Fans essentially work the same way as XP in a shooter game, rewarding the player for skillful driving and use of weapons.  The Fan system rewards single exploits as well as combinations, so a simple hit with a Shunt will get you a few Fans, while shooting a target in the distance will net a bigger reward with say the long range Bolt shot.  True gaming experts, however, will find their glory in the mastery of sliding the car around a corner into a drift, hitting a jump and gaining some air and then firing off a Bolt for a combination attack that nets them hundreds of adoring Fans instantly! But this is just the single-player, and a small component of the game when compared with its multiplayer.  Just like MW2 ( Activision may be the reason for such focus on MP) Blur’s MP is truly were it shines and becomes a community game and not just a racer!

With Xbox Live, System-Link, and more importantly four-player split screen, Blur creates a true communal experience for MP and more importantly something very different from the SP game. The Mod Shop (unlocked at lvl 3 in MP) brings the strengths of MW’s perk system to a racing game.  Once unlocked you can combine up to three different mods, each offering a range of different perks such as sucking in power-ups from a greater distance or converting attacks while under the safety of a shield into additional power-ups.  So beyond just the ability to customize your cars to your own playing style, it gives Blur that addictive appeal that MW offered in abundance, but without heartbeat sensors and thermal scopes!

A variety of playlists provides the structure for multiplayer, which are unlocked as you level up.  The typical race types are complimented with unadulterated Demolition Derby type events, where the focus is simply on how much carnage you can cause.  Because Blur absolutely nails the balance between racing and combat, you can run and gun or simply race, each has its own merits and requires you to plan your moves accordingly.  Additional playlists offer hardcore events for the more accomplished racer and even Social playlists that reflect what the Blur audience is currently enjoying.  Speaking of social, a big part of Blur online is the fact that it embraces the whole social networking craze.  Virtually everything in the game can be shared via Twitter or Facebook.  You can also set challenges for your friends by simply completing an event and hitting a button that will record your stats and task them with beating your scores and because it works via the Xbox Messaging system, these challenges are delivered the minute you issue them.

So if you like racing, Blur is for you.  If you like Kart games, Blur is for you.  Hell if you just like making things go “boom”, Blur is for you.  Without a doubt, Blur is the most fun I have had with a game in some time, so I say give it a shot (currently on sale at GameStop for $49 or available from GameFly) and I’ll see you on the battlefield…um, I mean the track!