Blur, the next great racing game
Racing is one of my genres of choice for video games. It’s fun, it’s fast, it’s just you and your car. It’s about control and quick decision. Did I mention it’s fast? Well, the latest entry into the world of racers, Blur, was released as a beta this week to public. I grabbed it and tried out the multiplayer demo…and it rocked.
The best of both worlds
When I was playing after midnight on a Tuesday night, there were 5,000 people playing the beta. And after a brief half hour with the game I’d wager it will be a hit. It hits a sweet spot in gameplay and balance. It looks good, plays good, and it puts the fun of Mario Kart square in the clutches of core gamers.
Sure, Blur looks good, that's easy, but it plays great
If you take Burn Out Paradise and mix it with Mario Kart, you have Blur. Only Blur is better than both those titles. First off, Blur is track-based, so you don’t have to memorize which street to take to get to the stadium. Blur also uses real world cars, which may not seem like much but it makes a difference…mentally. Knowing you’re driving a 1960s Camaro or new Audi is much better driving a made up race car.
It’s not very original, just better
The power-ups and weapons in Blur aren’t very original, but they don’t need to be. You have your forward attacks, your area attacks, the healing, the turbo…they’re all there, only not in the form of turtle shells and banana peels. Getting proficient at the weapons in Blur looks like it will take a lot of training too. Since the racing physics are more real than a kart game, you still have to pay attention to you driving while trying to fire lasers at your opponents. I like that challenge.
I think Blur has hit a sweet spot. For those us that want more racing in our kart games while still having the fun of weapons, this game is it. It really looks to be the best of both worlds. Honestly, this is one demo I could play alone for a long time. But it’s safe to say that if the full retail game is half of what the demo is, then I’ll happily shell out $50 for it at release.
Until then, I’ll keep trying to get 2.5 million in OutRun. Hard.
