Hands-on: Blur multiplayer Beta

Posted on 12. Mar, 2010 by Chris Evans in Featured, Previews, Xbox 360

Blur can be described in five simple words – Mario Kart with real cars.  And that’s all you really need to know.  The visuals may be vastly different, but the gameplay is near identical.  The handling of the cars is suitably unrealistic, with only one or two corners per track requiring use of the brakes.  Then again, the circuits are so simple they rarely compose more than four or five corners each, but that isn’t really what Blur is about.  The power-ups scattered around feature the usual suspects from the world of kart racing – boosts, missiles, bombs and shields – but all given a healthy dose of adrenaline and neon visuals. The races are only two or three laps each but feature up to twenty players, making them pretty hectic affairs, especially with the significant rubber-banding that keeps anyone from pulling too far ahead or falling too far behind.

The biggest draw to the multiplayer component of Blur will no doubt be the FPS style levels and upgrades system.  Levelling-up can be achieved through the number of fans you earn -  a measure of both your success in races and of extra awards you can earn for accuracy or length of drifts and the like.  All the games power-ups remain the same for all racers, but higher levels earn different ‘loadouts’ for your cars -  different bonuses you can combine to give you an advantage over your rivals.  These include modifying your shields to absorb attacks so you can use them, or one that gives you a random power up at the beginning of the race and every time you respawn.  Higher levels also give you access to better cars and more customisation options.  The balance of these upgrades seems to be just right so far, changing your game and adding some strategy, without alienating lower levelled players too much.

Blur is nothing new, only notable for combining Burnout and Need For Speed style visuals with the madness of kart racers, but what it does it does very well.  The multiplayer component at least is great fun, but the lasting appeal might be questionable, especially with the fairly samey circuits.  My biggest concern, however, is over the single-player component of the final game.  Racing against real people online is entertaining, but over a single player career mode I’m struggling to see how Bizarre Creations are going to keep things fresh.  They impressed with the Project Gotham Racing series though, so I’m hoping for good things.