Blur Beta Impressions

Written by Jim Thomas Wednesday, 10 March 2010 20:38

Let me preface this article by saying that I hate racing games.  I've never felt the need to simulate such an ordinary task as driving.  Sure there are a few racing titles that can be fun.  In my glory days I owned at Mario Kart, and I used to kick ass at Chukie Cheese and the F1 racing sims.  Baring those childhood titles, I just never really got into racing.  Blur certainly hasn't changed my mind.

Blur is Activision's latest take on racing.  The game is a hybrid between Mario Kart and Need for Speed.  The Beta features 2 race types, Skirmish and Powered up.  Skirmish features 2 - 10 players on track at one time allowing for a much tamer experience.  Powered up on the other hand, pits up to 20 players on one track in an all out race to the finish. 

On to that anology. Racing in Blur is like serving 20 years in prison without incident, only to get gangbanged and sodomized in the shower the day before you're released.  At least, that has been my experience with the game.  It starts out like a normal racing game; everything is good and you're in first place.  Then you see the shadow in your rear view mirror.   The next thing you know your car's on fire, you're in last place, and your rectum is bleeding.

The racing aspect of the game is rather mundane.  However, Blur utilizes a power-up system akin to Mario Kart that turns the racing aspect upside down.  Power-ups are acquired by driving through strategically placed icons on the track.  Each color coded to allow for quick identification.  After a power-up is collected, the icon re-spawns moments later.  The litany of power-ups include shields, turbo, barges, mines, etc.  Shortly after the first power-ups are collected the once calm race turns into a total shit show.

In addition, Blur has added an experience component which allows players to rank up and unlock better cars and modifications.  Think of these modifications as perks in Call of Duty, a little added benefit for leveling up.  Experience comes in the form of "fans", which are earned by winning races and completing challenges.  The more "fans" you earn, the better cars you'll have at your disposal. 

As you can imagine starting out as a noob put me at a disadvantage.  Other players had already reached level 10 and unlocked some impressive cars and "perks."  My first race was a skirmish on the dock track.  My car, a Ford Focus.  Yea I realize the Ford Focus is the epitome of race cars, believe it or not, it's available from the start.  With my riced out Focus in hand the timer ticked to zero and we were off.  I managed to get past the pack and land in the lead position going into the first turn, which is when the proverbial soap dropped. 

Apparently certain modifications allow for racers to gain a power-up moments after the race starts (before you encounter them on the track.)  Unbeknownst to me, a simple turn evolved into orgy of car parts and rectal bleeding, as my Focus was hammered into the rail by a purple explosion of light.  The driver behind me had unleashed a "barge" power-up mid turn.  Adding insult to injury, the following 6 cars then proceeded to smash me into said rail repeatedly.  Moments later, my smoking Focus was destroyed.  Fortunately a destroyed car doesn't mean you're done racing.  It does however take 3 seconds off your time, ultimately guaranteeing last place.  And this was how my next dozen or so races would pan out.

Every time I would take the lead, a vicious power-up would knock me off course.  It felt as though every other racer on the track had only one goal, to completely and utterly fuck me.  As frustrating as it was losing every race, I couldn't help but keep playing.  Hoping (in vein) that just once, luck would come my way.  One broken controller later, and I've only finished in the money once.  Which was the result of the server dropping all the other racers (semantics.) 

Other than the aforementioned power-ups, there isn't really anything in Blur that stands out.  It's a rather mediocre racing title; featuring mediocre graphics covered up by constant camera flare (which racing games certainly love.)  Aside from blowing up other cars, there is little excitement.  If I wasn't so utterly terrible and determined to get a first place finish, I doubt I would have spent much time with it. 

With that being said, the Beta only featured 2 multiplayer modes.  The campaign is still something of a mystery, as are the rest of the game modes.  We'll have to wait a few months to see the finished product.  Until then I'll save up some money for a supply of new controllers, as I'm sure I'll be needing them.