Activision has begun the awkwardly titled Blur Multiplayer Beta Demo on Xbox 360. Basically, with the game two months from release it’s a closed demo, and while a web page is set up for beta testers to report any bugs or feedback, I have to imagine the only thing that may get tuned is the amount of XP per race or how much XP it takes to level up. Not the actual racing, cars, tracks, or power ups. Yes, power ups. Blur is Bizarre Creations’ attempt to merge realistic racing with the arcadey action of a Mario Kart game. Throw in a Call of Dutyesque leveling system complete with challenges to complete and you have what on paper sounds like a rock solid hit.
I played the game for a little over an hour and managed to get to level 3 and I can tell you that while the game is fun, it would probably be a lot more fun with friends. Laughing and arguing over all the ridiculous things that happen in the game would probably be a fun distraction from shooting guns at each other all the time, but standing on it’s own Blur fails to be satisfying at the 3 things it’s trying to accomplish.
Let’s start with the racing, Bizarre is of course known for their Project Gotham Racing series which had players performing stunts for kudos, and progressing to the next race by earning enough of them. Blur’s system is similar in that you are trying to gain fans(XP)by not only doing the stunts you would get kudos for in PGR, but by then using the weapons littered all over the road to attack other drivers. You also get an amount of fans for what place you come in, in the race. This might be fun by itself, but with the addition of weapons things get a little too hectic and you stop worrying about trying to do cool stunts and you just start juggling your weapons vs not getting hit by other drivers weapons. Throw in the fact that the driving doesn’t feel tight or nearly as satisfying as a sim racer like Forza 3 and I didn’t find myself enjoying the racing very much.
Which brings up another point, with the leveling system you are really just playing against yourself. Trying to get to a higher level to unlock even the most basic of skills in the game. You can mod out your car and the weapons you pick up, but for some reason, not until level 3. In a game like Call of Duty you can’t make a custom class until a certain level, but that’s ok, because you can play with teammates who have your back until you’re good to go. In Blur you are one car against at least 9 other drivers, all trying to not only outrace you, but outgun you. If you are playing against anyone past level 3 while you are level 1 or 2 you will almost certainly lose the race. The only comfort you have is by doing enough drifting, and weapon damage you will earn fans quickly.
That brings up the weapons, basically nothing super original here. You almost kind of wish it was the mushroom, the star, or the turtle shell. The weapons feel loose and inaccurate, which is probably the point. It puts the emphasis on the driving, which makes me wonder, why wasn’t this just a driving game? Well, that’s probably because without the pickups, it’s just a multiplatform Project Gotham Racing. The weapons feel more like just another obstacle to drive around and not like something you are firing at another car. There is a weapon that lets you fire three “bullets” from your car if a car gets hit it slows the car in front of you down, but doesn’t really take it out of the race. So you have to use it to help you pass a car, needless to say it’s the most common weapon I saw. There is a massive black hole bomb thing called a shunt that will chase down a car in front of you for X amount of time before it stops in place and becomes a hazard. Then there is a repair kit and a lighting storm which creates lighting bolts on several parts of the track. A few other power ups exist, but they don’t feel any different from anything else you’ve seen before.
Which brings me to the graphics, they are quite impressive. The tracks are photo realistic and the use of licensed cars is a nice touch. Something that I really wasn’t expecting to see in a game with such blatant destruction. The aforementioned lighting storm is such a sight to behold the first few times you see it you might find yourself driving into it. There’s also a cool effect on the camera when you get shunted, it makes it seem like the picture is going out on your set for a split second. It’s just long enough to for you think how neat it looks before it goes away.
Blur will be released this May, and based on my short time with the beta I can say that this game would be more fun if you have a dedicated group of friends you game with and you need to mix it up. Or, you are a seriously huge fan of the Burnout games, or your looking for a Mario Kart game with licensed cars over Xbox Live. Hopefully we can get our hands on a copy of the game to review and we can let you know the final verdict on Blur.