Blur

Guest Review: Sopheap J. Eang

Blur, from Activision, is an action packed racing game that makes me a bit nostalgic.  The obvious objective is to be the first to cross the finish line.  Although, having the fastest car and being a good driver is not good enough here.  In order to be first, mastery of the power ups placed throughout the race track is necessary.  Power-ups range from a homing missile to lightning road blocks.  Choosing the correct ones for your situation is something to think about too.  The road block probably isn’t the best idea if you’re in first place.  The same idea with last place.  Picking up a shield won’t do any good.  The racing itself would have been enough to make this game a good choice for race fans.  But the addition of the power-ups add the chaos that will get you addicted.

If you’re the single player person, blur has plenty to offer.  The absence of any real story is a downer.  But the road to being the best is an amazing ride.  Racing on the tracks is how you prove yourself worthy of taking part in one-on-one boss races.  Winning this race unlocks their car for use and a car mod.  It sounds simple, but the objectives just to participate can be difficult, but entertaining just to attempt at.  Some examples would be to push an enemy car off the side of a mountain.  While others are more generic, finish a track with X time.  As you race, you gain fans.  Fans can be gained by completing task on the track or by just doing whatever it takes to win.  When certain fan numbers are reached, new cars become unlocked.  With this said, there are twenty-five total levels in the single player game.  Leaving you with plenty of unlockable material.  Add this with its multiplayer feature, and you’ve got a game with every penny.

The online  multiplayer adds much to the single player game.  Along with increasing the level cap from twenty-five to fifty, you’re racing against other players.  Which adds competitive gameplay.  Being out in front of the pack is nice, but you’ll find yourself swerving and picking up shields often in an attempt to stay there.  While being in last can be just as fun.  Everyone is in front of you, giving you plenty of targets to shoot at.  There is lag at times, but never enough to intrude on the fun.  Unfortunately splitscreen takes a back seat to online.  The removal of the rear-view mirror makes it harder to take down opponents who are behind you.  Other than that, the multiplayer is solid and will provide hours and hours of enjoyment. 

Too finish the package, Blur looks great.  It uses real world race tracks and over 55 licensed photo-realistic cars.  As the race goes on, your car will become damaged.  This is represented by the life bar above the car.  But it’s also noticeable just by looking at the car.  The bumpers can come off, windows could be broken.  The hood could come completely off.  These little details really show how hard the developers worked on the game.  For the future of Blur I hope to see some DLC (downloadable content) put on the market.  Blur is a refreshing take on the racing genre and is a game I would recommend to all racing fans alike.