Blur

Bizarre Creations' Blur is one of those games so simple in its premise you wonder why it hasn't been done sooner. It's best described asProject Gotham Racer meets Mario Cart meets Wipe Out, and takes the best things of all those games and shoves it in one neat little package.

It has "real world" locations such as San Francisco, Tokyo, and Barcelona, with fantastic looking licensed cars from Ferrari, Lotus, Ford, Volkswagon, Landrover and more. As you zoom about you take damage which appears the more you get hit and smashed, but that's where the realism stops and the fun starts.

The object of single player is to win the race and collect "lights" for first, second and third place. The more lights you have, the more events you can race in. There are bonus lights to pick up via two means: fans and gates. Driving through a gate icon opens up race gates you must race through to get more fans. Fan Bonuses are rewarded for clever driving and using pickups on other racers. Fans also unlock more cars and more mods for your pickups.

Like Mario Cart, there are pickups on the track at various locations. The offensive pickups come in the form of mine, shunt, bolt, and lightning, whilst defensive involves shield, repair and nitro, although all pickups can be used either offensively or defensively in the right situation. These pickups can be fired forwards or backwards, which means even those in the lead can have some fun. The mods for the pickups involve giving you more bolts, making your shield absorb more damage, and converting damage into pickups.

Single player, whist quite difficult, is still loads of fun – but racing multiplayer is where the game truly shines. Four player split screen will fill a room with the same laughter and entertainment as Mario Cart. Online play's Call Of Duty-style progression system is based on getting the most fans in a race and, unlike most other games, being at a higher level doesn't really give you that great an advantage online. Even the best driver can be taken down by a well-placed mine right on the finishing line. Combined with such things as choosing a Nemesis to compete against, friend point challenges, and connectivity with social networks, Blur raises competitive gaming to new heights.

 

5/5

More television, DVDs, games and gadgets in Sydney? Sign up to our weekly newsletter