Blur: Preview

Blur is an arcade-style racing game that is being developed by Liverpool studio Bizarre Creations – the guys behind Project Gotham Racing –  and published by Activision.

The game will feature a host on licensed cars as well as real-world locations such as London, Barcelona and Los Angeles, but in addition to this also feature power-ups that will give the game a kart-racer feel. However, from what we’ve seen there’s no hint of a cartoon-esque look or feel to it. Instead you will make use weapons based off of ‘real-world concepts like shunt, shock, barge, nitro and mines.’

Each vehicle will also be equipped with a shield which needs to be initiated at the correct time in order to be effective, requiring a quick tap of a button as an attack looms.



“We did our homework and saw a huge opportunity to move beyond traditional racers and create a game completely focused on making racing 'fun' again," Martyn Chudley of Bizarre explains. "Blur delivers a new style of racing experience for all gamers, regardless of their experience, skill or genre preferences. Everything the player does, both in their cars and with their cars, is a dramatic adrenaline rush; it's a real blast!"

The gameplay incorporates a good sense of speed and from what we’ve seen it’s pretty tough going focusing both on the track and the threat from your opponents at the same time, so a good amount of skill will be needed to perfect a winning strategy.

The career plays out with you at the centre of a fake community in which you’ll make new friends, sign up to various fake networking sites, and receive fake emails. The game is rumoured to adopt a similar approach online, although obviously you’ll then be dealing with real people. Online races will feature up to 20 racers (1 per console) and 4-player split screen offline.



The game has a nice array of American sports and muscle cars to choose from:
Dodge Viper, Dodge Challenger, Chevy Camaro, Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Corvette to name but a few, as well as more bulky vehicles like the Ford Transit Van, and even a Hummer H2. Each one fitted with F1 engines.

Each vehicle will include full damage modeling, its own shield bar, unique weapons and special traits that will provide each with an array of strengths and weaknesses. They will also come with their own set of stats for acceleration, speed, drift and stability, making each one very customized for certain situations. These stats can also be upgraded by buying parts from the in-game store.

The way you pay for new cars and parts is by collecting ‘Fan Points’ which are very similar to the Kudos system found in Project Gotham Racing. You’ll get these for your driving style, awarded for both accuracy and aggression. You’ll also receive them for each race you partake in, win or lose, making for a more laid-back system that gives more freedom to us, the gamer.

The game is set for a worldwide release in Spring, 2010 for PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Stay tuned for further updates.

Craig Bryan, NoobFeed