Some have found it completely outrageous than anyone would attempt to compare Blur to Mario Kart, the problem is that the comparison is so ridiculously easy to make. While Blur is not the rainbows-and-sunshine kart racer that Mario Kart has always been, it is virtually impossible to not see the influences Bizarre Creation took for inspiration when it came time to start developing their racing title. Games under their belt like Project Gotham Racing and more notably Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved and Geometry Wars 2, the designers are no strangers to coming up with experiences that borderline on digital heroine capable of keeping players coming back for more on a routine basis. It seems to me that every element of Blur is designed from the ground up to appeal to those who grew into adult playing Mario Kart. Doing away with the cutesy environments and power-ups, Blur attempts to give the player a set of teeth and a license to fly through races by the seam of their pants. Certainly possessing a few frustrating issues, Blur maintains a consistent atmosphere that borderlines on fodder for starting a digital addiction.

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Setting out to poignantly embed itself with the player in the first few seconds, Blur doesn’t make any effort to hold any aesthetic back. Taking numerous visual cues from perennial series’ such as Need for Speed, it almost appears as though players have fallen into The Fast and The Furious. Bleeding the mantra of the underground car racing scene, as far as Hollywood would have us all believe, there is an attempt at a serious tonal edge. But when the power-ups come into play during the first race, it devolves into sheer madness.

The first time a power-up is obtained; there is initial curiosity as to what kind of ability the game is placing into your hands. While questions players might have can be answered by the various instructional in-game videos that appear prior to certain races or sections, many will just jump right in haphazardly. The most important factor when it comes to the power-ups though is whether or not they make the player feel powerful when they get picked up and in a roundabout way, each one does. Shunts, boosts and even the shields can all be utilized strategically out of the sheer fact that Blur allows for three power-ups to be held at any given time. What initially seems like merely a blatant, raucous attempt to outshine other racing titles turns into a tactical face-slapping as you realize that combinations used in concert can enable you to make it to the front of the pack faster. Moreover, the ability to deflect opponent launched assaults by properly defending with an appropriate power-up at an apropos time can make a skilled player in even the most mediocre vehicle a force with which to be reckoned.

No doubt there will be more than enough vehicles for even the pickiest player to get their race on with, but that also runs parallel to how many fans a gamer is capable of garnering. As each race tosses a few fans at anyone based on how much damage they do, how well they drive and even what place they finish – it is unavoidable to finish any race without adding a few new screaming fans to your little section of racetrack. Seemingly catching a severe case of Modern Warfare 2, there is little doubt that Bizarre Creations set out to create a game that would keep players coming back and by incentivising the leveling system. Each new level unlocks new vehicles and mods to improve various aspects of your vehicular experience. The customization ability is merely a cherry on top of an already packed plethora of racing types.

Races are genuinely fun as using power-ups amongst crowds of AI controlled vehicles never gets old nor does the more specific racing types. Checkpoint, a single, timed event places the player in one of the race courses that they may or may not have become intimately acquainted with during their time in the specific racing ladder. Players must reach the final checkpoint before the timer hits zero, but are aided along the way by stopwatch icons to give them a few more precious seconds or boost power-ups in the hopes of reaching their goal in the nick of time. The most problematic type though stems from the one on one race at the end of each racing ladder.

Each ladder is divided into the varying racing types combined with an overall set of goals that must be accomplished before the ability to take on you rival in that particular section is unlocked. The objectives could range from collecting a certain number of fans to deflecting an attempting power-up attack – but the end result is always the same – taking on another vehicle head-to-head. While this seems to work in theory, it is without a doubt the biggest failing on the part of Blur. As the majority of the game experience is centered on racing other vehicles en masse either single player or online, it seems like a strong divergence to force a match against a boss character for the sake of progression. Understandably, the design prospects surrounding this decision for the sake of creating compartmentalized experiences within the overall game, but seem to break the pacing in a way that at times feels frustrating and unrecoverable. Adding to the mess is that Blur forces a particular car to be used by the player during these respective races, arguably contributing to the ‘challenge’ of the event. But this just seems to hinder the player, making it feel as though the game is outright screwing with them as they struggle to learn the feel of a new vehicle. Suffice to say, expect several replays.

Regardless of the boss races, there is a lot of fun to be had with Blur pending that you are focused more on fun as opposed to winning. Winning certainly isn’t impossible, but it is exceedingly difficult to recover at certain points in the single-player races and will result in failure or placing third, causing the more competitive minded gamers to retry the racers in an addictively OCD fashion. Such a tenet shines brighter than a pair of oncoming headlights in multiplayer, but definitely holds the game back for those who wish to play Blur entirely solo. Nevertheless, when not racing against the computer and locked in a struggle for first place against other human-controlled vehicles, that is without a doubt where Blur stands out. Failing to distinguish between this principle could certainly frustrate many of the more competitive players who feel another victory is significantly more important than simply having a good time.

More or less, Blur is a great racing game with a lot of potential as a prominent series if Bizarre Creations accepts some creative criticism from both designers and the gaming community alike. Marketing itself as a replacement for Mario Kart is a high-handed shot to take, but still a bit impromptu as it is the first iteration in what could possibly end up being a very engrossing franchise for the players who grew up firing red, blue and green shells at fellow gamers. Despite the similarities in design choices as well as the somewhat kitschy marketing, Blur is worlds apart from many of its contemporaries and offers something different amongst a relatively unchanged canvas.