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Blur

EMAILPRINTxbox360

Blur
82
8.4 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 78 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 92 votes
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Game Info

Publisher: Activision

Developer: Bizarre Creations

Genre(s): Racing

Players: 20

ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older)

Release Date: May 25, 2010

Summary

Blur is a new style of powered-up racing. The game drops players into heart-pumping racing action with 20 cars on a track all targeting the finish line and battling each other as they trade paint and collect intense power-ups, including the ability to blast other cars out of the way with huge bursts of energy, boost their speed, and more. Gamers can use offensive and defensive attacks as they battle for the lead and careen through real-world track locations ranging from L.A. and San Francisco to the streets of Hackney, UK and the treacherous roads of Barcelona, Spain. Beyond the action-packed racing filled with fast curves, sneaky alternate routes, hair-raising jumps and fully realized damage models that provide for spectacular crashes, Blur’s narrative is presented through Bizarre’s new community-based interface, reaching far beyond the game itself. This unique story-driving social network evolves dynamically as players compete in different races, make new friends, rivals and fans, and connect with other racers both in-game and in real life. Looking beyond Blur's single player story, gamers can engage in competitive and team-based multiplayer races with up to 20 players online, or on a single console via 4-player split-screen. Bizarre has also introduced Blur’s original social gaming experience - Custom Groups, where anyone can create unique multiplayer modes based on their favorite ways to play the game. These new modes are immediately shared through Blur’s social network, expanding the game in ways that are only limited by the gaming community’s creativity. [Activision]

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

92

Cheat Code Central

Blur's mix of strategy-based power-ups, load-out menus, and largely varied challenges really make this game a must for all automotive fans. In a genre this oversaturated, it is good to know that there is still some innovation left.

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91

Gaming Age

If you've been looking for a competent replacement for the Mario Kart series, and really enjoy some online competitive play, then Blur is definitely going to be up your alley.

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90

Multiplayer.it

Blur succeeds to perfectly mix Mario Kart and Wipeout in a strong and peculiar way, with an addictive multiplayer, a long career, and first and foremost a well balanced and and well devised power up system.

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90

DarkZero

A truly excellent racer that we’ll no doubt still be playing this time next year, this is one Blur that even the Gallaghers would admit to liking.

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90

Official Xbox Magazine

Beautifully balanced vehicles. [Aug 2010, p.82]

90

Xbox World Australia

The fun of Blur is unparalleled in any other recent driving game. It could have been simply Mario Kart in real looking cars, but Bizarre Creations have looked hard at what is fun about racing games, what is fun about competitive play, what is fun about online gaming, and worked out how to get all of that in one game and more importantly, get it to work well and remain fun.

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90

Telegraph

Creating such beautiful chaos isn't easy, especially in a racing game, but forming some kind of order out of it is even harder. In marrying the simulation sensibilities of a hard-core driving game with the ferocious combat of a kart-racer, Bizarre has done both. And in doing so, brought us the most exciting new racer in years.

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90

GamePro

Blur has the potential to be a game that will be spinning in many a gamer’s consoles for a long, long time. There seems to be an unlimited number of goals to shoot for at any point, and the core racing gameplay that Blur offers has enough depth to it to remain satisfying after hundreds of races.

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90

Official Xbox Magazine UK

The game's brilliance is distilled in those heroic moments where you shunt the person in first, whip past and then execute a perfect drift between two mines on the final corner of the final lap. This is the Xbox 360's slick, stylish answer to Mario Kart and we absolutely love it.

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90

Eurogamer Italy

Thanks to an overall richness of contents and an excellent gameplay, Blur proves to be a great game, fully capable of engaging anyone willing to experience some intense racing action. An absolute must buy for any fan of the genre.

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90

Total Video Games

Blur is to racing games what Modern Warfare was to shooters. It easily combines the solid racing action we've come to expect from Bizarre Creations with power-ups that provide plenty of depth and options in the game. More significantly its the multitude of layers to the game, in terms of extra challenges and multiplayer, that creates the most absorbing arcade racing action we've had since Burnout Revenge. Simply a must-have for racing fans.

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90

VideoGamer

It really is a modern take on the Mario Kart formula, done in a way that feels incredibly cool and refreshing. It's a game anyone could pick up and enjoy, yet there's depth here that only the very best players will appreciate.

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90

IGN UK

Blur's an amazing Frankenstein of a game, sewing together the best bits of the Project Gotham series with the Mario Kart formula, the result a game that's completely unique.

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90

My Gamer

The ability to let you and three of your friends jump onto a single console and play together is great and should be applauded. This is more than most companies are willing to do in an era when online multiplayer means more copies sold and revenue through unnecessary subscriptions doesn't need justification.

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88

Extreme Gamer

BLUR claims to be the ultimate powered-up racing experience, and I would have to agree. Blur is addictive, exciting, and ultimately a blast to play.

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88

Gamers' Temple

If you've had your fill of goofy kart racing and want to graduate to powered-up racing with real-world vehicles and tracks devoid of giant angry turtles, Blur's the game for you.

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88

GameFocus

Trying to dissociate their name from the PGR brand wasn’t going to be easy. Fortunately, BLUR succeeds. With games like Need For Speed, Burnout, Midnight Club and most recently Split/Second all having a share of the high-octane crazy racing pie, BLUR can proudly sit beside them.

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87

Videogameszone.de

Mario Kart for grown-ups! With cool power-ups! And real cars! In this fast and action-packed racing game you battle your rivals with power-ups but you need driving skills as well. The online multiplayer keeps you motivated for weeks.

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87

XboxAddict

The Way I See It: A fun, challenging, "grown up" Kart racer that looks great, sounds great and plays great too! Pick it up!

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87

Computer and Video Games

A deep and satisfying racing game that's accessible to all - but the sequel will have a clearer vision.

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87

GameTrailers

Blur is essentially Mario Kart with deeper driving mechanics and more strategy, but those characteristics are potent enough for it to stand on its own. The unpredictability of races packed with drivers, as well as the wealth of vehicles, tracks, and challenges, ensure that you’ll keep coming back for more.

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87

MondoXbox

Thanks to Bizarre's passion and expertise, Blur brings some welcome freshness to the arcade racers genre: it's great for online drivers, while it could have used some more depth for the single player experience.

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86

Planet Xbox 360

Unbelievably fun and unique.

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86

Gamers.at

Compared to its biggest rival in today's Game-shelves (split/second), Blur definitely marks the more traditional racing-experience, despite all the flashy power-ups and weapons. But that's not a bad thing at all. Quite the opposite is the case: Blur is really good fun & on all platforms. Especially if you're into that web 2.0-thingy (Facebook-integration).

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86

SpazioGames

Solid, fun and compelling, Blur is a great arcade racing game offline but most of all if played online.

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86

Games Master UK

A rapid, beserk, kartload of fun. [Aug 2010, p.88]

85

MS Xbox World

Let's be frank, single player in Blur, while "ok" is not really what the game is all about. Blur is about taking out the guy in front of you in multiplayer while protecting your rear from somebody with the same goal.

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85

GamingExcellence

It's great for some fast-paced racing with explosions, and the ability to rank up and gain more and more unlockables make it easy and fun to come back to and play just one more race.

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85

Gamer Limit

Blur is a great power-up racer that is at times held back by difficult game mechanics. But ultimately, it is an addictive, exhilarating experience that will keep that carrot on a stick at an unreachable distance for a long time.

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85

NZGamer

Blur may not be a top tier title as such, but it certainly is worthy of being in your online arsenal. The game is pure arcade candy.

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85

Impulsegamer

In conclusion, don't let Blur whizz past you because it truly challenges the current market and proves that kart games can also be made for adults. With elements of Mario Kart, Project Gotham Racing and even Carmageddon, Blur is the racing game that keeps on giving, whether single-player or multiplayer.

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85

Worth Playing

Blur ultimately ends up as the sort of game everyone should experience but not everyone will love. The game's unique method of pairing semirealistic racing with kart-themed chaos works incredibly well, making for a fun experience that feels different from those that came before.

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85

Cynamite

Mario Kart meets Project Gotham Racing – Blur is fascinating with its power-ups and his motivational factors. Sad but true: the graphics are no highlight.

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85

Game Informer

Blur is the thinking person’s death race – if there is such a thing – where your mind is racing just as fast as your motor.

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84

GamingXP

Blur delivers everything you can expect from an action racer. Licensed cars, it's always fun to drive with real cars, many different courses at different spots and power-ups for sweet revenge action.

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84

Game Over Online

Despite its shortcomings, Blur winds up being a fantastic racing game. Its kart racing innovations, razor-sharp controls, and incredibly fun multi-player modes ensure that it will be played for quite some time.

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83

GamesNation

Blur was made to entertain. And that’s what it does. Its textures and polygons are clean but with no excess, while the frame rate is smooth and constant. Battling on the streets is amusing whether you’re in the career mode – thanks to a good AI – or playing against 20 other players online. Plenty of power-ups, speed and destruction at your service!

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83

1UP

The single-player can certainly be a drag with its difficulty and somewhat mundane (and cheap) competition. But in multiplayer, you're constantly being rewarded in one way or another, whether it be through making progress towards a challenge, gaining fans, successfully risking a wreck to win a race, or winning a race by a hair.

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83

GamingTrend

Uneven is probably the best description when it comes to Blur. On the one hand the audio work is lacking overall, but the developers went the extra mile to add plenty of sound effects to show if you're racing on pavement or off-road.

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82

AceGamez

Blur is very much a straight forward welding of the kiddie Mario Kart style racers with adult-friendly realism. The result is something that is far beyond expectation. The action is fast, unrelenting and ‘on-the-edge-of-your-seat’.

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82

Vandal Online

Blur is an attractive, intense, fast and thrilling game. It's built over a solid structure, and has a more than satisfying depth.

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81

ActionTrip

Using the vehicles mods and power-ups strategically, makes every victory all the more rewarding. All racing fans should really give this one a go.

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80

Gamer.no

Blur is an enjoyable Mario Kart inspired racer with a more realistic driving model and a balanced and surprisingly deep weapons system. There is lots of fun to be had here.

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80

Gamer.nl

Blur is one of the most addictive and fun racing games we’ve played in a long time. The intense action, great reward system and excellent balancing let you enjoy every race. Even the varying difficulty in the singleplayer can’t change that.

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80

Eurogamer Spain

Bizarre has produced an excellent mix of Mario Kart, Wipeout and Project Gotham Racing. Not very original, but incredibly fun.

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80

Strategy Informer

Aptly named, Blur tries to unclear the line between kart and sim, but in the process may leave many racing enthusiasts of both sorts uncomfortable.

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80

RealGamer

Blur is a solid fast paced racing game with strong A.I that pushes your driving skills to the maximum. When combined with the games combat element it makes playing Blur an intense and energetic experience that will leave you on the edge of your seat.

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80

Edge Magazine

Provides too little in the way of engaging structure behind its exemplary racing to make it more than a series of thrilling rides. [July 2010, p.96]

80

Joystiq

Blur is clear[ly] best played against other human beings, but online multiplayer unfortunately suffers from the same gating issue that the single-player game does, locking you out from a handful of game modes until you reach a certain level.

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80

Console Monster

To conclude, Blur: The Video Game is one of the better arcade racers in recent times. Whilst the game doesn’t bring anything new to the table in terms of gameplay, Blur certainly is genre-defying – implementing the use of power-ups incredibly well; as well as offering a thoroughly in-depth online multiplayer.

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80

InsideGamer.nl

Because of the many different power-ups Blur has a deep tactical layer that especially holds its own online. The singleplayer mode teaches you the basics, but the real fun is to be had online, or split screen with your friends. For people without an internet connection the lifespan of the game is significantly cut down because of the lack of quickplay.

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80

games(TM)

Blur's driving mechanics are excellent: markedly less realistic than PGR, but responsive and demanding in a way that games like Burnout and Split/Second don't have to be. [July 2010, p.106]

80

D+PAD Magazine

On the whole however, it’s hard to resist the basic level of fun that Blur’s overall design attributes bring about.

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80

Xbox World 360 Magazine UK

A rollicking online racer, but the marriage of fantasy and reality doesn't sit comfortably. [Aug 2010, p.100]

80

X360 Magazine UK

It's impossible not to recommend, even to people who don't normally play racers. [Issue#60, p.94]

80

Eurogamer

Handling, progress and rewards are as mature as you would anticipate from a developer that now has six similar arcade racers under its belt.

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80

GameSpot

This fast and exciting racer continually finds a way to keep you circling around for another lap.

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80

Giant Bomb

If you step back and look at the parts, there's a weird dissonance to Blur, and it doesn't seem like it should work as well as it does, even if it can be an imperfect experience. Bizarre Creations has always danced along the line between simulation and style, and this game only serves to further blur that line.

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80

GameDaily

Blur is a great effort from Bizarre Creations, one that will introduce a slew of kart-racing fans to the scene. While its visuals don't overwhelm like Split/Second's, it holds its own with cool weapons-based gameplay, making it a fun experience.

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80

Meristation

Blur is a great arcade game, a mixture of Mario Kart's, Burnout's and Need for Speed's gameplay, but with the depth of every Bizarre Creation's works. The AI is great, there are enough game modes, and it has the multiplayer needed to become one of the best arcade racing games of the year.

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80

3DJuegos

Plenty of power-ups, speed and adrenaline. The last game from Bizarre Creations is a great success for arcade racers.

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80

Totally360

Where Blur scores highly is in the variety of races and the challenges you’ll find at each tier of the game’s career mode.

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80

Kikizo

Yes, Blur has borrowed ideas, but it has assembled them with great care, expanding and improving on them in many cases.

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80

XGN

Blur plays like a more serious Mario Kart and will give you plenty of online fun. The singleplayer lacks variety but this shouldn't stop arcade gamers from buying it.

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80

PALGN

Bizzare hasn't broken any rules, instead choosing to fine-tune and streamline Blur into something that every racing fan should experience.

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79

Da Gameboyz

In the end Blur deserves a close look, especially by those racing fans out there looking for something a bit different.

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78

Play.tm

Blur has plenty of the Project Gotham spirit in it, as well as a slew of impressive new ideas. But it all feels quite tame next to the competition.

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76

Game Chronicles

If Blur had come out at any other time I might be more forgiving, but there are better games out there right now, and not just in the racing genre. Give it a rental but wait for a sale or price drop before making this a permanent addition to your collection.

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75

Gaming Nexus

Bizarre Creations has managed to combine two polar opposite takes on the racing genre, sim versus kart, into a winning combination that leaves me wandering why no one else had done it before.

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75

GameZone

On single-player, Blur is an average racing game with a powered-up twist. Repeating races and receiving beautiful cars that remain untouched due to the lack of customization gets old fast. The outdated rave-vibe, including the music and menus, don’t do the presentation any favors either. As a multiplayer title, Blur is absolutely exhilarating.

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75

ZTGameDomain

Blur has its flaws, and a lot of them are the result of good ideas not working out, this however doesn't deter from the fun factor that the game produces.

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73

Gamervision

When races go well, it's white knuckle action from beginning to end. Sadly, issues often make it so "going well" isn't always in the cards, and anyone ever upset by a Blue Shell in Mario Kart will spent a lot of time huffing and puffing during Blur races.

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70

Level7.nu

While boasting an impressively large array of vehicle and a refreshing sense of strategic depth, Blur’s uninteresting graphics and less than satisfactory controls puts this potentially exhilarating game at a disadvantage at a time when there are so many other racers on the market.

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70

IGN

Blur isn't the addictive, competitive online game that people wanted it to be. Rather, Blur is a pallete-cleansing game, the type of experience you pop in for a few minutes with your friends when you're looking for a break between sessions of a game you really like marathoning.

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70

Gamereactor Sweden

Speedy and varied levels, but the graphics are mediocre and the split-screen mode should have gotten more attention.

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70

Teletext GameCentral

The mismatched marriage of Mario Kart and PGR results in a racer that's less than the sum of its parts.

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67

Game Revolution

Blur is fast, chaotic, and flashy. It may not be particularly original or memorable, but it could make for some great post-bar silliness with your friends on par with a bad kung fu movie. Like a skittish commitment-phobe, as soon as you start to take Blur too seriously, it all falls to pieces.

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60

Gamekult

Quotation forthcoming.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this game is 8.4 (out of 10) based on 92 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

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