2. Comprehensive Multiplayer: This is where Blur absolutely outshines Mario Kart Wii. Sure, there is a rudimentary form of multiplayer in MK, but its best served up with all those involved being in the same room at a coherent time. The experience significantly suffers very much like a geriatric covered in leprosy when it attempts to go online because the overall experience falls apart when you can’t talk, joke and laugh with the people you’re playing with – that’s why Mario Kart Wii has been designed and marketed from the ground up as a family title – to play it as anything else would be to invite disaster on par with a broken hip. Blur on the other hand, as proven by the online multiplayer beta and some time with the game itself, this is a game where the multiplayer shines even if a hurricane has been forecast. Alone, together, the game feels fluid and exceptionally well-designed as Bizarre Creations has been come to be known for. To expect anything else would be almost to invite an equally terrible disappointment on par with the previously mentioned broken hip. Moreover, if you are jumping into Blur with a hint of Forza or Gran Turismo lurking on your breath like the remainder of a poorly-made martini, you too are barking up the wrong tree. This is multiplayer for people who like serious fun with their serious racing, because racing is serious business. If that is the case, then I think we might have something we can play together.
1. Mature, Mature, Mature: This is the biggest factor that drew me in to Blur. I was initially very curious if it was going to be merely a mature equivalent to Mario Kart of if it would supersede Nintendo’s franchise and actually prove to be something that could dig its claws into me and not let go. Pleased as I am to say it, I’m hopelessly addicted to Blur right now and I’m only here because you caught me between races. Suffice to say, as a kid who grew up playing the original Mario Kart on a Super NES at a friend’s house, Blur recreates the feeling I had playing the original that Mario Kart Wii did when it released. Perhaps it could be argued that I’ve grown out of it or have been knocked out of first place one too many times by a blue shell of doom, but that wouldn’t really be fair to Blur. I haven’t finished every race in first place, but I keep going back because everything that happens between the start of a race and crossing the finish lines is just as fun as crossing it. Where Mario Kart set out to make finishing a race with a few wacky set pieces placed in between, Blur nails the feeling of the original perfectly. If Bizarre Creations was unintentionally aiming for the kids who grew up into gamers, having spent at least part of their childhood controlling Mario, Yoshi or Princess Peach on a Kart, they nailed it. Nintendo has a lot of work to do.
Conclusion: How do you feel about playing Blur? Did you grow up playing any Mario Kart and if so what was your favorite or most hated thing about them? While we don’t necessarily expect to be correct one-hundred percent of the time, go ahead and hit up our official forums and let us know what you think (click here). In the meantime, stay tuned to PlanetXbox360 for the latest 360 news, reviews and features.
