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It seems every game these days has some sort of MMO like leveling. Everything from FPS games such as Modern Warfare 3 to racing games like Blur, its incentive to keep gamers hooked and for the developer to make money. The question is, do games actually need it? What happened to FPS multiplayer matches that were just for fun and not to pad stats? Will this trend continue into the next generation
"Before we begin there are two things worthy of note that happened last week. Steve Jobs passed away and Team Bondi have closed their doors for good. Steve Jobs leaves behind him the sort of legacy that most of us will only ever dream about and the rest of us will spend time complaining about. The fact of the matter is, whether you love or hate Apple, his work has had an undeniable influence on the modern world and, on topic, mobile gaming, a fact that seems undeniable when Angry Birds, availa..."
Bizarre Creations Design Manager says that, for consumers, playing Blur was like eating bacon with corn flakes... and that is why the game failed. Bizarre was closed after the game flopped.
Bizarre Creations, the studio behind Geometry Wars and Blur, is nothing more than a memory. Gameplaybook pays tribute to the team the only way we know how -- through a gaming retrospective.
In a sad bit of news today, Activision has stated that it's explored every option with its troubled developer Bizarre Creations, and now has no choice but to recommend its closure. And they seemed to have accepted it. :(
"Bizarre Creations’ latest racing title Blur got off to a relatively slow start sales wise, but nonetheless the company still plan on making Blur into the number one racing franchise by releasing further games in the coming years. Blur received mixed reviews from the media, with myself personally loving the game and the intense, 20-player online racing providing some true edge of your seat action and therefore I’m thrilled to hear Bizarre Creations’ have high hopes for Blur."
"NPD delayed their North American video game sales results for a couple of weeks while they upgraded their systems. When they finally did release them last night, it was to general disappointment as the games industry saw a drop in sales by 5% compared to May of 2009 and so far is down 10% for the year so far compared to January. Outside of Red Dead Redemption for the PS3 and Xbox 360, no publisher or console had much to crow about for the month of May. However, these five games were partic..."
All Age Gaming's John Elliott takes a look at Activision's fast paced racer Blur. Touted as being a great online racer, does Blur deliver or should you pass it by and leave it as just a blur?
"Blur is a complete thrill ride. Bizarre Creations took the combat of Mario Kart, the insanity of Modern Warfare 2’s multiplayer, and turned out one exciting action racing title."
"Absolutely magnificent is the simplest phrase I can use to relate my feelings about Blur so far. Offering players what many who grew up playing Mario Kart will have caught themselves wishing for on more than one occasion and while Mario Kart has been around for a little over a decade, that doesn’t make it a bad game. It merely has failed to adequately adapt to the times or the audience that grew up playing the original. Where successive iterations of Mario Kart only gave players one or two ne..."
"Mario's racing days are in the past! Almost dead at this point. Due to the longevity and lack of creativity in the series, the game is getting outdated. Their is a cure for those who want a great vehicular combat racing game. Here are some racing games that can put Mario Kart on the ropes."
"As a kid, I slipped into the car and pretended to cruise the highways while activating imaginary weapons. Invisible missiles decimated opponents as I zipped past fiery wreckage. I activated my nitrous – cruise-control – and watched the competition fade in the mirror. While that fantasy will never become a reality, barring a stint in a prison with televised death-races, Blur comes dangerously close to fulfilling the childhood dream."
Aside from March, May was easily the biggest month in 2010 so far in terms of quality new releases. Here are the top ten titles that were released in the past month.
All Age Gaming's newest recruit. Sarah has taken over the weekly gaming news summary duties and brings us her 1st and our 38th "The Week That Was". In this weeks article Sarah discusses Red Dead Redemption sales figures, Project Natal price rumours, Halo Reach's release date, PS3 platform sales, Sony bringing back classic PS2 games in HD and the Wii's new gadget, the Cyberbike and more.
GameZone's Louis Bedigian details where Activision's Blur stands in relation to several of the titles the predated it such as Sony's Gran Turismo and Nintendo's F-Zero.
This weeks edition of now shipping has the sequel to Mario's next gen iteration, Mario Galaxy 2. Along with new racers on the block proving that mario kart isn't king any more.
"Racing video games are becoming more and more popular in the industry, with multiple arcade style and realistic style titles being released for the Xbox 360 every year. The latest release comes from fan-favorite developer Bizarre Creations, famous for their work on the fantastic Project Gotham series of racing games as well as the very addictive Geometry Wars. The other game that came to mind during our review time with Blur that you may have heard of before, was a little Nintendo title known..."
"Super Mario Galaxy 2 finally graces retail shelves today but Mario's latest space jaunt isn't the only game that will be competing for your gaming dollars. There are a number of games this week across all gaming systems to choose from."
"A thrifty gamer is a happy gamer so we've scoured the Sunday ads to find the best video game deals for this week from local stores for the Playstation 3, PSP, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS, and PC for the week of May 23, 2010."
Racing gamers typically fall into 2 categories:Gran Turismo fans and Kart racers. Finally bridging that gap between more mature styled art and gameplay with high-intensity racing innovation are Split Second, and Blur
If you've got a game that's possibly going to get lost in the glut of games being released at the end of May, what better way to get it noticed than doing a promo video with Danica Patrick?
"Bizarre creations dev responsible for Blur, has released this “Under The Hood” Multiplayer Dev Trailer showcasing what the game will define once released. In celebration Activision is offering fans the chance to test out even more of the full multiplayer experience before the demo comes to a close"
""An opportunity to play a really cool role in a video game came up and I tried the game out and it was really fun and really easy," Patrick says. "That's good for me because I am not exactly that great at them. It was fun and I liked the game and I thought it would be fun to play that role. I'm not the hugest game person but this one kind of tripped my trigger."
Patrick did voiceover work for the game but played coy about totally revealing specifics about her character. Asked whether her c..."
"Racing fans have been waiting for the release of Blur for quite some time. After several delays, gamers are still awaiting the release of this highly-anticipated racer. We were lucky enough to get our slimy little hands on the multiplayer beta demo for Blur. The rest is not history, but perhaps pure adrenaline."
If you were interested in Blur but haven't been able to get one of the download codes you don't have to worry about that anymore. The Blur multiplayer beta is now available to download for all on Xbox Live.
"The beta for Blur came early last month but only for a select few who were able to get their hands on a download code. However, Bizarre Creations is going to open the beta to all Xbox 360 Gold subscribers starting next week on April 6."
"Already tried out the Blur beta and maxed out your rank at 10? Well, time to fire the game back up on Thursday, March 25 because Activision and Bizarre Creations have announced that not only have they increased the max rank for the beta to 15 but they are adding two new cars, two new car mods, and one new mode."
A celebration of video games, giveaways, Billy Mitchell's hot sauce, and 100 episodes of Distributed Failure. The podcast has been going strong for over 2 years and this is the epic 100th episode with plenty of special guests and awesome prizes!
Blur Beta has been out for 10 days now. What's it like? What are other gamers saying? Read further to find out what the single player will be about and what else will be included in the full game.
"On this first episode of onTOPIC Ronnie and Andreas introduce the newest addition to the onPause podcast family. They give a first impressions talk about Bizarre Creations' latest game, Blur and give away some free beta codes."
"GameZone.com writes: "After spending a considerable amount of time getting to grips with the Blur multiplayer beta over the last week, it's fair to announce the game has taken inspiration from a host of influential gaming products, and even the film industry. We've narrowed down the list to bring you the best of Blur's influences, and possibly one or two that may have slipped the radar.""
"Imagine if Project Gotham Racing underwent some bizarre experiment where Mario Kart DNA was injected and Modern Warfare cybernetic implants were tacked on. Do that, and you’ve got Bizarre Creation’s latest creation, Blur."
"Travel the globe to beat the best the streets have to offer. Utilize an armoury of Power-ups including huge bursts of energy, defensive shields, nitro speed boosts and mines to beat your rivals across the finish line. Blur features insane collisions, realistic damage, stunning racing environments, real world locations and licensed photo-realistic cars. The Multiplayer Beta features competitive gameplay for up to 20 racers, 6 tracks and different game modes. Check out some original Xbox Evolve..."
"Bizarre Creations have certainly put their success to good use by building the custom studio we enjoyed visiting, and shaping a workplace that invites creativity. With graffiti-clad walls, all of which has been custom designed to showcase Bizarre's greatest character's and games, and housing just under two hundred staff members, there's a real feel-good factor about the place. Awards litter the brightly colored halls, as employees from all over the world set upon the task of producing the bes..."
""At the beta stage, Blur is offering a sneak peak of what's to come. There's four game modes, six tracks, fourteen licensed vehicles, over thirty challenges and nine mods to get to grips with in a generous offering from Bizarre. Although the tracks we tested we predictable and uninspired, it certainly is a race worth jumping into.""
This is a post where players can enter to win one of hundreds of beta codes for the upcoming action-racer from Bizarre Creations and Activision Publishing, titled Blur - from gaming website PlanetXbox360.com (they have a couple hundred codes so the odds of winning are very good).
"TheGamersHub recently got a rumor that the Blur beta is set to start in March. Our rumors turned out to be true when a press release was published, confirming Twitter intergration will also be available along with the beta."
"Throughout the course of this past weekend, September 17th – 20th, the Paris Game Festival took place over on the continent, showcasing some of the best games of this year and the hopefuls for 2010. Big name publishers such as Microsoft, Sony, Activision, Electronic Arts, Nintendo and Square Enix were joined by a raft of development studios and accessory manufacturers, each attempting to wow their audience with their latest and greatest releases."
"Blur goes beyond traditional racers by taking genre staples, including licensed cars, photo-realistic graphics and real-world locations and combining them with gameplay designed completely to focus on ‘fun’. Featuring intuitive pick-up-and-play controls, a unique and innovative social network style user interface, intense power-ups, and races where players are always in the pack challenging for the lead from beginning to end, Blur hopes to appeal to all types of gamers, regardless of experien..."
"Real-World Cars and Locations - Blur features over 50 licensed cars to drive as players race through visually stunning tracks set in real-world locations ranging from L.A. and San Francisco to the streets of Hackney, UK, to the treacherous roads of Barcelona and all the way to Japan. As players progress through the game's story, they'll be able to unlock and purchase multiple versions of the cars, each paying homage to different racing cultures, including Rat, Drift, Smooth and Tuner, and eac..."
Blur is a brand new racer from Bizzare creations. They are taking multiple genres of racers and mixing them up while adding their own unique style. The games most notable feature are its visuals, boasting neon colored effects flying off the cars. Check out the video after the jump!
First of five "Under the Hood" behind-the-scenes videos.
Don't feel bad, I laughed too. This new viral video for Blur has hit the net and it shows off some funny stuff. From people getting tasered to fireworks to the crotch. Check out this hilarious video after the jump!
"21st August 2009 - Activision Publishing, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) confirmed today that Bizarre Creations’ slick, new powered-up racing video game Blur will shock your socks off when it screeches into world-wide retailers this November! Blur, will be available at Australian retail outlets on November 4, 2009, North American retail outlets on November 3, 2009 and on European store shelves on November 6, 2009. Blur, currently being showcased at the gamescom trade fair for interactive games and ent..."
"It's American muscle versus German engineering in these screenshots, shrouded in bright auras we've come to expect from Blur. Bizarre Creations has been boasting about the visual splendor of this game, along with a huge focus on social interaction. The game will provide players with tools to form communities and match-up with other Blur community gamers."
"Blur is very much what Project Gotham Racing isn’t. Bizarre Creations‘ latest racer attempts to address many of the issues they have seen with the racing genre. Primarily, inaccessibility via driver assistance, a feature nicknamed, “The hand of God.” This allows a crashed driver to be whisked back into the race among the pack of racers. Race sizes can be as large as 20 competitors."
This holiday is going to be bigger then ever with the all new racing line up starting this fall. Whether it'll be on a track, on the street, in the dirt, in the air, with ammunition or avoiding falling obstacles LVLONE has the run down of what consumers can expect in the up coming months. Here is part 1 for all the wheel burning goodness fans can expect.
The senior vice president over at EA Games Europe, Patrick Soderlund, had some tough things to say about the competition. While he actually enjoyed Split/Second, he felt that Blur was "completely underwhelming."
However, Polyphony Digital and Turn 10 Studios aren't the only ones who can talk trash. Soderlund didn't have anything to say about PD's Gran Turismo 5. However, he did say this about Forza: “Forza, I’m very confident we have a better game than them to be honest." Let's see if EA c...
This is a must download of The Bender this week. We preview EVERYTHING that will happen and E3 (and even things that might not happen). The show runs a little longer than usual and we cut the news down to a minimal as we all get excited for our trip to E3! Grab the MP3 by clicking here or load us up in iTunes by clicking here
![Box shot of Blur [North America]](http://i.neoseeker.com/boxshots/R2FtZXMvUEMvUmFjaW5nL0Nhcg==/blur_frontcover_small_yLspreNWe6FAQ46.jpg)