Video Game Review: BLUR for XBOX 360

Activision's Blur for XBOX 360 came out in April 2010, and has maintained its reputation as a fun video game that is unlike any other. The racing experience is fun, exhilarating, and engaging. The graphics are astounding, and the experience on XBOX Live is thrilling to say the least. The race track courses are creative and well designed and the driving experience is user-friendly. The game has plenty of different game modes including racing, checkpoints, rivals, demolition. The game has some amazing cars that you can unlock, and as you progress through the game you unlock more features and mods that enhance the game play experience.

Career Mode: Career Mode has a number of different events that you can choose. As you progress through the game, you are able to unlock new events and rivals on new tracks. Each event has a certain game type related to racing, destruction, or checkpoints. Destruction type races are won by wrecking as many cars as you can with power ups. As you earn more fans you unlock faster cars. Additionally, certain events pertain to specific classes of vehicles.

Fortunately the game is challenging, but user friendly. Vehicles respond to turning, braking and drifting in a very real way that is conducive to gravity and inertia. The faster your going, the harder it is to steer, however certain cars have such superior handling that its easily managed after a little bit of practice and gameplay. You gain more fans by doing tricks and accomplishing certain goals that relate to getting first place and wrecking cars in certain ways.

BLUR Multiplayer and XBOX Live:

Blur is very interactive in Multiplayer and XBOX Live. People talk on XBOX Live using their microphone, and you can target specific cars to get extra points. You earn the most points when you use a power up on a rival. You can race on quite a few different tracks, and you can challenge other friends to a one on race on the challenge menu.

Different Blur Game Types On XBOX Live

• Skirmish Racing - Intense Racing for 2-10 players
  
• Powered Up Racing - Extreme Racing for 4-20 players
  
• Motor Mash - Earn Points by damaging cars and other players on XBOX Live, pure destruction. Very similar to battle mode in Mario Kart. Use Powerups like shunts, barges, mines, or boost into other players with nitrous and cause substantial damage to their vehicle. The bigger the car, the stronger it is when it comes to taking hits. The faster the car, the less health the car has, but the car is much more agile when it comes to maneuvering and dodging enemies and obstacles. You can have between 3 - 18 cars in motor mash, its crazy fun!
  
• Team Racing - Powered up Team Racing. Racing that allows you to use power ups as a team to slow down or wreck the opponents vehicle. Lots of FUN!!
  
• Team Motor Mash - Definitely one of my favorites. Similar to regular motor mash, except there are teams. Again, similar to Mario Kart's battle mode. Use weapons to wreck your opponents vehicle.
  
• Hardcore Racing - Pure Racing without power ups. Great if you like to just race the classic way.
  
• Community Events - Popular Custom Game Settings. I haven't tried this game mode yet, but I'm sure its fun. You can customize exactly what you want to do on XBOX Live.
  
• World Tour - Random Tracks, Cars and Modes of gameplay. A great variety of things to do in World Tour mode.
  

As you progress through any of these game modes, you earn more fans, unlock new cars and increase your driver score.

• Nitrous Boost - I boost of speed that you can use to ram other cars, pass other cars, or you can air brake into the person behind you and get extra points.
  
• Mine - A mine that you can plant either behind you or you can launch it forward toward the car in front of you.
  
• Shunt - Kind of like a heat seeker bomb, the shunt will follow the person in front of you can blow up.  However the shunt can be evaded if you use certain mods.
  
• Barge - A big burst of energy that shoots around the perimeter of the vehicle.  Use this when someone is driving next to you and you could send them crashing into a wall.  Devastating when used at the right time.
  
• Shield - Temporary protection from other racer power ups.  You can drive into mines when you have a shield without enduring any damage. 
  
• Repair - When you crash too much or you've been attacked by power ups.  Your vehicle will be closer and closer to being wrecked.  This is apparent when your health bar is low and your vehicle is smoking.  Get this power up and your car is brand new again.
  
• Lightning Tornado - A series of cyclone like obstacle's will appear in front of you and your enemies.  These can be hard to maneuver past, but it is possible.  If you drive through these, your car gets shocked and slows down drastically for about 1 second.