Mariokart: Blur

Last week I snagged a code for the Xbox Live multiplayer beta of Blur, an upcoming racing game from Activision and Bizarre Creations - and by "racing game" I mean "kart racer."

Bizarre, who you might know as the creators of Geometry Wars, did something pretty funky with Blur - it looks like a modern, real-life racer but it plays like Mario Kart and Burnout Paradise went out to a club together and finished off a bottle of tequila in a dark corner together. The cars and track feel like Burnout, absolutely - but the gameplay is all Kart, from the homing missiles to the mines to the lightning storm you can call down on the leader.

But on top of that, Bizarre has applied the delightfully addictive Modern Warfare formula: experience, in the form of Fans, that you accrue and keep from race to race. Rank up to gain access to new cars and new mods, customizations that tweak how your car performs, how your powerups behave, or how you gain fans. Even at Rank 7 in this limited multiplayer beta, the choices available to me are compelling: do I use a shield that heals me, or one that turns incoming attacks into powerups I can use? How about more damage when I ram someone, or a bigger blast radius on my Barge ability? Do I gain extra fans when I use powerups, or perhaps based on my finishing position?

And speaking of fans, Blur borrows a page from Borderlands as well by offering "challenges" that are tangential to the race itself. Hit enough people with powerups to complete that challenge. Get several successful Shunts (red shell) to complete that challenge. A long drift, a clean Nitro boost, blocking or dodging incoming fire... they're all rewarded with extra fans, essentially rewarding you *again* for playing not just well, but with style.

The developers are soliciting feedback to help fine-tune the balance and the overall feel of the game. Personally, I'm soliciting people to play with. :D I don't know if I'd put this on par with Doubledash... yet. But it's a lot of fun so far.