[segadc]

http://kotaku.com/54...beta-codes-here

[thengodisseven]

schweet!

[Jellex]

Thanks! I received a confirmation e-mail stating the tokens will go out on March 8th.

[whippingboy]

Ditto. Thx for the post!

[thengodisseven]

http://www.giantbomb...ations/17-2116/

Nice video. Love how they take the approach on the Sausalito track. They have sort of a real world location, but they completely made up the roads.

http://www.giantbomb...with-blur/1897/

Brief preview.

[drstan00]

They are now available at Joystiq too: http://www.joystiq.com/blur-beta

Edit: I signed up, though I'm not really sure if I'm planning on getting the real game.

This post has been edited by drstan00: 04 March 2010 - 06:59 AM

[thengodisseven]

Just received my download codes via email.

[segadc]

Yeah I downloaded it yesterday but have not played it.

We should definetly get a group to meet up for some races.

[thengodisseven]

Tried a race at lunch. Seemed pretty meh. Has potential. Have to learn the powerup symbols and what they do.

I didn't like the Japanese city track I raced. Will give it more time after work.

[Team Andromeda]

I hope the final game is better than the demo , because the demo is utter pants

[thengodisseven]

It could use a nice powerslide model to start with.

[whippingboy]

"I hope the final game is better than the demo , because the demo is utter pants "


WHAT? Really? Sonic All Star Racing I would agree with that statement- but I'd play Blur ANY DAY over any Kart racer. Great sense of speed- liked the strategy of storing 3 powerups and able to determine WHEN you use which. Liked the indicator that you're going to be hit and actually having the skill to handbrake/slide and successfully dodge the attack 50% of the time.

This game brings adrenaline to a typically SLOW Kart style game- and brings strategy and skill into the genre to boot.

I'm in no way a Bizarre fan (skipped PGR4 completely) and was not looking forward to this at all- the Beta really shows they realized another PGR was pointless after Forza 2- and glad to see they didn't do a burnout ripoff. This offline I could see getting old- but online? This is a very competitive adrenaline rush.

Are the track designs memorable? eh- not what I've seen so far- I'd fault the dark almost full time nighttime palette choice on that (played all 4 tracks) But it clearly looks like this game will have plenty of modes al a PGR- something Kart racers never have.

Is it a $60 title? To me - almost no racer is- but I applaud them for successfully doing something different in a VERY tired genre, and they surprised me. I'm curious to see the final product - I'd rather play this w/ a group of board members than a weekly round of Forza - this has a much more party feel.

Loved the awards at the end of each round- like trigger happy for the one who shoots the most and misses. (Yeah, I got that one!)

[Team Andromeda]

whippingboy, on 10 March 2010 - 07:04 PM, said:

"I hope the final game is better than the demo , because the demo is utter pants "


WHAT? Really? Sonic All Star Racing I would agree with that statement- but I'd play Blur ANY DAY over any Kart racer. Great sense of speed- liked the strategy of storing 3 powerups and able to determine WHEN you use which. Liked the indicator that you're going to be hit and actually having the skill to handbrake/slide and successfully dodge the attack 50% of the time.

This game brings adrenaline to a typically SLOW Kart style game- and brings strategy and skill into the genre to boot.

Whip in your effort to have a little rant at SEGA , you seem to have forgotten one thing . I've not posted, singing the praises of Sonic All Star's, much less bought the title. I'm... not really that impressed with game , ok ?. As for Blur, the demo is pants in my view, the handling quite poor, the GFX on the cars and environments a huge step backwards from even PGR 3 , and the game just dull to play , quite like Wipeout to be fair A series I've never liked and this game reminds me a lot of
Now its a demo , I'll expect things to improve , but given the choice. I'm looking forward to more Split Second far more , that this or Sonic racing .

[whippingboy]

Reread my post- it's not a rant against Sega, but of the entire KART RACING genre. I mention Sonic only because it just was released.

I agree- Blur reminds me a lot of Wipeout too in a way- but the later wipeouts are more about craft handling and a lot less about weapon strategy. If you drive well and hit the speed boosts- you do well in Wipeout- it's never felt like a Kart racer which is almost all about the powerups and less about any driving skill.

Blur is the same Kart racing genre approach- I don't know why they bothered to license cars- they feel nothing like sim type controls- and for example a Range Rover really lacked weight in the demo- but I think the license is really for window dressing and they know that licensed cars sadly helps to sell a series. (Just like you can't sell american football games without NFL and players' license- no matter how good they are.) That said- they do award points for style and do carry the combo approach from PGR- so in time, you'll see people doing crazy combos racking up LOADS of fans per race- and that adds a serious level of skill to the Kart racing genre.

You can't expect PGR- and I admit the graphics in Blur are a far cry from that series- (I also don't think their budget is anywhere near what PGR 3 or 4 was either) but I think they wanted to do a game in the KART vein- adding LOTS of competetors online- 20 online in 1 race is far more than most racers. Do I think the graphics work? Yeah- could they be better? Sure! Split Second is in a completely different league- I think the pacing and feel of the game will be very different as well- it's hard to say just how much the environmental effects and implementing their use affects overall race strategy.

I compare Blur to Sonic and Mario kart or WB Wacky Racers- but with a mature slant. Weapons based antics- but adding a measure of strategy and much needed jolt of speed.

Split Second I agree I'm also interested in- but I think it will feel a lot like PURE- a game in a class to itself.

This post has been edited by whippingboy: 11 March 2010 - 06:49 PM

[Team Andromeda]

Quote

Reread my post- it's not a rant against Sega, but of the entire KART RACING genre. I mention Sonic only because it just was released

If the game felt like or even looked like Mario Kart racing games , I would agree with you . It doesn't , feels more like a Wipeout Clone to me , and one that players and controllers just as poor .

Quote

You can't expect PGR- and I admit the graphics in Blur are a far cry from that series- (I also don't think their budget is anywhere near what PGR 3 or 4 was either) but I think they wanted to do a game in the KART vein- adding LOTS of competetors online- 20 online in 1 race is far more than most racers.

I would doubt Activision one of the biggest gaming companies around , would give anything less than a preey Huge budget to Blur, after spending so much money on them .
I do take the point about the number of cars , but the likes of Grid , Motorstorm 1& II , GT 5 Prologue handle anything from 12 up to 16 with much better GFX.
The game looks poor , by BC own ridiculous high standards, and I'm not sure if the tracks will be wide enough to handle 20 cars (with out peeing off many)
Whatever , I'll keep an eye on the game , just because I have so much respect for the developer But the demo was poor , like the GFX, and I'm looking forward to Split Second far more , which looks a better game , and one with the most impressive all around next gen engine I've seen in a racer

[whippingboy]

"I'm not sure if the tracks will be wide enough to handle 20 cars" There's 4 tracks- all of similar size- have you played the beta or not? The tracks are rather small and feel like a crowded kart racer till some of the folks get delayed by the 1st corner or a massive power up spamming the moment everyone grabs one. Wider tracks would hurt the game IMHO.

I keep making comparisons to Kart racers because of the track size and gameplay- You can focus all you want on Wipeout- but there's a lot less vehicles, less powerups (boost triggers are not powerups) and a greater focus on driving skill and entering/exiting a corner. You may not like Wipeout- but if you can't come to grips with the controls- don't say the game controls poorly. Blur is a KArt racer in the fact that you don't need to drive exceptionally well to place in the top ranks- you need a good powerup strategy and need to employ them properly and drive fairly well- the difference in Blur is still helps a lot more here than in Kart games. If you only drive well ignoring powerups- you'll almost always LOSE.

I'm still looking forward to split second- but the latest video I saw never had more than 2 cars onscreen at once, and the SAME canned environmental attack was pulled off 3 times in 20 seconds. I was not expecting that. I'll hold reservations till the game comes out- but I'm a lot less interested as I thought people would be racing to get to certian triggerpoints to initiate the attack events- here it looks like you somehow earn triggerpoints and can pull them off WHENEVER you want- which removes a lot of the skill aspect of the game. Tracks were plenty wide - the powersliding and car design reminded me more of Ridge Racer.

[Team Andromeda]

Quote

and a greater focus on driving skill and entering/exiting a corner. You may not like Wipeout- but if you can't come to grips with the controls- don't say the game controls poorly

I don't buy games , so I just moan about the controls I buy games to play them . I've bought the 2 WipeOut's for the Saturn and the PSP and the same poor handling remains in all of them imo.

Quote

I keep making comparisons to Kart racers because of the track size and gameplay-

Well I just don't agree, I've never compared Kart racers to the F-Zero racers , even though in terms of tracks and number of Cars on Screen they share many similarities. Blur feels more like a Wipeout Clone than a Mario Kart clone . Looking over all that , the demo is poor imo

[Jellex]

[whippingboy]

Quote

I've bought the 2 WipeOut's for the Saturn and the PSP and the same poor handling remains in all of them imo.

Um if you're not playing Wipeout on the flagship system (Playstation1,2,3) I can't say you're getting an accurate experience of the controls. Saturn version was TERRIBLE control wise, and PSP- well that analog joypad is busted to begin with- so it's hard to fault if it's the game or the controls.

This isn't to say Wipeout is an easy game to play- 1 was hard, XL was much easier- (too easy for some) and then they got difficult after that. The physics seem to match what they're trying to do however with momentum, gravity, intertia etc.