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I’ve been playing the Blur beta for about a week now, but decided to wait until it was open to everyone before I gave my impressions. Blur is looking to be a solid multiplayer racing game, but I do have some changes and adjustments I would like to see.

If Burnout Revenge and Mario Kart Wii had a baby, it would be Blur. Boasting a 20-player multiplayer matchup with slick graphics and plenty of cars to choose from, Blur is just plain fun to play.

However, I do have some issues with the game. First, the controls are not as responsive as i would like it to be. Turning a wide corner constantly causes you to hit the wall unless you slow down; and in this game you do not want to slow down. Maybe if drifting worked similar to Burnout Revenge or Burnout Paradise this wouldn’t be a problem. Matter of fact, even in Mario Kart drifting was done better than in Blur. Drifting isn’t impossible, but it doesn’t benefit you to drift since it slows you down also.

Blur is an arcade racer at heart. The levels shown in the beta are closed circuits, but it isn’t know if there will be more open stages come release. If you ever driven in a real go-kart at an amusement center and had a blast, then you will love the track design in Blur. The tracks are themed well, with a track representing downtown Tokyo and a track taking you through a desert.

Other than my gripe with cornering, I also am not fond of how power-ups are collected and where they are placed. I am not sure if I like the fact that power-ups are not random. The same power-up will be in the same spot every time. I feel they should be randomly generated after every lap. But that’s just me.

Of course plenty can change from now until release in May. So far I’ll be buying Blur when it releases, with or without the gripes I have mentioned being fixed. There is no other racing game out there like Blur, mixing traditional arcade racing with vehicular combat similar to Full Auto from Sega.