The people that brought us the excellent Bayonetta are back and this time they have a SCi-Fi shooter for us by the creator of the awesome and popular resident evil series. I have been following this game for a while been a SCI-FI nut and loving anything that is Japanese with robots in it. The game looks awesome fast paced and intense action much like Bayonetta make for an awesome compo plus awesome suits what more could you want from a game. It is save to say that I have this on pre-order for its 22 October 2010 release date and can’t wait to get my hands on it.
For more on the game check out the offical site http://www.sega.com/vanquish/ , for loads of awesome pictures check their flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/platinumgames/ and check the mini site on platinum games website http://platinumgames.com/games/vanquish/
From the outset you can see where the creators of blur have drawn the inspiration from, from such games as Mario Kart , Wipeout and Rock band. Yes you have read it right rock band. Let me explain for you that have seen the trailer then you will probably understand the Mario Kart and Wipeout references. This game is very much like those games but with “Real world” cars and locations and to some extend physics. You basically race round a track and attempt to win the race by both out driving your opponents and by using power ups ether in the case of Nitro to gain more speed or Destroy them. So very much down the wipeout and Mario Kart route. Right now for the Rockband when you are in the game you are constantly remind that Fans are the key to progression in blur. It basically works like this for using power ups , skillful driving and completing challenges you gain fans the more fans you have the higher your rank. The higher your rank the more cars and mods you can get. Mod are basically super power-ups that enhance ether your car or how you use power-ups for example one allows you to ram cars and cause more damage, another stops power-ups from doing so much damage. And there you have that is the basic principles of Blur. Now comes the fun part actually racing in blur. Like all “real world” racing games I have played and some other not so real world ones you start of with a basic car. Cars in blur are rated by Speed , Acceleration, Grip, Difficulty and health these are all pretty simple to understand its comes down to top speed , how quick you can get to your top speed, how quick you can go round corners, how easy the car is to drive and how many times you can be smashed up. These are all mark out of 5, at the beginning you mostly have slow cars that don’t accelerate , but have loads of grip , health and aren’t that hard to drive.
So this is the blur multiplayer review but I would suggested myself that if you are going to start racing multiplayer that you at least go through the first stage of the campaign mode. This is because this will give you a basic introduction to blur and its game modes. It will also give you the load down on how to use power-ups and it wont take all that long I think I didi in around 30 mins and I am not the greatest of electronic racing drivers. Once you done that or if you don’t really care and want to get racing your mates and pick it up as you go then you’ll jump into the multiplayer. This is probably the most fun that you are going to have in a car that doesn’t involve a member of the opposite sex ( or the same sex whatever rocks your boat). I started of in learners mode knowing that I am not the most kick-ass racing driver and loved it the opportunity to race real world players is awesome and the game makes it even more so been very fast and furious and you can have some crazy starts where if you can keep your head and stay out the way of the carnage you can race through and take the lead. From then on its just a case of avoid getting smacked up the ass , crashing into the environment or driving off a cliff. Once done in the learners area you can move on to race more players or in different modes. I so far have only really tested out the racing modes with ether 10 or 20 other opponents as that is where the most number of players are. This is where we come to the biggest issue with Blur the lack of players. I am reviewing this on Xbox and most nights and weekends there is a little over 1500 players and they only seem to play in the main to racing modes. Although there are other modes to try such as team racing there isn’t often many players in them. One night for example I saw only 1 player in a mode. The modes are level locked so you do have to have put some time into the game but I have put around 5 hours in and seem to have unlocked all the modes so its not that hard and the game once you start does make if very hard to put down.
Blur is a very very well put together arcade racer. The power-ups although are nothing that unsurprising are noun the less exciting and fun. The cars, locations and the feel of the game overall is stunning but the best thing about the game is it is so much fun. Whether it is the speed of the races, the layout of the tracks or the well balanced power-ups playing blur is and awesome experience that I for one completely enjoyed. When you take the game online and play you really get the full on blur experience racing 20 players in a mad caped fast paced experience with cars and power-ups flying around all about you and you can’t help but fill excited. I have been hooked on this game for ages and it has introduced me to the world of online racing in a big way. I love going online and racing on blur, the fact that it is an arcade style game I think is a big help , there is non of this worrying about racing lines or breaking in to cornors, but also it is so well put together that it makes a real impression in the genre. Undoubtable due to its close release to Split / Second it is going to get compared with that game, I how ever feel that this is the far superior game as far as a fun , fast paced action racer.
* Sorry for the lack of images on this game especially in game. I am playing to get set up to be able to capture images myself.
I am a massive monster hunter fan since playing “Monster Hunter Freedom Unite” on PSP. I am also really looking forward to “Monster Hunter Tri” comming to Wii later in the year. So imagine my excitement when I saw an artical saying that there was an Monster Hunter MMO coming to XBOX 360. I then read on and apperantly it has been out for ages in japan on Playstation 2 and PC and only and is coming to xbox 360. I was really disappointed but hay here is more info ( fingers cross it comes to the uk soon ) you can @CapcomEuro and @Capcom_Unity and beg them to give a UK / EURO version you never know enough people and we may get it.
Published: August 7, 2010
Tags: exciting, One 2 Watch, Playstation 3, upcomming, Vanquish, Xbox 360