Arcade Racers | NFS : Hot Pursuit | Split Second | Blur

[XtremeXfactor]

I think it's interesting, there is a lot of praise on forums for both Blur and Splint/Second.... i'm always interested in racing games.... but when i join up, the online community for most titles isn't there (making single player THE mode that i play the most).

I thought NFS Shift was pretty good, and Forza 3 aswell.

I'm keen on Blur, and now Split/Second aswell.... and i was intending on saving money throughout June for more important things. I've already picked up Sonic/Sega All Stars Racing earlier this week , looks like i'll be going through another elimination process to sort out what games i will be trading in next.

[ManeKast]

$78 for SPLIT, $58 or something for BLUR. You cant go wrong, price match/trade.

PSSST: GO FOR SPLIT/SECOND! PHENOMENALLY FUN!
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PSN/XBL/Steam: ManeKast
Kudos to Fetidchimp for the sig.

[ManeKast]

Played some more S/S last night and I still LOVE this game, even more now. Some of the tracks get RIDICULOUS (in an awesome way) and the action is really heating up.

Awesome crashes? Check. FAST? Check. AIR? Check. Awesome controls? Check. EXPLOSIONS? Check!

I really think this racer could be counted as 'retro'. It has the same feel as like Burnout 1 (before the series got even better and more superfluous to the point where it was too much ahem... paradise). It feels like playing Virtua Racer for the first time on megadrive, sega rally/daytona in arcade.... the menu is really simple and I appreciate it (though controller customisation would be nice, Im happy with the layout on 360 but would hate to use the ps3 triggers....).....

This is the core arcade racer, evolved then devolved. I really look forward to this series continuing and evolving like Burnout did, you can see the mass potential. For now, its a fast zippy retro explosive action turbo crashing mad dog of a white knuckled mother arcade racer deluxe.

Hows Blur going for those who own it? Gonna pick up a copy to play after this game.
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PSN/XBL/Steam: ManeKast
Kudos to Fetidchimp for the sig.

[XtremeXfactor]

[kartanym]

I've played both, and as much as S/S is a great game, I'm digging in on Blur big time. I actually found the single player rather easy, so far at least, but the multiplayer in Blur is far better than S/S for me. It's a similar system to PGR, simple and defined, and the fact that I can play against region specific players boosts the chances of a lag free game.

For those of you playing Blur, friend me! I haven't got anyone on my friends list playing the game and there's achievements just sitting there taunting me

[Cro]

[arbok]

From my 3 hours singleplayer so far, Blur has been an exceptional racing experience. I look forward to see if it holds up.

Firstly the 20 cars on track creates mayhem on the track and not all of them are gunning for you which is a good thing. Its important because other racers have always had 6, 8, 10 cars at the most and going from 1st to 3rd or 4th to 8th was a huge deal. Now getting 3rd feels like winning when there are 20 cars on the track.

But the racing is also really balanced, somtimes you'll move to 3rd and drop back to 6th or move up 10 places in a single lap, but for the duration of the race there's never really an opportunity to rest. When you're out in front you have to dodge these lighting bolts that are dropped on the track to slow down the front runners. Some people might think its obvious rubber banding - but at least if you're good enough you can dodge it.

The whole pack of 20 cars also stays pretty close together so there can be some fluctuation in places as I said before. It creates a PES (Pro Evo Soccer) like experience where the races feel different each time. Also the weapons system essentially adds another whole element to the game play and I read in Eurogamer they created it so its similar to fighting game where you can fend off attacks. Alot of the attacks can be fired forwards and backwards and you can get quite a good indication when to put your shield up if you've picked it up or fire off your own missile to deflect it. Sometimes you can even dodge a homing missile which is super exciting.

When your homing missile hits someone else - it flips the vehicle up(ala the truck in The Dark Knight) and looks awesome as you race past it.

Sure some people can say its just mario kart - but the racing is much better.

Its a better 'racing' game already than the PGR series... the graphics are not as pretty, but 20 cars and weapons and 30fps or more means its even more competent. The geo wars glowing weapons looks crap but the underlining gameplay is there.

Its not 'hard' right now but its not easy either. You have to earn your wins with good racing and good weapon usage.

I'm pleased with the purchase and the 9 months of extra development time really shows in how fine tuning and make the difference between a great game and an average game.
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With Thanks to Admeister for the Avatar and Sig!!
Xbox Live: arbok26
PSN: arbok26

[XtremeXfactor]

Pretty good game, still need to learn how to get as many fans per race as i can. Online is just crazy!!!

I still havn't unsealed Split/Second, and i may not - at least not until i've finished Blur. I've played different games in the past that are of the same genre (eg: driving games).... but the handling for each basically grinds at me (ie: i'll race one style in one game, but then have to remember & switch tactics in the next).

[Gamesta]

[kartanym]

It's funny. I was reading the IGN review of the game and they rated it down because it was too difficult, that they had to change the level of normal to easy and still 'had issues' with it. I laughed all the way through reading that, it's actually so easy once you figure out the balance between defence and attack, and choosing the right car for each track. It's more a strategy game than a racing game.

And Cro, yes, 360

[ManeKast]

Looking forward to giving blur a spin, though as Xtremefactor said, hard to play two racers at once.

Split Second just gets better and better, when you guys have knocked over blur you will love it (should be cheaper too). The game, like burnout, gets faster harder and more intense (though not to levels of PGR4 or anything) it stays simple and refershing and man its FAST.
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PSN/XBL/Steam: ManeKast
Kudos to Fetidchimp for the sig.

[Artificial Stupidity]

I am contemplating on buying Blur, since I enjoyed the demo and have been hearing good things about the full version. How is the online community in Blur, though? Are there a lot of players online at any given time?
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[StompBrother]

Thanks Manekast for hyping up Split Second. I picked it up and its awesome. It does feel like classic Burnout before it got crazy.

I've been turned off by racers recently due to the move towards "simulated racing" within the past 3 years. So what a surprise to see Split Second and Blur pop out of nowhere and try something new with the genre to give it a breath of fresh air.

Split Second is simple straight forward and for the most part predictable, due to the set-piece "explosions." But it works. And it works really well. The rubber band AI is present and can be annoying but it helps keep things interesting. All the shenanigans on the tracks is just pure awesome and once memorized can be dangerous. The simple power meter build-up give it enough mechanics for a risk/reward system to balance things out.

I've only finished Season 1 but went for gold. I like how the time trial race has you completely switch up your playstyle and drive using a quickest racing line around the track to reach that horribly addictive #1 spot. Can't wait to see more.

Modnation Racers was another I picked up recently. I wasn't too keen on the handling of the karts as it tends to be oversensetive and slippery but its something you got to get used to. The customization looks great although I don't like having the hub filled with online players. I want the choice of leaving them out but still have the online sharing options.

I'm intruiged by Blur and will pick it up after I'm done with Split Second. From what everyone has mentioned it sounds great. Like Mario Kart with a better sense of racing asthetics.

I've given up on the racing genre but these games are going back to basics and adding just enough twists to get me interested again. Fantastic indeed.
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[Artificial Stupidity]

Welp, I went and bought Blur, and here are my initial impressions: the gameplay is awesome, and the races are hectic but don't feel unfair at all ( there is no blue shell in this game, thank God ). Definetely liking it so far, and I'll post additional thoughts once I play it a bit more.
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[kartanym]

I really want to push and get all the achievements in Blur, it's the first time in a long time I've played anything and felt confidant enough that I can compete against anyone. The next challenge is level 50 and legend status, followed by finishing everything on hard mode. Either way, I'll be playing this one for a while to come.

[Artificial Stupidity]

[Bloody Tears]

Blur is awesome. It’s not without its faults, but the faults are pretty insignificant in comparison to the sheer amount of fun on offer. It’s hard to recommend the game at full price on single player alone, but if you enjoy even the occasional multi session and like racers, then you need this game! Best multiplayer game in ages, in any genre!

Btw, any Aussies looking for some online fun feel free to add. More home ground racing should hopefully allow for teleport-free online action!

[Cro]

Smashed 3 or so hours of Blur yesterday, every win feels like areal achievement, you know you've earned it. I don't think you get this with a lot of racers.

The best $58 I've spent in ages, love it!
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[ManeKast]

NFS: Hot Pursuit is 30fps, open world.

What say you all on 100 miles of open road terrain? Bad memories of Burnout Paradise? Or do you think the open word nature will suit the persuit gameplay?
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PSN/XBL/Steam: ManeKast
Kudos to Fetidchimp for the sig.

[grim-one]

[ManeKast]

^^ was just wondering as some didn't like Burnout Paradises open world. I love Burnout so I persisted and learnt my way around it, I thought it ended up a pretty good game but I miss the linear track design of previous instalments.

I think this approach will work much better for NFS: Hot Persuit as you are not just limited to racing around. I assume/hope certain paths will be blocked to allow some extremely fast chases without too much stop and go.

Personally I look forward to it, the gameplay better be awesome because the open world will be around 4x the size of Paradise, and that was a MASSIVE undertaking.
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PSN/XBL/Steam: ManeKast
Kudos to Fetidchimp for the sig.

[sobriquet835]

[XtremeXfactor]

With Blur, i've unlocked the next tier, but i still havn't unlocked the last requirement to race the rival in the third tier. Bloody annoying having to get the required amount of fans... especially if i miss out on the target by 30 or so fans .

That said until yesterday i hadn't played it for a few weeks (again because i hit the brick wall in terms of not being able to progress). I've made some progress racing online though, i played it a few times when i first purchased it.... but after the first day, i'd always lag and drop out of races (including in some Aussie hosted rooms, grrr). Tried it yesterday, maintained my connection well enough to place in the top 3 in most races, and also second or dead last in others.

[Cro]

^ Yeah some times you have to do the races a few times to get the required targets, but I really haven't seen that as an issue thus far as the races are all so fun that it doesn't feel like you're doing the same thing over and over to progress. and it doesn't stop you from opening further tiers and passing those with out completing a previous one. I found I went on and did a few later tiers before going back to the fan fave one and finishing that.
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[segax]

Need for speed : world .. never knew this was in development. Looks pretty good .. a massive multiplayer online racing game .. can't wait.

http://www.ea.com/games/need-for-speed-world
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