The game drops players into heart-pumping, electrified racing action with 20 cars on a track all targeting the finish line and battling each other as they

Some things look great on paper. A university diploma. Ben Franklin's head. Possibly even a life-size sketch by Boris Vallejo of a bikini-clad Kate Beckinsale riding a warg into battle. As an idea for a game, Blur also looks great on paper.

Glitz and glamour; Mindless fun

Grinding in a kart racer Really; Unbalanced online; Unfair course resets

There are a total of 9 rivals to battle in the game and each one has their own territory and demands you must meet to race them. To meet these demands and get a chance to race the rival you must go through various races and modes laid out in each rivals "episode".

Power ups ensure no race is over until it's over; Smash mouth fun both online and offline; Uninspiring visuals leave much to be desired

Blur answers the long-contemplated question: What would happen if a speeding Renault dropped a land mine in front of a gaining Nissan at 130mph The answer is, of course, a massive wreck, but it's only now that Blur has merged the real-life cars from Project Gotham Racing with the over-the-top...

Driving is smooth and responsive; Weapons add a burst of energy to the standard racing action; Rewards system makes game difficult to put down; In-depth multiplayer mode is easy to lose hours to; Wide variety of tracks and cars

Split-screen mode is stripped; Level cap is too low in single-player

Blur is pretty damn hard. I'm no pro at racing games, but can at least hold my own. With Blur , though, it's not just about finding the right lines or hitting the perfect drift - you have to learn to dodge all manner of projectiles as well.

Who exactly do developers Bizarre Creations see as the perfect audience for Blur If you consider yourself a car nerd then most likely ...

Chaotic; frenzied multiplayer combat; Substantial single-player component; 20 racers on one track

Weapons are mostly Mario Kart rip-offs; Racing mechanics feel insubstantial; Sits in a limbo between hardcore and kart racing

Activision's newest racing game, Blur, has been compared to many games. Burnout , Mario Kart , and, perhaps the most absurd one yet, Modern Warfare . But how does it stand apart Moving away from the more familiar genre of racing simulator and more towards $#@%ing crazy , Blur drops the speedometer...

if you like cars; power-ups; and maniacal destruction

if you like the realism of racing sims; car customization; and skill over luck

The weapons have mostly been inspired by Mario Kart, but they're well balanced and provide a satisfying way to overcome your foes. The assortment of missiles, land mines, and homing bombs are expected inclusions, but most items have multiple uses that make you strategize a bit more.

Viruses really are the bain of a PC user's life. Get one and you're guarenteed to spend hours deleting files, losing documents and inevitably either losing all your valuable files, resinstalling the Operating System or spending inordinant amounts of time fixing the problems.

Blur had a great marketing campaign. Cutesy little characters racing around in a faux Mario Kart or Mod Nation Racers style with cutesy little cars firing cutesy little weapons.