Blur @ E3!!!

So Blur finally made its debut appearance at E3... WOOOOHOOO!!!

We finally got the chance to unveil Blur at Activision's E3 booth. The response was crazier than expected! We had 10 multiplayer pods all linked up for network gaming, not to mention the biggest stand we've ever had (ever!). For those who managed to get some hands-on, we really hope you had a blast!!

Despite it being early days we were extremely pleased with the enthusiastic response we received on the whole; especially from our PGR veterans! Unlike our previous titles, Blur is much more about the action and excitement on-track rather than getting caught up the technical precision. This time around it's ALLLL about the racing!! We don't want people stuck for eight hours modifying a spoiler, or falling into last place never to return - we want alternative possibilities, strategy and most importantly some on-track FUUUUN!!

At the end of the PGR series we took a long, hard look at the racing genre and noticed that the trend was to move toward more frustrating games which a lot of people find difficult to play. To make Blur different, it needed to be accessible as well as satisfying! We didn't want to make the game difficult to enjoy, we wanted instant fun and rewards! As we anticipated, the 'it's not PGR5' news received a cautious response from the hardcore PGR fans, but thankfully it seemed to be a pleasant surprise for many at E3 when they actually got to play the game - it's still got that Bizarre feeling, just upping the fun factor!

Blur still retains depth with the integration of our brand new power-up system, bringing strategy to the game. It's not just a case of fire and forget, there're consequences for actions. This encourages the player to really think about the ways in which the power-ups are used effectively. Each power-up has a different effect on the AI vehicles; if you're opposition is at the side of you for example, then a 'barge' power-up should be used (a force blasted from each side of your car). This ensures they cannot pass. It is even possible to set traps, leaving 'mines' on-track, or strategically navigating around the track, so the AI are forced to drive into dynamic objects. The point is, there're numerous possibilities and if you use this strategy effectively, there will be more rewards. You will also be rewarded for shielding effectively (aren't we nice!).

Quite simply the more strategically you use or shield power-ups on-track, the more fans and then money you gain. Fans and money is the replacement reward system for Kudos in PGR. Kudos was great, but we really wanted to offer a little more in terms of positive acknowledgement (it is reward system after all!). The idea is; the more money you gain, the more cool upgrades you can purchase from our in game shop for your power-ups. You'll also be glad to know that each of the five power-ups we have in our current build are individually distinctive and will FINALLY aid in kicking some serious AI ass!!

It was blooming marvellous to see hardcore PGR fans as well as those impartial to the racing genre coming back for seconds (thirds and even fourths+!!). People wandered off only to bring back friends and colleagues, so they could seriously whoop some ass and have a laugh!!

I'm also glad to report that most of those who got hands-on totally got the premise, despite Blur's obvious differences from PGR. There's still something for everyone within the game; offering a great physics model, real world locations and over 60 licensed cars, only this time they've been Blurified! Even at this early stage, with loads still to do on the game (the power-ups, the graphics, the audio, the social network to name just a few areas!), it seems to have got the point across.

With the ability to create custom games within multiplayer and online, it will be VERY interesting to see how people choose to customise their racing experiences, after Blur's launch this Fall...

Overall the show was definitely a good'un... If you were at E3 and popped along - thanks for your support!!

That's all for now folks, thanks for reading (if you got this far!). Stay tuned for further Blur updates!!