Blur Review

(Xbox, PS3; $59.99; Rated E10+ for Mild Violence; www.blurgame.com)

(four and a half stars)

One of the kings of driving games developers, Bizarre Creations, combines the speed of a licensed-car arcade racer, with the power-up weapons of a console-based kart racer for a game that aims to be as fun as it is cool.  Visuals, power-ups, and presentation all work very well and look like the perfect union of skills for the company that created both the drive-with-style "Project Gotham Racing" and the neon-infused "Geometry Wars."

"Blur" is meant for multiplayer, and through online is present, it's almost designed for a split-screen experience - which, thankfully, it has.  Kart-racers are one of those games that almost require elbow-jabbing your friend in the side as he strikes you down with a lightning bolt on-screen, "Blur" is no different.

The single-player, however, feels a little by-the-numbers and the ridiculous difficulty and precision of the computer-controlled opponents can really take the fun out of the game after losing to them in a head-to-head race for the 13th time.  But again, as far as competitive fun goes, "Blur" fills a hole in the racing genre nicely.