Blur beta updates Thursday, ends Sunday

by Dan on May 5, 2010

I have thoroughly enjoyed playing the Blur multiplayer beta on Xbox 360; while I’ve been blasting other drivers and powersliding around corners, the team at Bizarre Creations has been collecting data about how people play and will be doing some last-minute tweaks to the online code before the game’s debut at the end of this month (May 25 in the US, May 28 in Europe). But now that they have the data they need, the beta is coming to a close.

Fair warning: This Sunday will be the last day you can race in the open beta for Blur. (Okay, technically, it’s Monday May 10th at 2am, but you should be in bed by then — it’s a school night.) The good news is that Bizarre is adding a few features for the final days as a thank-you to the people who have helped. I am cutting and pasting the list of upgrades and changes from the offiical paperwork:

  • The ability to play A-Class cars in standard playlists
  • An expanded Supercar Racing Playlist that include races in Tokyo and Amboy
  • Power-Ups now shuffle so each race has different Power-Up placement
  • Players can earn double the amount of fans for each race, allowing players to quickly reach Rank-15 and experience the full Beta demo experience

And since the free fun stops this weekend, I will delicately remind you that now is a great time to preorder if you like what you’ve tried. Here are your options:

GameStop: Ford Bronco and MotorMash mode unlocked early (along with a fan boost for the first few MM events)
Best Buy: Dodge Viper ACR unlocked early
GameCrazy: Extra fans for the first three races

  • http://twitter.com/pedgarcia Paulo Garcia

    Another day I was wondering if this beta was too long, making the players satisfied and therefore, not buying the full game. However, I've being playing it very often even after reaching the 15th level and probably this is one of the games I'm gonna buy. The multiplayer is great (although I suck) and it's perfect to jump in and play for half hour or so if you don't have enough time.

  • Howard

    The beta did a great job on getting the word out on this game.

  • damaddok

    Does anyone happen to know if ranks/cars/etc. unlocked during the beta will still be there in the full release, or will it all disappear a la Halo Reach?

  • cjwynes

    I pre-ordered the game after trying the Beta last month. (At GameStop, though BB looks to have the coolest preorder bonus, d'oh!) This game had bad buzz last fall for some reason on all the gaming podcasts, but the Beta was really fun and I think that turned the momentum around. Everyone I know who tried the Beta liked it, so I don't know what those journalists were seeing last year but it couldn't have been this.

    This looks like a great one to pop in for quick fun. I like arcade-y racers, so this fits my taste pretty well. Burnout was really the only one doing it right for awhile, but the open world nonsense in Burnout Paradise makes it too laborious to just get into the action you want when you want it.

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