Today’s Blur news is both good and bad. The bad is that Activision is clearing the decks to make way for the release of Modern Warfare 2 and as a result, Blur will now not go on sale until early 2010. The good news is that there’s now some boxart to look at, and it’s very pretty (and very Wipeout) indeed. Full image after the jump. Continue Reading »

Bizarre Creations is celebrating E3 by releasing a brand new trailer for Blur, this time showing off the power-ups in detail. They all look pretty well thought out and surprisingly don’t look too ridiculous. I’m not saying that they’ll fit into the game’s version of Brighton (yes, the British city really is in the game) alongside the deck chairs and beach, but they should help to get a few more people interested in the game. Not only that, but you can also get behind the wheel of a Ford Transit!

It’s been a while since Project Gotham Racing 4 landed on Xbox 360, and that game really marked the end of an era for Bizarre Creations. For one, it was the last racing title they’d publish in association with Microsoft with future games being under the wing of new owner Activision. It was also the end of the Project Gotham Racing series as we know it – Microsoft retains the right to publish games with that name and whether there will be another remains to be seen.

Blur promises to be something ambitious – an arcade racer with realistic cars and environments but with the twist that there are Wipeout-style powerups littering the circuit. The company says that there is a “big element of skill” to using them and it’s surprising that any real world manufacturers have agreed to seeing their cars emitting giant turbo boosts or blasting others out of the way. They have though, and it looks like at the very least BMW, GM and Ford are on board.

Another contrast to PGR is that this game contains a storyline. There will be two in-game social networks which show your progress in the single and multiplayer modes, and progress is made by gaining enough “fans” to move to a new location or buy a new car.

The most promising aspect has to be the news that it will support 20 players simultaneously online. Coupled with the ability to create groups and custom multiplayer modes it’s certainly looking like it could be the new king of online racers. Netcode in PGR4 was solid, so there shouldn’t be too many worries there.

Announcing Blur! [Bizarre Creations]

While European gamers can expect to get their hands on Ferrari Challenge: Trofeo Pirelli in a matter of weeks, fans of the prancing horse in other places will have to wait a little longer. That wait was finally defined for North American players today when System 3 announced that it has teamed up with Activision to release the game there later this year.

If you’re lucky enough to be heading to the Canadian Grand Prix this weekend and can prise yourself away from the action on track, you’ll find that there are demo pods in a location known as the “fan zone”.

System 3 and Activision Set to Unleash Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli for PLAYSTATION(R)3 [Reuters]