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ModNation Racers vs Blur vs Split/Second Comparison Thread
Bamelin
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
After a pretty long drought in arcade racers we got not one, not two but THREE of them in the space of two weeks.
I really had no idea which to buy but have ended up with both ModNation Racers and Blur. Thought this thread might help those who are considering buying any one of the three.
Some thoughts:
ModNation Racers:
- Customization in the game is beyond ridiculous (in a good way)
- First game on a console that is giving me a real "PC feel" in terms of user content ... some of the user made tracks out there are insanely good and this feature will give the game endless replayability
- Generally when I race, I race to try to win. Weapons are pretty balanced (in multiplayer)
- Weapon power ups are random (you don't know what you are about to pick up ala Mario Karts)
- Single player is unbelievably difficult. AI rubberbands, challenges are brutal to complete and all game unlocks are tied to beating those challenges (Sadly)
- Despite difficult single player, game has that "just one more try" addictiveness that will keep players coming back
Blur:
- Love love love multiplayer
- Game has very well laid out lobby design with a core focus on multiplayer
- When I race in Blur, I'm generally not racing to win. I'm racing to take out the motherfucker ahead of me. This is not a bad thing actually, first racer I've played where losing doesn't really matter to me.
- Weapon power ups are awesome and play a HUGE role in where you place in the game
- Weapon power ups are strategically placed - you know what you are picking up which gives the game some depth
- Progression unlocks are given regardless of wins or losses (love this)
- Progression system is separated in multiplayer and single player (this is HUGE to me ... thank god I don't have to play single player over and over just to unlock all the "stuff")
Between the two I (personally) give the edge very slightly to ModNation Racers (if I had to pick one) but recommend both 100 percent if you can get them. They are very different playing experiences and both are some of the most arcadish fun I've had in awhile. I'd say ModNations feels closer to Mario Karts to me whereas Blur feels closer to Burnout Revenge.
Split/Second I can't really speak to. I downloaded the demo, felt it was "ok" but not worth a purchase right now. Tycho's rant though, as well as many of the posts in the thread make me think it might be worth considering again though ... it sounds like the strength of the game is more in single player (although I could be wrong about that)
Anyways thought a thread like this may be helpful for people who have bought one or the other (or maybe are trying to decide).
I really had no idea which to buy but have ended up with both ModNation Racers and Blur. Thought this thread might help those who are considering buying any one of the three.
Some thoughts:
ModNation Racers:
- Customization in the game is beyond ridiculous (in a good way)
- First game on a console that is giving me a real "PC feel" in terms of user content ... some of the user made tracks out there are insanely good and this feature will give the game endless replayability
- Generally when I race, I race to try to win. Weapons are pretty balanced (in multiplayer)
- Weapon power ups are random (you don't know what you are about to pick up ala Mario Karts)
- Single player is unbelievably difficult. AI rubberbands, challenges are brutal to complete and all game unlocks are tied to beating those challenges (Sadly)
- Despite difficult single player, game has that "just one more try" addictiveness that will keep players coming back
Blur:
- Love love love multiplayer
- Game has very well laid out lobby design with a core focus on multiplayer
- When I race in Blur, I'm generally not racing to win. I'm racing to take out the motherfucker ahead of me. This is not a bad thing actually, first racer I've played where losing doesn't really matter to me.
- Weapon power ups are awesome and play a HUGE role in where you place in the game
- Weapon power ups are strategically placed - you know what you are picking up which gives the game some depth
- Progression unlocks are given regardless of wins or losses (love this)
- Progression system is separated in multiplayer and single player (this is HUGE to me ... thank god I don't have to play single player over and over just to unlock all the "stuff")
Between the two I (personally) give the edge very slightly to ModNation Racers (if I had to pick one) but recommend both 100 percent if you can get them. They are very different playing experiences and both are some of the most arcadish fun I've had in awhile. I'd say ModNations feels closer to Mario Karts to me whereas Blur feels closer to Burnout Revenge.
Split/Second I can't really speak to. I downloaded the demo, felt it was "ok" but not worth a purchase right now. Tycho's rant though, as well as many of the posts in the thread make me think it might be worth considering again though ... it sounds like the strength of the game is more in single player (although I could be wrong about that)
Anyways thought a thread like this may be helpful for people who have bought one or the other (or maybe are trying to decide).
Bamelin on
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I think both games will have legs but Blur only on the 360 (in terms of maintaining a community).
I'm loving modnation racers, but that load patch can't come fast enough.
I have no interest in racing the same race 30+ times in a row to complete a single challenge. That isn't my sort of fun.
Now, I'd say maybe the game isn't for me, but it pretty clearly was marketed towards me and those other gamers who aren't all about the hardcore skills.
But then again I hear Blur is just as bad in terms of Campaign, so, I guess they balance out that way. But in Modnation, if you want to unlock half the stuff, you have no choice but to deal with the Career--is Blur's campaign mode the only way to unlock important stuff?
Single Player unlocks and multiplayer unlocks are completely separate. So everything you unlock in single player stays in single player and everything you unlock in multiplayer can only be used in multiplayer.
So Blur definitely beats Modnation there, then.
First of all I have Blur 360 and Split/Second PC.
So in comparison.
Split/Second and Blur play nothing alike. Blur is crazy ass mario kart on steroids. Split/Second really doesn't have something to compare it with. You basically trigger map placed traps to take out other cars. People seem to be saying there's strategy involved in this, but I don't see it. Basically a big "press trap button now" sign appears above your rivals and if you have enough meter you press the button. There's no timing or anything involved, all you have to think about is whether or not you want to use meter. The coolest thing about Split/Second is that if your meter is full you can trigger changes to the track that completely alter the route. I'm having a lot of fun with Split/Second but I can see there wont be much longevity past the single player.
Overall Split/Second's Single player is better than Blur's and quite fun, but I prefer Blur's multiplayer to both game's single player modes. It's just about the most off the wall intense racing game I've ever played. It's constantly a tense race with you fighting for every spot and power ups going off all over the place. Even if you're in first the shock power up will make it as though the wrath of Zeus is upon you, though these are like giant electrical mines so you have a fair chance to avoid them unlike the accursed blue shell. I have fun whether I'm in 1st or 20th or anywhere inbetween. And you always earn fans (xp) no matter your placing so you always feel as though you're moving forward. Even with the bugged Team Races Blur's multiplayer is incredibly fun. I would like to compare it to Split/Second's multiplayer but so far that hasn't been an option. Split/Second would have to have incredible multiplayer to even compete with Blur, but I haven't really heard anyone talking about it.
Overall, if you have a 360 and a Gold account get Blur.
For PS3 you have to add ModNation to the mix so that's a harder choice. I'd probably own it just for the customization.
For PC, you're kind of boned. If you have to choose one go with Split/Second, but be warned it's about the laziest PC port I've seen in a while. Blur just doesn't have the online community (lacking players) to recommend it. So in the end I would say ... buy TrackMania.
It was definately a terrible design choice (imho) to make all the unlocks in Modnations only available in single player.
With that said, the racing mechanics in the game are rock solid. Most people will complete the career mode (or not given how hard it is) and never look back, as the real fun is on custom tracks. Thankfully the unlocks are all for modding your racer/kart and pieces of track for track design ... there are no unlocks that actually effect your racer stats ...
If your just into a "pure" kart racing experience, not actually designing anything, ModNation Racer is about as good as it gets ... those looking forward to track design and modding kart/racers though are definately going to be frustrated with having to run through the shitty career mode which consists of cheating AI (rubberbanding ahoy!) , ridiculously hard challenges (it's hard enough coming in first, never mind completing some of the challenges that are next to impossible even without the place first stipulation).
I really appreciate that Blur's multiplayer and single player unlocks are all separate from each other. With that said I STILL would recommend ModNation racers, if only for the zillion user created tracks that will be available. The content will never get old, and the unlocks won't affect your enjoyment of those tracks (as unlocks in the game don't affect your kart stats)
To be honest, ModNation Racers is most definately a "hard core" racer wrapped in a casual package. After the trial by fire single player mode, it's made competition in multiplayer is VERY stiff. I find ModNation Racers there is ALOT more emphasis on actual racing and drifting compared to Blur. Weapons are important in ModNation Racers, but not in the same way as Blur.
Blur is all about powerups and strategic choice of what powerups to pickup, with racing and drifting coming in a definite second (IMHO).
As I said earlier, in ModNation Racers I play to try to place first. In Blur I play to take out the motherfuckers directly in front and behind me ... coming in first is just a happy secondary goal when it occasionally happens.
Oh, I love the racing mechanics of Modnation, don't get me wrong. It is fantastic in that regard. However, I am definitely one of those people who was very psyched to be able to make a bunch of mods/karts/tracks, but I only have like half the kart bodies even unlocked, and I have no interest in playing any more of the Career mode.
But at the same time, I can't just bring myself to ignore the Career mode while its sitting there, unfinished, holding a bunch of pieces I need hostage. The later races seem to unlock a lot of Track props, which is pretty unfortunate.
I love the racing, but as you said, it is a very hardcore game that was marketed as a casual experience. That is more my issue. And by hardcore I don't even mean that it requires skill to be good at Multiplayer. That's an acceptable place to require skill.
Requiring people to race the same race 30+ times to beat a cheating AI, however, is lame. My fiance (very casual gamer) loves the racing too, but her favorite part of games is Campaign modes, because she likes the stories and the cutscenes. Guess what.. she can't enjoy any of that because the AI crushes her less than half way through the Career mode.
I really hope they patch in an Easy Mode, honestly. As of right now, we're considering just trading it in.
I ask this because trying to mimic challenge in racing games is almost always by design going to be giving the upper-hand to the AI opponents. In games with weapons like Mario Kart and MNR, yes, you probably will be outgunned by all the AI going directly for you.
I also remember that cheating AI is no recent development for these types of games. Back on Mario Kart for the SNES, you would consistently see the same line-up of AI finishing the race in the same order. Say you pick Toad, for example, on a 50cc race. Assuming you place first in every track (not hard to do), you would always see Princess 2nd, Luigi 3rd, and DK 4th (for example). If Princess ever got hit with a weapon or two by the other AI, she might drop to 6th place for about 10 seconds, and immediately "cheat" her way back to her 2nd place position because her AI was better controlled and had ridiculous speed against the others.
Steam: TheArcadeBear
Now though, why would you ever tie anything to a cheating Single-player when if a person has a PS3 to play it on, they will more than likely also have online capabilities.
It just makes absolutely no sense--the game should be aimed at the online experience, with the Career mode being an extended tutorial. There's really no reason to make it so ball-bustingly frustrating with super-AI karts.
I was super excited to play around with the customization in Modnation, but very disappointed to discover that there was no difference in the handling of the karts at all (correct me if I'm too stupid to find out how to make the karts speed/handling different), especially since I found the actual gameplay subpar. I felt like I was racing on ice the whole time. Its a shame, because I know that I would have spent hours making tracks in the game had I been able to enjoy the gameplay.
Blur I absoulutely fell in love with and ended up buying. I dove into the single player to get a feel for the races, and then jumped into the multiplayer and haven't looked back. I've got nothing bad to say about the gameplay, because even when I'm sucking farts and losing I'm still having fun. My only regret is getting the game for the PS3 and not the 360.
Anyhow, as much as the games are similar (in being "racing games"), in my eyes they are very different, and will appeal to very different people. If you're looking for a fun racing game to play over and over again like me, I would say go with Blur. On the other hand, if (unlike me) you enjoy the way Mondation racing feels, then the customization factor definetly puts it on top. My suggestion would be to rent it, or try the demo first to see if you like how it plays.
With Modnation, when it comes to adjustment, when in the ModSpot or when in a Game Room, if you hit R1 and go over to the little steering wheel you can adjust Drift/Handling and Acceleration/Top Speed.
Balls. I may have to give the game another try in that case. My gaming backlog is starting to look ridiculous though.
If they fix the ball crushing AI I think ModNation would be my favorite of the three. But Blur will always be a play-while-drunk-go-to-game for me I think.
Might not be important stuff, but I'm pretty sure you get the boss cars unlocked for multiplayer by beating them in career mode single in Blur. At least that's how it worked for me with the first boss's car.
Turns out you are correct. the bosses car is an upgraded version of an existing car in multiplayer. So for instance the 1st boss is a jeep that if you beat gets you an upgraded version of the jeep to use in multiplayer.
That said, I'm unsure about its longevity. Once you get used to the tracks, its fairly hard for other players to take you down past the 1st lap (since a lot of the traps seam to be one shot only).
It's definitely a fun rent tho, plenty of "Oh shit" moments.
In the end though, I'd be kidding myself if I didn't eventually purchase all three and sit in a dark room for a good month