Blur Beta Battles! Better than Burnout?

Okay, so Blur is a much different game style than the open-world structure of Burnout: Paradise, but the intense, edge-of-your-seat feel seems quite familiar. Take those feelings and mix in some Mario Kart mechanics; that's Blur (sans Song 2, of course). And it is a thrilling multiplayer, action racer.

I'd hesitate to call it innovative only because it uses familiar tropes of yesteryear games, but the style and design focus makes it stand out to me as another unlikely must-buy. Partying up with up to 10 friends and racing a few tracks is easy (though a private Xbox Live party can only hold 8?). The layout for modifying your experience (choosing cars/colors and modifications for the way you race) all seem well-refined for the beta.

My only hope is that a limited amount of track variation and gameplay types don't wear out fast. Thankfully, the experience-based system (like Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare) makes losing even a little fun. Which is good when a simple crash on the last lap can drop you from 3rd to near 20th in a matter of seconds.

-- "That was very good, Bishop. Remind me to make you an honorary blind person."