Call of Duty: Modern Carfare, then. That's what we're quoted as calling Blur on its big old adverts doing the round this month - and, to be fair, that's only because we were bored of comparing it to a grown up version of Mario Kart.
But the FPS comparison is justified. Bizarre Creations' surprising spin-off from the comparatively straight-laced PGR series is full of depth, sporting more online functions than Ashley Cole's mobile and, in plenty of moments, delivering heart-pounding action scenes as intense as any we've seen in gaming.
Kart attack After a year of umm-ing and err-ing, Bizarre Creations has picked its side of the racing fence: Blur is a battle game, through and through. Expect to swear a lot, lose first place inches from the finish line and have a barrel of laughs with your mates in four-player splitscreen.
It's a good choice from the PGR house. Early versions of Blur revealed a Frankenstein racer clearly torn between its goal of reaching a new audience and keeping the studio's hardcore driving fans happy. In trying to please everyone, it satisfied no-one.
The final product is a far better defined beast; power-ups have been honed and pushed to their explosive potential, plot and narrative have been sidelined for an immediate, streamlined experience and - best of all - the boxed game really is a racing game for everyone. It's frantic, unpredictable - and you never know who's going to win until the final second.
All of Blur's electric power-ups can pretty much be translated directly to Mario; Shunt works like a red shell, Mine is a banana, Shock is a blue shell and Nitro is of course a mushroom - there's even the ability to drop a fake power-up.
While this doesn't exactly shake up the genre, it succeeds where most of Nintendo's competitors have failed in the past; in delivering a satisfying, accessible and bloody good fun core mechanic.
Firing a Shunt from your jarringly realistic-looking BMW feels powerful and satisfying, sending your target exploding into a violent, sparking barrel roll of death. Just like Mario's red shell, you can also send it firing backwards, right into your opponent's face - an added layer of depth found in all of Blur's power-ups and crucial to the enjoyment.
Mines - unlike the rubbish WipEout tin cans found in early builds - come in the form of a big, angry black hole which erupts in a burst of flames upon impact. Bolt, meanwhile, delivers the simple and satisfying act of nailing your fellow racers 'green shell style' on the tailside, sending them spinning out via actual physics.
Thankfully, Blur's toys are as balanced and strategic as they are satisfying. In a twist on the Mario formula, players can hold up to three power-ups at once and switch them on the fly.
Success on the track then is all about holding on to the right power-ups at the right time; keeping a Shield to deflect incoming fire when you're ahead, or a Repair in case you get bashed to bits (when your health depletes to zero, you'll explode and respawn).
Even the game's answer to the blue shell, Shock, involves some strategy. Instead of blasting down on the leader's head, the move shoots three bolts of light ahead of first place, meaning that if you're good enough you can try to weave in and out of them, thus avoiding a nasty EMP.
Power rangers With a good, core combat system in place, then, Bizarre's also made lots of good decisions on the road. Probably the most crucial is the decision to sacrifice visual fidelity to put 20 cars on the track at once - a choice that results in a far more intense game; one arguably more so than even Disney's contender, Split/Second.
It's quite simply one of the most intense racing games we've ever played. The traditional first corner pile-up from PGR is now even more teeth-gritting, with more cars on the road and electricity and black holes firing in every direction. Meanwhile, phone boxes and lampposts ricochet ten feet into the air.
The boosted driver count also means that in the majority of races you're always in the thick of the action, getting abused by 19 other drivers who enjoy nothing but electrocuting you into the side of a Hackney pub (one of many 'real-life' urban locales).
On the contrary, skilled players with plenty of defensive power-ups are difficult to catch, and rubber banding is one element of Mario Kart that thankfully doesn't make the transition.
It's fantastic fun - even more so when you take the game online. XBLA and PSN fun includes vehicle perks (called 'Mods'), challenges and experience points for levelling up and unlocking new cars.
Between online races, players are given 30 seconds in which to customise their motors and Mods. You can use a total of three Mods at once ranging from the defensive (less damage from collisions), offensive (receive a free Nitro for performing a super drift) and all-round useful (a Predator Cloak for your car - excellent in the destruction derby-esque Motor Mash mode).
The RPG elements are handled very well and generally do a fantastic job of constantly rewarding the player - something PGR didn't exactly nail. ('You're not playing on Platinum? Rubbish').
Every time you pull off a skilful backwards Shunt shot into an opponent's windscreen you're given a virtual pat on the back, which adds to your fan count (the new 'kudos') at the end of the race. Combine this with a decent splitscreen four-player mode and Blur is a definite contender for social racer of the year.
Mixed intentions Blur is a fun, balanced and accessible racer, then. But as expected, the final game does include the odd rusty relic left over from its early ambitions of pleasing PGR and Kart fans.
The art style, while stylish and unique, doesn't quite sync with the affably bonkers nature of the rest of the game - and some players are bound to find the combination of real-world Range Rovers and comic explosions jarring.
In turn, tracks aren't quite as mental as they could've been. To maximise the visual oomph of the electric power-ups, nearly every Hackney course and San Francisco track is set outside of daylight hours - and they're missing the ludicrous jumps and trackside destruction we would've loved.
In addition, the single-player game isn't quite as out there as the original plans for a mock social network has us believe.
However, these are all faily minor niggles, and things we expect to be addressed - and blown away - in the sequel. (And believe us, we want a sequel).
Scaling back on the ambition means that, ultimately, Blur doesn't exactly re-write the genre rules, but it IS bloody good fun for a wide range of skillsets - both online and off.
I was in the beta and really enjoyed it. There's nothing really original about it (it really is just Mario Kart wearing a PGR/Burnout dress) but online it's great fun.
The Mario Kart bit is balanced out so that you can overcome enemy power-ups with actual skill, which I never felt was the case in MK64 or MKWii.
And a lot of the classic Burnout stuff is there. Handling that's convincing without being realistic (so you feel a bit of weight when you turn corners rather than being glued to the road) and tons of speed. Which is all you really need from a racing game.
There's too many other games on my watch list for this to feature at full-price, but I might pick a copy up when it drops a bit.
Believe it or not, the PC version also has the 4-player split-screen (you just need 360 controllers). Sonic & Sega All-Star Racing kept that option in as well. Hope this trend continues.
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Satisfying power-ups
