No, really: In Blur, when you hit level 50 in the multiplayer system, you have opened up all the cars (oh, Koenigsegg CCX, how I love thee), activated all the mods (Mastermine – which fragments other people’s mines and gives you the points for it – is my favorite), unlocked all the game modes (including Motor Mash and the fan-driven Community Event playlist), and hopefully have a decent strategy for all the tracks, from the tight turns of Hackney to the one-way trip down Mount Haruna. And when you reach level 50, well, there’s nowhere else to go. Except around the track, of course. Preferably very quickly.

And then, much like Modern Warfare 2, you face a decision: Do you keep playing with all the big toys, or do you challenge yourself by hitting a Legend rank and building up your reputation and garage again, based on pure skill?

As I write this, I’m level 40 or so. I’m going to get some more racing time in this week. And this weekend, the Blur developers at Bizarre Creations are offering a little Halloween treat – double XP from Friday the 29th through Sunday the 31st. (These are the perks when your studio’s logo is a jack-o-lantern.) That means for every race, you get twice as many fans, which means ranking up twice as fast, filling your garage with gorgeous Corvettes and Elises and Vipers in record time.

My mind is made up. I’m not wasting a weekend of double XP to just sit on my level-50 throne – as soon as I can hit Legend status, I’m going for it. Of course, it does not hurt that, by doing so, I will also unlock an exclusive car as well as a Gold Trophy. Plus, I get to use all the cars I earned in the single-player career mode in my online races, too. Armed with that, I’m willing to put my rank on the line.

The double XP goodness flows all weekend, but if you race Saturday, October 30th from 11am to 2pm, you might find yourself trading paint with the Bizarre Creations developers themselves. And of course, look for me too – my PSN ID is OneOfSwords. With any luck, I’ll be at the front of the pack!

Today, the PlayStation 3 demo of Blur became available in the PlayStation Store — and you know what comes standard? Pools of lightning bolts, explosive mines, bursts of nitro speed, and big glowing red balls of homing-missile danger. This is the kind of arcade-style combat racing that gets my motor running. Oh, and the mileage is excellent — I’ve been playing Blur for weeks now and I’m still not bored.

The Blur multiplayer demo gives you a pretty sizeable chunk of what the game has to offer. A dozen real-world cars, including I’ll-never-own-it-but-I-can-drool rides like the Lotus Exige Cup 260 and Ford GT; six tracks in two gameplay modes; seven mods that let you tweak the game mechanics to match your style of play; all eight of the chaotic power-ups; and the ability to boast about your skills to friends on the PlayStation Network with a single button press. (The full retail version also lets you brag on Facebook and Twitter.)

I’ve been pretty vocal about my love of this game over at oneofswords.com. I have hosted PS3 Blur gameplay nights on multiple continents, and have more in the works. I shared some of my personal Blur strategies for success (and people used them against me). I even had Gareth Wilson, lead designer from developer Bizarre Creations, on my podcast to explain some of the choices that went into the game and wound up getting him to reveal a key to success that I’ve been personally milking all the way to the finish line.

If you haven’t tried Blur yet, it’s understandable – heaven knows there are plenty of options when it comes to quality PS3 racing games. But the demo’s free for the taking as of today, so check it out and let me know if you feel what I feel when you play it – I’m @OneOfSwords on Twitter. And know that I’m serious when I say I will see you on the track…

Is Ratchet truly the last Lombax in this universe? Can he locate and rescue his buddy Clank? The storyline that began in 2007’s Tools of Destruction reaches an epic conclusion in Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time. Veronica Belmont visits Insomniac Games to step into Ratchet’s shoes…err…actually, his gravity boots.

At this year’s E3, SCEA impressed the audience with a demonstration of the upcoming PS3 motion controller, but there is yet another innovation on the way: the EyePet! Audrey Cleo meets her new virtual pal and demonstrates how PS3 technology could change the way we interact with games in the future.

Bizarre Creations is returning to its roots to rev up the racing genre with imaginative power-ups, weapons, and a distinctive multiplayer component. We take BLUR for a test drive to see what sets it apart from the crowd.

What do you get when you blend the RPG and shooter genres, add intense co-op action and a groundbreaking content generation system, and coat it with a cell-shaded “concept art” style? You get Borderlands—the new title from Brothers in Arms developer Gearbox Software. Qore visits the Dallas, Texas studio to learn more about their unique creation.

To celebrate the release of Gran Turismo for the PSP, we’re offering all Qore subscribers and purchasers a Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren ’03 in an exclusive red color to download and use with the game on any PSP system. We’ve also got an exclusive Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time PS3 theme and an exclusive UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves PS3 theme for download.

Look for Episode 17 tomorrow.