Split Second (Hands On)
We get our hands on the ctroller of the upcoming racing title from Disney and Black Rock Studios
Tags: Split/Second Categories: PS3 Previews, Previews, Xbox 360 Previews
Posted by Daniel "monk" Pelfrey on Sep 29th, 2009
Split Second is a racing game that immediately recalls the Burnout franchise. With fast arcade style racing on an urban course, it is difficult not to have that comparison. There is a bit of a difference though, as the city the racing takes place in is built specifically for a certain level of interactivity as well as providing some challenge against other racers.
Along the bumper of the player’s vehicle a meter will be filled as players drift around corners, get some air along the track or drive along in the draft of another racer’s slipstream. The meter has three segments, with the first two enabling remote triggers along the course at various points that will take out an opponent. By holding on to the energy in the meter until it is all the way filled will allow the player to trigger a course altering event.
In many ways it is disappointing that Split Second takes so many cues from Burnout, but it is hard not to because it has become the benchmark for the “realistic” arcade racing genre. It is almost easier to point out the differences between the two games.
Players do not take out their rivals by themselves, however, that task is relegated to using up a chunk of the meter that is filled up as the player races along the course. Players will be prompted when to press a button to activate an event that will either interact with a vehicle or the environment in order to force a rival racer to crash. Like all games of this type, it isn’t possible to actually take a car out of play, but instead force it to crash spectacularly yet somehow miraculously survive and drop back a few places. This is my biggest problem with the genre, where crashing doesn’t have any real detriment other than a little lost time.
Saving up the meter instead of wasting it on trying to take out rivals will allow players to actually alter the course. Full sections of the track will explode forcing the player to weave in and out of completely new areas that are opened up through a major explosion. This in itself is highly satisfying and where Split Second differentiates itself from the rest of the pack.
These moments where the meter is used to alter the track or take out rivals is referred to a powerplay, which is the big gimmick in Split Second. Well, that, and the fact that the plot has players as a participant in a reality television series. This is where the various explosions come in – it all takes place in a city rigged with explosions specifically designed for this race and to be broadcast.
I’d like to see more damage and some realistic reaction to such in the cars, as well as being able to force a car off the track manually. Along with that better damage modeling should be better damage handling and with it actual removal from a race if the car is damaged enough. Maybe that’s asking too much injecting some realism in the genre, but if you’re going to inject a reality television show plot, you may as well inject some real world reality. Still, even with these issues Split Second looks to be quite a fun game, and I enjoyed my time with it.
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Tags: Split/Second
Posted by Daniel "monk" Pelfrey on Sep 29th, 2009 and is filed under PS3 Previews, Previews, Xbox 360 Previews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
