Game: Split/Second
Developer/Publisher: Black Rock Studio/Disney Interactive
Platform: 360, PS3
Genre: Racing
Price: $29.99
Verdict: Get It
Pros: Lots of explosions; TV Show framing is unique
Cons: Ending is a bit anti-climactic
Anyone who played the Playstation 2 classic Stuntman will understand the anguish that comes with potential. Those games that are so close, yet so far are hard to fully appreciate; you’re too busy thinking of what could have been. Stuntman is a really good example of this, it’s the poster boy for ideas that sound good in theory but haven’t been properly executed. Stuntman should have been a heart-pounding thrill ride, riddled with explosions and lucky escapes. It wasn’t but it just so happens that Split/Second is. In fact Split/Second takes Stuntman’s concept, blows it up, puts it back together in the form of a faux-TV show and blows it up again, just for good measure.
That’s not to say that Split/Second is simply Stuntman eight years after the fact, actually Black Rock Studios have grabbed pieces of inspiration from everywhere. Essentially this is the racer that Michael Bay would create, with over-the-top choreographed pyrotechnics, carefully demolished buildings and explosions, lots of explosions. However, this isn’t a cheesy Hollywood blockbuster wherein things suddenly get real, it’s a cheesy faux-reality show.
Rather than just being a clever way to sort the races into episodes, avoiding the long slog that racing games inevitably become, Split/Second doesn’t take the concept lightly. Prepare your checklists, Black Rock have nearly thought of everything to make it seem like you’re watching a television show. The career mode lets you play out the first season of Split/Second complete with mid-season spectaculars, final episodes and little channel idents on the corner. A dramatic sounding American announcer bookends each episode, complete with the whole ‘next week on Split/Second’ as fake credits play along the lower half of the screen. It’s all very shameless, but what’s worse, I love it.
I’ve always thought that a television style interface would be perfect for game and this is exactly what I would have expected. Nevertheless there is still room for improvement. Why not have news tickers along the bottom updating you of current positions? Why not have fake advert bumpers when you quit the game? And where are the recaps of what happened last week? Ah, maybe I’ve just thought about the whole thing for too long.
The shortburst, episodic style that Split/Second is seemingly gearing you towards is probably what it needs. The worry with the game was that the tracks would become stale and repetitive. Thankfully, they seem to last until the end of the career but I’d still recommend playing in slices, it all becomes a bit too much sometimes and this is a dish best savoured.
But those tracks don’t become stale because you’ll still be finding new secrets until the end. Admittedly I was disappointed when you figure out that there are only two massive areas, with differentiated layouts within. It would have been nice to take the plethora of supercars onto different terrain but the different routes that each track takes, makes it interesting enough because of powerplays.
Powerplays are the triggered explosions, demolitions and detonations that turn every track into a Mouse Trap board. You’ll only be able to run a powerplay when the icon pops up over an opponent. When it does it means you’ll be able to trigger an explosion to, hopefully, take them out. Unfortunately for you, everybody has the button, meaning you’ll have to dodge falling cargo containers while you trigger exploding scaffolding. I’d like to, and probably should, be ashamed every time I screamed like a girl when a careering truck almost wiped me out, but, while my heart was fully in my mouth, I loved every second. And for those doubts over track longevity, just because you know it’s there doesn’t make it any less formidable. In fact, the only thing worse than seeing an ominous looking helicopter about to drop a digger truck through a bridge is the helicopter actually doing it.
However, getting that massively destructive type of powerplay will require skill and patience. On the back of your car you’ll find the powerplay meter, a third of it gets you a Level 1 powerplay, fill it up completely and you’ll have a Level 2 powerplay. Level 2 powerplays let you bring down buildings that alter the track and blow up boats that wipe everyone but the blessed. These set pieces won’t happen often though; you’ll need the patience of a saint to ignore the Level 1 powerplay indicators that popup. Level 1 powerplays can be anything from exploding trucks to bringing down tiny bridges; they won’t be game-changers but if well timed, they can be very effective. Needless to say, powerplays make what is a run-of-the-mill racer absolutely exhilarating and a joy to play.
Yet, it isn’t faultless. The episodic nature of the career – or season one as it’s called – builds and builds until it simply peters out. You’re denied that big finale the game needs. Instead of unlocking a behemoth of a final track, the game ends weirdly, alluding to an unconfirmed sequel by pulling a twist in a game that didn’t really have much of a story – Crackdown style.
Minor quibbles aside, there isn’t anything majorly bad you can say about Split/Second. The explosive ridden realty TV show is stuff you dream about as a kid and Black Rock have recreated it all. The narrow misses, the massive explosions and high octane thrills are more than worth your attention in a surprisingly busy couple of months in gaming.
However, despite the tracks being enough for one playthrough of the brief career mode, we could always do with more. More tracks and more level 2 powerplays would be high on a Split/Second 2 wishlist. With only a few massive powerplays on the few tracks available, the game lacks variety. That’s why after the last explosion is detonated Split/Second 1 feels more like a proof of concept; it’s great while it lasts but quickly leaves you wanting more.
