Split/Second

When you think of Disney .... sleeping beauty .... jungle book .... 101 dalmations comes to mind and then you see Disney Interactive and you think .... Ha Ha!! but look at their lastest game Pure (PS3). What a hit that was but it did have a few annoyances here and there but the graphics were awesome, gameplay was good and it had good replay value too for their first proper game that is not for kids.

Their second "proper" game is Split/Second .... downloaded the demo thought it was awesome and had to buy it!

Starting the game up, installing the game took quite awhile but it was worth the wait when you are taken straight into a tutorial on how to play the game on a test track, taking you through from how to break and accelerate to the feature of the game which makes it "split/Second", the power plays. These power plays range from simple blowing up cars, to the catastrophic explosions such as towers and plane crashes but be careful that you don't take your self out! these are gained by drifting, drafting ect

Structured like a television show, Split/Second's singleplayer mode plays out over a 12 episode "season". There are 4 races immediately available in each unlocked episode, and winning or placing in races rewards players with credits, which unlock additional cars and grant access to each episode's Elite race. The variety of different types of races make sure you're never spending much time on race modes that don't catch your fancy.

The controls in Split/Second are somewhere between Burnout and Project Gotham, with a heavy emphasis on drifting and drafting which is simple to do. Its a fun and easy game to play but if you slip up for even a fraction of a second they are back on your tail! (thats a good thing)

Overall, it is such a good game that makes me what to play over and over but i don't want to complete it too quickly!

Any racing fan will love this

I bought this and modnations at the same time and after having plenty of online probs on the first day with my initial "i must have" modnations, stuck this in... and didn't get back the MNR the rest of the day!

Split/Second is set in a rigged to blow tv studio world which 8 drivers race round for the win. By drafting, drifing, passing and jumping you can fill up a power gauge under your car that once filled to at least one of three segments, can be used to tactically blow up parts of the track or set off set piece events that can then take out your opponents. Some of the set pieces literally made my jaw drop, as it all kicks off in such a big way and the graphics never slow down, not even online.

However once the initial thrills of the explosions and wrecking half the field subside a bit, it then becomes much more tacticul - especially racing online as everyone knows where half the stuff explodes, and its more about trying to wrong foot drivers and then catch them off guard or if someone moves to avoid say a blown up building, you blow up the bus next to them instead which takes them out, or drop a pile of metal girders on them instead!

I have to say its been one of the best and most instantly gratifying experiences that then stays with you and lasts I've had with a game probably on the PS3. Love it and recommend it to everyone who likes their racers.

Split second is a funny old concept: blow stuff up to try and blast your opponents off the track or crush them under the rubble of something monumental. It's a popcorn, Hollywood, nonsense of a concept that would be great fun to watch drunk with your friends if it where a film (I'm seeing Jason Statham as lead here), but is it fun as a game? Well you'll just have to snack on this handy list of good and bad points using your eyes and brain to assimilate and digest the information!

THE GOOD:
- Graphically it's a definite winner. Not only are all the reflections and other staples of the genre firmly in place but on top of all that, and a silky smooth frame rate to boot, you've got planes crashing inches from you, towers crushing cars in an array of fire and dust, helicopters firing rockets and the game just pulls it off with great panache.
- There is a good selection of cars to burn it up in - some great, some a little naff.
- Once you get used to the effects of each explosion and how they can be used to destroy things it all becomes a much more cohesive and enjoyable experience as you begin to time your destruction like a pure super villain. Of course this means that you have to play the tracks a good few times, and this can feel a bit trial and error, but if the game grips you with its unique hook then this shouldn't be too much of a problem.
- The levels where you have to dodge helicopter rockets and successive dodges = big point combos is a stroke of evil genius, it's both addictive and annoying as hell but it'll be sure to keep you glued till you snatch first place.
- The overall points system is cool, but more than a little bit `Burnout' in its logic - but what worked for one game works well enough for another if implemented with enough skill, and this is a suitable enough way to reward you for your hours spent with the game.
- Sometimes this sense of epic chaos takes over as things are crashing all around you and you're blowing up cars left right and centre while burning round corners. It's these moments of unbridled madness and exhilaration that make this title shine.
- The music is, for most part, bombastic and magnificent mixing dance and electro beats and effects with movie inspired crescendos of strings. It accompanies the action well and rarely falls flat.
- Same goes for SFX, explosions rattle your speakers and screetching tires ring out perfectly.
- Online is great, a mad scramble of conniving tactics and skilled driving is the only way to reach the top - have you got what it takes?
- The coolest mechanic in the whole game is the one that on one hand has you setting off explosions (or power plays as the game calls them) to smite those in front of you but you become the hunted the second you're out in front making staying in pole position a butt clenching exercise in pre-emptive thinking and lighting fast dodge reflexes. It ain't called split second for nothin' folks!

THE BAD
- The drift system is a little bit less than fitting with the rest of the `arcade' style experience as it can be finicky and very sensitive. Perhaps I'm not good enough yet or I've not found the right car but keeping in control while drifting (and hence building up your power play metre: the whole point of the game) can be more than a little annoying at times.
- It does ape Burnout a heck of a lot: from the entire look of the menu system to the chaotic mechanics and action cams it's Burnout flavour through and through, but it doesn't ever quite reach the heady heights of the pre-Burnout Paradise instalments in the series. That's not to say it doesn't give it a darn good try but it just never quite hits those peaks. Sadly.
- Not being able to properly customise your ride with simple decals is a real pain, especially if you want to stand out online. Decals are instead applied directly to your vehicle as badges of honour; you have no say in where they go, all you can do is change the cars colour. Surely more options could have been jammed in this day and age.
- You'll never quite have that first time experience of blowing up a massive structure and it caving in three cars. It's still satisfying but once you've seen it once you want to see what the next tracks have to offer, and ultimately there are only so many tracks.
- Why the heck have Disney given people the option to just buy and open all the tracks and cars through DLC? Those of us who like getting by on our skills, and experiencing an entire game, rather than simply unlocking everything for a couple of quid are now faced with a ton of fools online thrashing you in much speedier cars without having to put in any effort at all. Be sure of this DLC girls, I will get my revenge! Bitter much!?

CONCLUSION:
Make no mistake Split Second is a blast (literally) but it tries so hard to be like another certain franchise that it can feel a little soulless at times, and you can't help but compare the two, especially as it never quite replicates the thrills of other said series. However you will be sure to have a good old time with this natty little runner up, and at times it will have your heart pounding as you struggle to first place through the sparks and rubble, and that's got to be worth something. Many games are fun, even exciting but few manage to be both these things and, at times, be utterly exhilarating - Split Second Manages this but not as constantly as a lot of people would like or, I'll wager, where expecting.