Split/Second

First of this is based on the full game and not the demo (for some reason my pre-order was delivered yesterday).

First thing to say is that if you enjoy Burnout then this is going to be right up your street. The cars in the game all handle exactly the same as from Burnout, you have the usual selection of sporty cars which are fast but can easily be bullied off the track, the muscle cars which are the middle of the road and have great drift abilities, and then you have the heavy class which are slow but have a lot of strength and can be used to shove other cars out of the way.

The main story or campaign if you will is split into 12 fictional TV series, and each series has multiple episodes which must be completed to qualify for the next series.

The episodes are split into various types of events, so far the ones I have encountered are; straightforward race for the line between 8 competitors; an elimination event where the person placed last gets eliminated until there is one standing; Detonator event, where you must race against the clock to complete one lap of the track, whilst the computer initiates powerplays all around you destroying the track and generally doing all it can to stop you achieving the required time; and the final event I have unlocked (so far) involves trying to overtake a series of trucks which throw explosive red barrels at you which you need to avoid in order to overtake the required number of trucks.

There are further modes hidden away that I have not yet unlocked, so as you can see there is a fair bit of variety thrown in to the game.
Of course all this variety would be for nothing if the core game mechanics were rubbish, but I am happy to say that the game plays fantastically well, the use of powerplays to bring down parts of the scenery upon your opponents is amazing and provides real excitement, for example during the final lap of one race, I began the lap in 1st place roughly 3 seconds ahead of the pack, a powerplay was triggered causing part of a building to fall on my car pushing me back to 4th place, as the lap continued I filled up my bar and triggered a powerplay of my own which managed to take out 3rd and 2nd place simultaneously, I then ended up neck and neck with first place, with the line fast approaching I slammed him into the wall and stole 1st place, suffice to say I was feeling rather pleased with myself.

One other cool thing I have come across, all the decals that you unlock for the cars are tied in with the achievements and only unlock as you unlock achievements which is a nice added touch of detail.

Overall then this is an amazing arcade racer that plays very much like Burnout (which in my opinion is a good thing) but introduces something new with the inclusion of powerplays which as well as taking out opponents can also be used to alter the track and open shortcuts, there should also be good longevity to the game, as the first series took me nearly an hour and there are 12 series in total, plus on top of that there is a split screen multiplayer and online multiplayer to boot.

All in all an amazing game which I would recommend to any racing fan.

damn, those black rock guys know what they are doing.
presentation is just stunning and the whole package feels refined.
The racing is like an injection of amphetamines into the eyeball and the game play concept novel with some real "holy xxxx" moments.
would like to pay homage to the sound effects. In particular I love the realistic "whoosh" as you go past pillars and such near, I have always missed this air compression / noise reverberation??? effect in the racing games especially as it is such a normal part of real driving (with the window open). it is the first time I have heard it in a racing game.
as per other racers but perhaps more so, off line, there is a lot of jiggery pokery going on with the positions and speed of other cars to maintain the illusion of excitement and give more power play opportunities. On line it is more of a proper racer but you need the best cars to compete. One thing missing, especially in a TV themes racer is actual instant replay of the race, you can sometimes replay power plays but a total replay of a race , and taking photos and all that is not available here. Personally I don't care about this especially when the race experience is so exhilarating

Racing games have two groups:
-The ones where you have to follow the rules of racing and gravity.
-The ones where the game itself doesn't take those rules that serious.
Split/Second belongs to the latter group.
Most of the games in that sub-genre, the "Arcade racer" have this one or more little gimmicks that set them apart from their competition.
Most of these games have their song sung out pretty quick, but the levels they do not have in matter of deepness they try to compensate with a little more of that magic thing called Fun.

Split/Second just has one trick up its sleeve: it puts you on race tracks which are littered with bombs and all different kinds of sabotaging material.
You as the player can build up a meter by drifting, drafting, jumping, ...
That meter, once filled to at least one part of its three segments, then can be used to trigger one of these bombs.

For example: You're racing on third place with one segment already full, the racers at the first and second place are in plain sight and the game suddenly prompts you... With the right timing you press the corresponding button.
This results a dump truck to blow up spectacularly taking the first one out and having the second car crash in to it, with a great reflex you realize to avoid the mayhem of burning rubble which flies in all directions and with great confidence and terminal velocity you take the lead.
Only seconds later, suddenly you see a train speeding on a bridge next to you, the train gets out of control and crashes. In it's rage the train wreck obliterates the bridge it is riding, it destroys the track your driving, changing its course for ever and sends a 50 ton train wagon with love to you.

The experience described here above Is Split/Second nothing more and especially Nothing Less. What it does, it does incredible. It is a Jerry Bruckheimer movie in a racing game, it is a pure and unbridled Fun Bomb.
Both the single player and online multiplayer are absolute fun which is an achievement on its own but the game also has a split screen multiplayer and enjoys a very nice presentation.

Positive:
-It looks and sounds excellent, the lightning is out of this world without being overkill and the sound of a burning car swooshing over you while you try to avoid it is a thrill on its own.
-The cars all drive different, the handling is really great, some models are just screaming to be made in real life.
-The racing is fast although there is no boost-button in this game.
-Amidst all this afore mentioned chaos the game is easy on the eyes due to some revolutionary design choices.
-The game menu is entertaining and especially the after race menu is a delight: it lets you chose right there which race you want next in your campaign, instead of taking you back to the main menu and giving you two loading screens.
-FUN, alone, with friends and online.
-Excellent single player.

Negative:
-The music might get a little boring after a while.
-You Will crash, burn and say very bad words many, many times, but you will love it.
-Do not play this game when your girlfriend decides to tell you in cryptical coded language that she wants a baby, you will probably not hear the message and hence cause great distress at your home.

Although it might appear that Split/Second just has one thing, it is one very good racing game for fans of both the genres, because it delivers what both should: a very big package of fun, precision and damage control.

4.5 stars