Octane and Gunpower- Split/Second Review

DesertEagle’s Take: While the depth and verisimilitude of a driving simulation like Gran Turismo or Forza can be alluring, there are workdays that beg for a quick and dirty rush of high-octane adrenaline. For most people, turning a rival racer’s vehicle into a pile of smoldering rubble can be much more cathartic than participating in tedious license tests, or perfecting your racing line. For years, gamers have relied on the Burnout franchise to exorcise their destructive urges. With baleful action so brilliantly realized, few have dared to compete with Criterion’s series.

Recent upstart Split/Second is one of the first genuine challengers to oppose the reigning arcade racer. Rather than confining the conflict to vehicular violence, the title permits players to initiate all kinds of on-track mayhem – from razing power plants which send debris tumbling onto the tarmac to activating the swing of a massive power shovel arm into approaching traffic.  Before gamers can instigate even the smallest catastrophe, they must fill their power meter, by drafting, drifting and jumping across each track.

Accumulate enough energy to fill one-third of the gauge, and opponents will sporadically display a wreckage icon near their vehicles, tempting players to release a standard ambush. If gamers allow the meter to fill even further they are allowed access to devastating attacks which can even alter the racing landscape, offering an intriguing risk/reward tactic.  

Look past the breathtaking carnage and a handful of blemishes sully the racing experience. While each of the title’s twenty vehicles handle differently with a unique sense of weight and maneuverability, they all tend to overdrift, sporadically sending players into the borders of the track. Scraping against a wall wouldn’t be so humiliating if the AI drivers also erred once in a while; unfortunately, they move across the track with mechanical precision, especially in the title’s higher difficultly levels. Burnout aficionados will likely yearn for a bit more car to car clashes – most of the time trading paint in Split/Second will only slow players down.

Visually, each of the title’s eleven environments is well-drawn and showcase some impressive lighting effects, lending the game a cinematic ambiance. Although previous builds struggle to maintain a fluid framerate, the final version of Split/Second performs admirably, slowing infrequently when the chaos reaches outlandish levels. Smartly, the title keeps necessary information anchored to the cars back bumper (in third person mode), allowing player to focus on their vehicle and its immediate surrounds at all times; I expect to see future racing titles borrow the mechanic. Praise should be given to the game’s cinematics, which recall the invigorating camera angles and stirring soundtrack of a Summer blockbuster.

Like Black Rock Studio’s critically-acclaimed (but commercially overlooked) Pure, Split/Second offers a frenziedly barrage of thrills to arcade-styled racers aficionados. Despite several small nuisances with the game’s CPU-controlled rivals, competitions are constantly exhilarating and withstand the stress of multiple play-throughs, since each race unfolds differently. With the Criterion team shifting their focus onto the Need for Speed franchise, Split/Second’s volatile mixture of fuel and gunpowder seems poised to ensnare the attention of destruction-loving gearheads. 

Shipwreck’s Take: Within the span of a week, a trio of high-profile racing titles sped to retailers, a scenario that’s rather overwhelming for race fans and their wallets. Fortunately, there are demos for each of the games available to help you get an idea of what’s in your wheelhouse. As for me, I played each of the demos and enjoyed each of them, but one title definitely had bigger explosions and that’s clearly the one I chose to review. It also didn’t hurt that Black Rock Studio, the makers of Pure, one of my favorite racers this generation, also develops Split/Second. Does this follow-up effort keep the momentum going, or is Split/Second a timely disaster?

Split/Second’s selling point is massively destructive environments, because each of Split/Second’s beautifully rendered tracks has been strategically booby-trapped to litter the course with eye-popping amounts of debris. From smaller-level destruction like engulfing gas stations in flames to the much, much more gratifying slow motion toppling of space needles, the wreckage in this game is intense. So is dodging it. Narrowly sliding under crashing cargo planes, weaving in and out of jet fighter traffic on the deck of an aircraft carrier, and hoping for the best as I rocketed towards imploding power plant stacks continually kept me entertained. All of this course-altering demolition can be triggered by building-up the Powerplay meter via performing daring racing actions like drifting, drafting, and jumping.

Although there’s Michael Bay-sized destruction occurring on a regular basis, the underlying racing engine has a decidedly non-Michael Bay subtlety to it. While slamming down on the gas pedal, oversteering through corners, and careening off walls got me through the early events, I quickly learned that competing for the top spot actually involved learning the courses, feathering the throttle when needed, perfecting my drifts, timing my Powerplays to maximize competitor takedowns, and righting my car after close calls. Even so, bringing home the checkered flag can be a challenging endeavor due to the rubber band A.I. of the competitors. No lead is safe and since Powerplays can’t be triggered from the front of the pack, it’s easy to go from certain victory to a sixth place finish in a, dare I say it, split second.

Split/Second’s single player season progresses in standard racing fashion as credits are awarded depending upon finishing position. Since the Split/Second premise is that of a reality TV show, the campaign is split across twelve different episodes with six events each. Rather than over saturate players with race after race, there are several different diversions mixed in. These include solo speed runs through tracks bombarded by Powerplays and my personal favorite, Survival – a mode where you must overtake explosive barrel spilling 18-wheelers. All the event types count toward your progression, but thankfully it’s not necessary to finish first in each contest to proceed. Once you rack up enough credits, you can compete in the episode’s Elite Race. Place well enough there and it’s on to the next episode.

Even with as slick as Split/Second is, it isn’t without a few bumps in the road. Fans of customization will be left in the dust as only the cars’ paint colors can be altered. This caused me to not have any sort of connection to my ride and there’s no incentive to stick with any vehicle for very long as a new, faster models quickly unlock. The cars feel disposable as you’ll always want to use the one with the most horsepower. Additionally, even though Split/Second brilliantly places the majority of HUD information on the bumper of your car, I felt the Powerplay icons cluttered the screen when in heavy traffic, making it cumbersome to view upcoming obstacles. That’s a minor gripe and my frustration was reduced once I learned the tracks, but I clearly remember smashing headfirst into a few walls simply because my view was obstructed.

Online play is a mixed bag, mainly because racers are able to use any car they’ve unlocked in the single player mode. Fortunately for me, I didn’t try the multiplayer until I had finished the solo campaign. Since I don’t fancy myself to be an idiot, I chose the fastest car in the game with the type of handling that I preferred. Others who were not as far along in single player were relegated to using inferior vehicles. Sucks to be them. In addition to these balancing issues, I found that when racing against similar cars, it was often easy for one car to get out front and never be caught, as the remaining competitors were busy blowing each other up. I did find a few competitive races that were exciting to the end, but these satisfying races just served to highlight how generally unbalanced the online component of the game is.

Crossing the finish line, Split/Second successfully fills the recent void in high-octane arcade racing with its unique take on demolition. I came away with plenty of memorable near misses and satisfying pile-ups of my competitors while hurtling through the beautiful devastation. My only concerns are the staying power as car customization is lacking and the balance of the game can be thrown off by the lack of truly viable vehicle options. For a short burst of fun though, there’s no denying the volatility of Split/Second.

Like Shipwreck’s point of view? You can read more of his reviews on Cheapassgamer and listen to his gaming impressions on the ever-popular CAGcast along with CheapyD and Wombat.