Cars and explosions... simple, yet effective.
The focus in Split / Second is firmly on fast, frenetic arcade racing not dissimilar to the likes of the Ridge Racer franchise, emphasizing drifting over perfect lines. The point of differentiation, and the element which has thrust it into direct comparison with Bizarre Creations’ weapon-based racer, Blur, is the game’s central mechanic, namely the ‘power play’. Drifting, catching air and trailing closely behind an opponent fills a gauge which, when full, allows players to trigger destructive environmental effects at pre-determined points on any of the game’s dozen tracks, scuppering opponents and forging new routes. Black Rock Studios has clearly enjoyed designing gorgeous tracks for players to destroy with ‘power plays’; air control towers, convention centres, aeroplanes, construction cranes exist solely to collapse or explode in the tradition of a Jerry Bruckheimer or Roland Emmerich picture, and overall, the mix of accessible arcade racing and pure, unadulterated spectacle is a heady one.
The conceit which seeks to contextualize the action is that players are taking part in a televised racing show named, you guessed it, 'Split / Second: Velocity'. Each of the game’s dozen chapters are designated as ‘episodes’ in a season of television, and are capped at each end by previews and recaps of the events therein. Sadly, albeit unimportantly, this narrative conceit is fairly flimsy and under-explored, existing solely to provide some slick menus and an excuse for the crazy, destructive chaos (the game’s fictional city is really an elaborate set, you see). Within each episode in the game’s single player mode are a number of events, ranging from traditional races to time trials and challenges where players are tasked with dodging missiles launched by an extremely aggressive helicopter (where is Nathan Drake when one needs him?). Success in each of these events is rewarded with points which, when accumulated, allow players to access the event’s ultimate challenges, the particularly challenging ‘rival races’ against the game’s toughest named opponents.
Split / Second boasts some impressive lighting effects.
Moment-to-moment play in Split / Second: Velocity is supremely exciting, satisfying and engaging, thanks largely to some supremely forgiving handling and exemplary track design. Responsiveness is never an issue, even with the game’s most slip-sliding yet speedy exotic super-cars or lumbering trucks, and ‘power plays’ inject some interest and the capacity for strategy. For example, there is a constant tension between the player’s near-Pavlovian instinct to activate ‘power plays’ and the risk that the move will backfire and cause him or her to crash in a blazing heap of irony. At its best, Split / Second is a heart-pounding, edge-of-your-seat racer with well-designed tracks and visual spectacle, often feeling like the true successor to the legacy of the original Burnout and Burnout 2. Sadly, the overall experience is dampened when one realizes that the game is reliant on its tricks to sustain interest. After only a day or so of play, most intermediate players will have sampled every track and event-type multiple times, and the disappointing revelation that the scripted ‘power plays’ lose their lustre after repeat encounters puts a dampener on proceedings from which the game never truly recovers. What once were thrilling, dioramas of gleeful destruction become rote, routine and expected (‘…and now the building collapses… veer to the left’, thinks the desensitized brain), dulling the luminous shine of the game's glorious opening hours. Later events in the season fail to offer up any new tracks or events, and sadly, not even a bevy of new cars can restore the freshness of the experience. Going some way to prolong the fun is the game’s competent online mode, which offers up a true orgy of chaotic ‘power plays’ and jostling for position, along with the split-screen offering for two players. Nevertheless, Split / Second is not a long-term prospect, suffering from repetition brought on by a paucity of content and a lack of depth.
Further, and perhaps more significantly, Split / Second indulges in the worst impulse of the arcade racer, suffering from rubber-banded artificial intelligence which renders nugatory the player’s skill; for example, a flawless race can be undone by a small error in the final bend when the entire field of opponents whizzes by in a second. While this design choice means that races are always close-fought and exciting, it also engenders a suspicion in the player that his or her success is largely down to luck over and above any real skill. When we found ourselves intentionally idling along in the middle of the pack for the best part of three laps only to forge ahead with repeated uses of ‘power plays’ in the final few seconds, we knew something foul was afoot. Split / Second is exciting, but its brutal and unfair difficulty stifles the fun, which is truly unfortunate given the solidity of the title’s core mechanics and driving model.
Drifting is fun and integral to the experience.
All of which is a shame given that Split / Second is among the most gorgeous racing games we have ever laid eyes upon; track detail is plentiful, and the game’s opulent lighting system is amply shown off by the developer’s decision to set most races to the backdrop of a golden sunset. The twitchy, racing experience is complemented by a solid and smooth frame rate which only occasionally buckles, and the curves of the cornucopia of vehicles on offer are rendered with near-pornographic detail. Pacy orchestral music tracks in the ‘Bondian’ tradition of John Barry and David Arnold add much to the experience, and the overall aesthetic package is supremely satisfying. Whatever misgivings one might have about the game's depth and longevity, it cannot be denied that Black Rock Studios has delivered a game which is a veritable joy for the eyes.
Split / Second: Velocity is therefore a game of two halves; the first is the glorious experience of the opening hours, when the reveal of a new track is accompanied by the unbridled joy of discovery, and the second is the infuriating, repetitive slog of the game’s tail end, through which most players will struggle to plough and plod. The central ‘power play’ mechanic is a good one, but its thrills are sadly fleeting, and we cannot help but feel that Split / Second is but a solid base upon which a glorious, refined franchise may one day be built. With some tweaking and expansion, it could have been an arcade racing masterpiece; as it is, Split Second: Velocity is an enjoyable, fizzy delectation whose effervescence wears off far too soon.
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