Split/Second Hands-on
The world's first play of Black Rock's explosive new racer.
UK, May 6, 2009 - It's a scene that could have been pulled from any arcade racer of the past 10 years: an over-endowed muscle car tears its way through a deserted air terminal, kicking up concrete dust as just under the piercing blue skies of the horizon a gaggle of racers jostle excitedly for position. There's one major difference here though – that helicopter that's hovering over the track in the middle distance is carrying a cargo load of explosives and on the press of a button they're dropped on the pursued pack, creating a storm of metal as the cars are tossed into the air.
![[IMG]](http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/979/979999/splitsecond-20090506044155158.jpg)
It's not produced by the same team as Pure, but it shares that games sense of drama.
"This is as much an action game as a racing game," says Split/Second's design director Paul Glancey as he guides us through our first hands-on with Black Rock's exhilarating new project. "It's certainly something different from what other people are doing."
Different it most certainly is, playing out like Ridge Racer seen through the hyperactive lens of Michael Bay. Like the studio's previous title, the well-received stunt-based Pure, this is a racer that draws intense dramatics out of its racing and this time out it's all done with an attractive cinematic filter.
"With Split/Second we're going for a Hollywood realism; it's not a simulation but at the same time it's not total craziness" confers Glancey. "We do try and make it feel like it's something that's unfamiliar but familiar to the player, so they don't have that mental barrier to cross."
Indeed, Black Rock has gone to great pains to make the unfamiliar familiar. The action is encased in a reality TV premise (thankfully kept paper-thin, so there's no need to fear the virtual vestige of crow-faced Davina McCall squawking about your imminent eviction from the race), with an assembly of stunt drivers and race drivers duking it out across a succession of secluded arenas for the title of Split/Second champion. All of which provides a neat framework for the structure of the single-player campaign, with a season broken down to 24 episodes, which subsequently are made up of three separate events.
On-track, Split/Second has retained the familiar aesthetic of the arcade racer, replete as it is with pale tones and a taste for the spectacular. Even at this early stage the game is looking both sturdy and handsome, with the airport terminal we take to offering a robust backdrop. The handling is familiar from generations of arcade racers, and like the best of its ilk the brake pedal is rarely bothered, only being called upon to initiate an easy to hold drift.
![[IMG]](http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/979/979999/splitsecond-20090506044153252.jpg)
Other environments are yet to be seen, though expect the same level of spectacle.
When the pyrotechnics start, Split/Second starts to really flex its muscle, throwing so much at the player that the experience can be quite overwhelming. The sense of loss of control is sublime, with the screen shaking under the ferocity of the explosions, the soundtrack dimmed by their roar and the car becoming skittish under the stress.
All of this action is given the full screen to play out across, as the HUD has been kept commendably minimal. Projected beneath the car, it is home to the powerplay bar, a meter that's integral to the game's core mechanic. It's powered up by drifting, drafting, jumping and general on-track heroics, with two of the three bars allowing access to the first tier of powerplays, while the uppermost bar grants players the most destructive tools available.
Even at their most primitive they're spectacular, triggering off trackside explosions and sending debris into the path of oncoming traffic. In their most powerful state, they're true show-stoppers, toppling communications towers or ripping apart entire buildings.
Their effect is much more than aesthetic as well – not only will they send opponents crashing out but they'll also open up whole new routes and block off others, ensuring they're a persistent influence that makes each lap in Split/Second play different to the last.
![[IMG]](http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/979/979999/splitsecond-20090506044151221.jpg)
Concept art shows the scale of Black Rock's vision - a vision met by the game itself.
"It's not a difficult thing to get, because it's not that unusual a mechanic," ensures Glancey, though we beg to differ – before our time with the game we were struggling to understand how such a mechanic could be effectively implemented. It's a mechanic that's hard to do justice to on paper, but thankfully when the controller's in hand it makes perfect sense.
Having performed enough automotive gymnastics to fill our powerplay bar, the sections of track that will be affected by our actions – as well as the cars that will potentially be wiped out – are highlighted with a subtle glowing outline. Over time, each track's exploits will be etched into the player's memory, but for first time racers it's an indispensible guide and with a press of a button a barrage of explosives is dropped on track, leaving us to pick our way through the debris.
Later in the race, with our driving skills having deserted us at the back of the pack, we unleash the top-tier powerplay, which brings a tall communication tower down in a spectacular belly flop, wiping out half the field and sending us on a quick detour that propels us into first position.
A second play through of the same level takes a different direction, with a bridge detonating and sending us plunging into the interior of the terminal. Impressive stuff, but to what extent will the AI be using the same tricks against the player? "The AI will fight one another" says Glancey, "but we like to keep it so that you can always see what's going on. We do try to stage manage the racing a little bit – but not too much. The idea is that it's going to feel as exciting as possible."
![[IMG]](http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/979/979999/splitsecond-20090506044148565.jpg)
A Hans Zimmer-esque soundtrack drives home the game's cinematic influences.
With this in mind, we can't help but feel that the inevitable multiplayer must be a headache to fit into a game that's dedicated to creating such a spectacle for the solo driver. "We are looking at it", admits Glancey, "it's not as much of a challenge as you might think – but we can't reveal anything at this point."
Likewise, the nature of the environments outside of the airport terminal is something that's remaining under wraps. "Every environment we look at for a track has to give us these spectacular moments," says Glancey, while disclosing that the team are dedicated to creating as much variety in the track design as possible.
Despite all its explosives and drama, one of the most impressive things about our hands-on with the game is that it's been culled from a game that's not due out until early 2010 – and if the level of imagination and polish is retained for the full article, then Split/Second could be one of the most adrenaline charged racers committed to console.
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