CES 2010: Split Second Hands-on
We speed, drift, drag, jump and power play through the new shipyard level.
January 7, 2010 - This week's CES 2010 was home to the latest playable demonstration of Split Second, the newest racer from Black Rock Studio, best known for the award-winning Pure. The game has been spotted in various stages of completion at previous shows and our UK brethren have already previewed it several times, their words dripping with optimism. If optimism dripped.
At CES, surrounded by the foulest smelling beasts in Las Vegas, publisher Disney Interactive previewed a never-before-seen level from the racer, which seems to borrow and successfully combine winning elements from such speedsters as San Francisco Rush and Burnout. The CES track circled around a shipyard, as opposed to previous outings which centered on airports and the like. Naturally, the shipyard and all of its destructible components nurtured the intense and dynamic nature of the races.
But first things first -- a primer for those who're new to this title. Split Second refers to a fictional TV show of the same name, the setting for the racing action encapsulated within Black Rock's experience. The series is reality-based and reliant on daredevil stunt drivers who blaze through environments rigged to blow. At the tap of a button, kaboom -- there goes the neighborhood. The pyrotechnics are not just for show, but also play a part in racing strategy as smart stunt drivers will morph the courses to their advantage and trigger explosions that will actually take out opponents.
![[IMG]](http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/105/1059341/splitsecond-20100107053032739-000.jpg)
Boom.
Split Second is an extremely intuitive racer because the controls are so simple. Steer with the analog stick. Accelerate and decelerate with the triggers. And press the A and B buttons respectively to executive power play and super power play moves -- explosions, shortcuts, morphs, and so on; they all unfold with cinematic quality sure to impress. That's all you need to know. An on-screen meter, located at the rear bumper of your car, shows three levels of power -- two blue and ultimately one red. As you drift around corners -- done effortlessly by holding on the trigger brake as you turn -- drag behind other cars and take big jumps, you build up your power. Nothing to it.
Power plays vary by degree -- those mapped to the blue levels are easier to achieve but less rewarding in cinematic scope -- and the red ones require a full meter but offer big finishers.
As we played through the shipyard, we immediately noticed the highly responsive controls. Cars move around realistically, with genuine weight and momentum, but this level of legitimacy does not arrive at the sacrifice of tightness or maneuverability. Rather, Black Rock seems to have struck the perfect balance of control and simulation.
In the shipyard, shortcuts are aplenty and chances for big air and awesome power plays await at every turn. With cars ahead of us, we spotted a helicopter looming and we executed a power play, at which point the copter flew overhead and dropped a bomb on our competitors. In another instance, we exploded a hole directly through a gargantuan ship and then drove up into it, speeding alongside its walkways and eventually back into the yard again. These big moments arrive with standout explosions, crumbling structures and more, all rendered competently without hiccups in framerate or speed.
Like Pure, Split Second has sleeper all over it and we can't wait to go hands-on with the final version, set to ship for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC this May. With more levels to explore, new classes of cars (including variations on muscles, exotics and racers) to explore, and a robust online mode that supports up to eight players, Black Rock looks to have another winner on its hands.
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