E3 09: Split/Second Hands-On Preview
Last fall, Black Rock Studios released the adrenaline-pumping ATV racer Pure to critical acclaim. Early next year, the developer returns with Split/Second, a high-octane arcade auto racer. In Split/Second, players participate in a reality TV-style racing show, speeding around tracks that are actually elaborately designed sets rigged with explosives.
Using the environment around the track and taking out opponents are critical to winning races in Split/Second. A circular power meter floated just behind our car’s rear bumper, which we charged by drafting, jumping, and drifting. Once the bar is charged sufficiently, players can hit ‘A’ on the Xbox 360 controller when they’re within proximity to another car to perform a ‘standard power-play,’ or ‘B’ to trigger a ‘super power-play.’
Depending on where they are on the track, opponents who are hit with a standard power-play might have a bomb dropped onto them by an attack helicopter hovering overhead or suffer having a nearby wall explode, launching debris and concrete onto the track. A wrecked car isn’t knocked out of the race entirely, but does suffer a time-delay penalty while it is reset on the track.
Super power-plays cause even greater destruction. One triggered explosives rigged under the track, leaving behind a massive gap in the roadway and creating an alternate underground route that was persistent over the next two laps. A second caused the airport’s control tower to explode and crumble to the ground, sealing off another part of the track and forcing us out onto the runway. A final super power-play had a massive jetliner fall out of the sky and crash-land onto the runway as the cars in front of us sped head-on towards it.
From the brief time we had with it, Split/Second seems absurdly fun and is a marvel to behold, with each consecutive power-play more devastating and dazzling than the last. Our car handled just-right and it was a real blast to dodge concrete and asphalt flying toward us from every direction.
But seeing as how this is the only included gameplay mode in Split/Second, it’s difficult to say how long the final game will hold our interest, even with the planned online multiplayer. We’ll know for sure when it is released early next year for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.
