Split/Second: Velocity

Split/Second: Velocity Review

Having played a plethora of racing games over the years, I’ve found that they often tend to blur together, offering pretty much the same gameplay and racing modes, with just a change in the tracks and vehicles on offer. However I was pleasantly surprised when I played Split/Second on the Playstation 3, which tries its best not to fall prey to the bog-standard racing genre by offering a few quirky changes to the racing rules. The game does have its setbacks, but overall it does provide a fairly enjoyable experience.

The game is set around a TV show called Split/Second, where drivers race around various tracks and locations which have been rigged to explode (the tracks, not the cars!). It sounds like something out of a Hollywood blockbuster, and indeed it plays out exactly like one. The second you accelerate away from the starting line, you are surrounded by exploding barrels, flying cars, collapsing building, and utter chaos. The goal is of course to get the best lap time, but there’s no end to the amount of destructive fun you can have along the way.

The key element of Split/Second is the use of ‘power plays’ – explosions that you can trigger on certain areas of each track to hinder or even wreck your opponents. The single-bar power plays consist of things like exploding cars or falling barrels, while the double-bar power plays are much more destructive, tearing down buildings and even altering the direction of the track. It’s here are you realize that the game isn’t just about mindlessly blowing up portions of the track – your timing is crucial when pulling off a power play, as your opponents can simply veer out of the way or worse still, you could get caught in your own mayhem.

Pulling off the power plays requires you to fill up an on-screen bar, and you do this through three ways: drifting, drafting, and airtime. Drifting is almost effortless in this game, while drafting just involves you tailgating another car. Airtime is harder to pull off, as there are only certain areas of the track that will give you chances to pull off jumps to fill your bar. The game does exceptionally well with the special effects and explosions – cars engulfed in flames, towers crumbling onto the track, and even airplanes crashing into the runway make for a wonderfully engaging race around each track.

In a nutshell, that’s about all there is to do in Split/Second – the game is spread over 12 ‘episodes’ and you can unlock further races and cars, but short of that there’s nothing much that you need to worry about. There is a multiplayer option available as well as a local split-screen feature which provides some fantastic racing with a buddy if you tire of the single-player races.

Where the game does seem to have its flaws is with the ruthless AI racers. You will almost always have someone colliding into the back of your car, or driving literally millimeters away alongside you. Make one small mistake or wrong turn, and you will have the entire fleet of cars soar past you, making it very frustrating to finish some of the races. I was often leading the pack for each lap, only to make a crash in the 3rd lap and finish in 6th place.

But minor gripes aside, Split/Second does at the end of the day provide a fairly decent and different racing experience. The amount of destruction that you can sometimes do in each track often reaches epic proportions, and there’s nothing more satisfying than seeing your opponents come to a grinding halt as they drive into an exploding barrel. Split/Second is certainly a game to recommend to anyone who’s looking for a slightly different racing experience with a whole lot of fun thrown in.

The Scorecard

GAMEPLAY: 9
The power plays are a true spectacle to behold, and provide endless hours of fun.

GRAPHICS: 8
No shortage of debris and explosions here, and some excellent use of lighting makes everything stand out well.

SOUND: 8
The background music tends to be a bit on the drab side, but the explosive sound effects are spot on.

VALUE: 8
While the single player races may seem to be short, the frantic multiplayer action will have you gaming on for a while to come.

FUN FACTOR: 9
The power plays are spectacular to pull off, and can completely obliterate your opponents.