Set in a fictional city rigged to blow, a split/second is all you'll get in this fast-paced and ambitious arcade racer

User Rating: 8.5 | Split/Second PS3
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Contains: Scenes of Intense Action
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Split/Second is an arcade racing game that mixes up the regular racing action with a cool and innovative gameplay concept which introduces power plays.

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STORY - 3/5
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In the game, players take part in a fictional reality TV show where the participants race for money and glory. The show consists of a variety of events, each focusing on destructible environments where the television crew have set charges which are rigged to blow, and can be triggered remotely by driver actions known as "powerplays". Probably the most unrealistic and unlikely game premise you'll ever witness unfold, but on the other hand, it sets up fantastic action with one of the most intense gameplay mechanics ever executed in a racing game to date.

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GAMEPLAY - 5/5
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Split/Second is a fast-paced arcade racing game where you can develop a real sense of speed, but it has one trick up its sleeve which pays off with excellent results. Even though the entire game relies entirely on one concept, that one concept of ultimate destruction is one of the most innovative ideas ever created for a game of this genre. The city is rigged to blow, and the game does a fantastic job of making the most out of each track layout, whether you are furiously racing around an airport terminal, or wrestling with rivals at the edge of the damn in the canyon, there is a mix of well executed ideas that force each lap to progress differently to the last.
The way to change the environment is to detonate the charges set in the various environments by utilizing the game's main principle mechanic - Powerplays. Level 1 powerplays are the frequent amount of light explosives located around the track, such as road-side bombs in vehicles, but these quick and easy ones also take advantage of some of the settings your in.
You can destroy small buildings, drop barrels on rivals via helicopter, and even unlock shortcuts. Opponents can use these shortcuts too though, so don't think you're the only one who's just got an advantage. Shockwaves feel intense, and will send your opponents flying, and wreck them even if the explosion you triggered doesn't directly connect with the driver. But if you hold onto the juice you gain, from drifting, drafting opponents and hitting jumps, you can fill your metre to the third bar, which glows red, and this can be used to unleash huge powerplays, or completely change the route altogether, which in turn, makes new powerplays available down a route you've never seen before. Every explosion looks and feels great, and the way environments fall apart next you while you are navigating such tight areas going at outrageous speeds makes up for some real intense moments.

The season mode is split up into 12 episodes, each containing various and innovative game modes that are unique and mix up the normal race mode formulae. There's the recognised elimination race, but the new modes are the real intriguing ones to look out for. There's a survival event where you and other racers fight to overtake big trucks, and these trucks chuck out explosive barrels that you need to dodge. It can become extremely chaotic fun since sometimes its difficult to see with all the fierce fireballs produced from unfortunate rivals who didn't manage to dodge the barrels. Overtaking them builds up your combo, which then multiplies your score when you overtake more lorry's, but as soon as you get wrecked, the combo is lost and you must start over. Not only do you need to be careful, but you need to be quick, and wrestle against the time on the clock. Another interesting mode is almost like a hot lap, where you need to beat the time limit set by other drivers. But the twist here is that powerplays are triggered automatically ahead of you, so you need to be quick and cautious to not crash if you want a quick finish. These aren't the only new modes to captivate you into playing more either, but without mentioning anymore, you're sure to find them just as enjoyable.
Depending on the position you come in the event, you will earn a certain amount of points, which can build up to unlock new vehicles. Sadly, customization options are limited to only being able to change colour of your car, so outside of events, season mode proves noticeably shallow when compared to other racing games on the market. But thanks to its explosive gameplay concept, there is really no end to the entertainment put upon your screen.

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GRAPHICS - 5/5
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Split/Second runs with stunning graphics, and high definition captures the quality in every game mode and track. Each track has been made with really good detail, even visually stunning backgrounds will continue to impress long into the many hours available in the game. Explosions produce shockwaves, and these shockwaves can really hit you hard, and give a great sense of being uncontrollably moved by a great acting force. The route changers create high explosive reactions in the environment, and the detail put into backing up possibility behind each rigged explosion is also impressive. A train may crash, but its the way it all happens that makes it that bit more believable and entertaining. Careful examination will unveil some texture issues in the blasts produced, and the way the environment settles into a new formation can look a little too good to be true, but for the most part, racing at high speeds of 150 mph or more will diminish any doubts to the influential and notable visual design.

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SOUND - 5/5
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The large amount of sound effects are vividly realistic and captivate you into being extremely cautious near every explosive obstacle, which can be set off at any moment and destroy any hopes of finishing in the top spot. When something big is triggered to explode in the environment, all the up beat racing music and vehicle gear transactions become completely shut out to ensure that your focus is primarily on the devastating destruction about to happen, whether or not you or an opponent triggered it. The sound of a tower toppling over is uniquely made evident, and then the volume raises to make a hair-raising crash that not only changes the course pattern, but the shockwave is enormous, depending how close you were to the destruction. And then all of the familiar sounds return in great fashion, and the flow of the race continues until the next powerplay is made.
On the menus there is some great action-like soundtrack which clearly represents a racing game, and is done to good effect off track and on track.

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CONTROLS - 4/5
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There is only a few buttons that you need to make note of during the game, and the simplistic layout works fine. R2- accelerate, L2- brake, O- level 2 powerplay, and X- level 1 powerplay. That's all you really need to know and make use of throughout the whole game. There is a camera view option, but the default one is the best one to have, since then all the unfolding carnage is present on your screen and much more entertaining and watchable.
However, one problem that may arise, is drifting. Its an unreliable gameplay mechanic than can often cause frustration, and even cause unnecessary crashes. Different types of vehicles have various drift statistics, but this display is quite unnecessary, since most vehicles feel the same when attempting a drift. The idea is to tap L2 when entering a corner to drift, and sometimes you'll complete a nice one, whilst over times you'll try drifting again but you may find that you over-drift and crash, which almost seems completely unavoidable. The inconsistent drift will undoubtedly make a mess of some of your performances, and so when approaching a corner, its much easier to just let your foot off the gas and simply stroll round at a reasonable speed, which also proves quicker and simpler than drifting.

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ATMOSPHERE - 4/5
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The stage is set in a really big fictional city, and the racing action displayed really does make the city feel alive despite the absence of regular city's busy streets and pedestrians. Gathering a real sense of speed and triggering the destruction possible in the area really gives great amounts of intensity and caution. When an icon appears above of your rivals, you have the opportunity to trigger an explosion, and some will wreck your opponents no matter what, but some require timing, and these moments only allow very short spaces of time to decide, and split second decisions really do enlighten the atmosphere, and prove the key to victory.
Also, racing side by side with rivals and seeing them get taken out by an obstacle and you narrowly missing a crash brings a sigh of relief, and a fresh breathe of excitement that not many racing games accomplish.

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ENEMY AI - 3/5
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The highlight of the enemy intelligence is the fact that they also have the ability to trigger powerplays, which not only target you, but the other racers aswell, which gives the impression that everyone is against each other, and not just out to get you. Exciting car duels no doubt follow in this impressive arcade racing game, but sometimes your rivals can do things which will just get you fired up and annoyed. As you progress through season mode the difficulty, as expected, increases. With that in mind, opponents not only trigger more powerplays but also become much more aggressive and seemingly faster than yourself, no matter what car you're driving. You may think you perfectly drifted around a corner, but your rivals prove much more better and glide around the corner with ease and overtake you at an alarming speed. Moments like this can make certain tracks really difficult to come first in, especially if the last corner prevents you from unmistakeably winning the event.

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LENGTH - 4/5
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Split/Second's season mode of 12 episodes will certainly last you a good couple of days worth of fast-paced arcade racing, possibly up to 12 hours depending how good your skill level is, which means you may be replaying certain events if you want to do better than your last efforts. Online modes also prove great fun, and contain no noticeable lag or presentational issues, which makes racing against other people in the world on the various tracks a test of your skills and composure, and also fluently smooth racing action.

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REPLAY VALUE - 3/5
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While the fun and excitement is really impressive for the first few hours, it won't be long before you memorise the track layout and positions of all the powerplay and route changers. But overall, Split/Second is a really ambitious racing game that pays off with spectacular results all down to the innovative and exciting powerplay game concept, which makes each lap a different experience to the last.

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OVERALL SUMMARY - 8.5/10
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Good Points: Stunning graphics and level design, Powerplays cause all sorts of adrenaline-fuelled races where each lap unfolds differently from the last, Get a real sense of speed and impact from shockwaves, Opponents can trigger powerplays too, Online is smooth and lag free, Innovative game modes are great fun, Lots of well executed ideas that make the most out of the environments.

Bad Points: Drifting is inconsistent and proves more problematic than it should be, No in-depth car customization options, Rivals can prove infuriatingly challenging at the latter stages of season mode.