Black Rock Studios is best known for 2008’s off-road racing sleeper hit Pure. Now they’re back with Split/Second, which is just as much an action game as it is a racing game. We sat in on a Q&A session with the game’s director, Nick Baynes, and this is what we learned.
In the world of Split/Second, you are a driver on a reality show of the same name. On this reality show, you drive on sets that are rigged to explode and take out your fellow competitors. The game’s races are divided into episodes, and the game makes up one season of the show. You drive the same course until you have accumulated enough points to make it into that season’s “elite” race, where only the best eight drivers will compete for cash and prizes. If the player can come in 3rd place or better in an elite race, they can move on to the next episode.
So, the biggest thing that sets Split/Second apart from other racing games is that it’s full of action. The best way to describe it is that if Michael Bay made a racing game, it would be Split/Second. So how does this action work? You have to fill up your action meter by either jumping, drifting, or drafting. The meter is divided into three sections. When the first section is full, you can pull off level one power plays. Triggering this power play will cause something to explode or be dropped in the area. If a driver happens to be in the way, they get wrecked and have to start just behind the danger zone, most likely losing a few precious spots in the process.
Filling the meter up all the way causes you to be able to trigger either level two power plays or route changers. A level two power play is much like a level one except that instead of being able to take out just one or two cars, you can take out the whole pack with the right timing.
Route changers are a whole different story. Instead of making something blow up or fall, you can actually destroy an huge piece of the environment, changing the entire course. Not only does this open up new scenery, but it also creates shortcuts and unlocks brand new power plays. The more the route changes, the more dynamic the race becomes.
While we are on the topic of the power meter, I should mention Split/Second’s uncluttered, almost non-existent HUD. To keep the screen clear so that players can see all the destruction, the UI elements are on the back of the car. The left side of the bumper displays what place you are in while the right side of the bumper displays what lap you are in. The power meter sits in a horseshoe shape around the bottom of your car, and that’s it. That’s all the info the displayed to you besides icons above other drivers and ones letting you know when you wrecked another car.
Cars are important in racing games, and with all rampant destruction, was any attention paid to hardcore racing gamers who are used to Forza and Gran Turismo? Well, no. Not exactly. The game features a wide range of cars for all types of gamers, but they aren’t customizable in any way. The closest you get to customization is unlocking decals for the side of your car. Your car can hold 12 stickers, but there are about 50 to unlock. Once you put those on your car, you can take your car into multiplayer and show off the stickers you have. Split/Second really is more of an action game aimed at a wider range of players than it is aimed at racing game or car enthusiasts.
However, fans of racing games shouldn’t be discouraged as Black Rock made sure that the tracks were fun to race on before adding anything that exploded. The drifting mechanic is also surprisingly easy to use but adds a level of depth for those who want to explore it. If you don’t drift, you should get around corners just fine, but not only does drifting make the game more exciting and challenging, it fills up your power meter.
Action movie buffs are also in for a treat as many of the game’s modes and power plays are modeled after scenes in popular action movies. One game mode has you driving in a ravine behind a truck that is dumping explosive barrels off the back of it while you attempt to dodge them. The idea of driving through a ravine with a truck is reminiscent of Terminator 2, while the things falling off the back of the truck was inspired by Bad Boys 2. See? Michael Bay.
Wondering about multiplayer? Well not only does the game feature eight-player racing online, but local split-screen games are also supported. When asked about any co-op modes, for example one player is doing the driving while the other is triggering the power plays, Nick said that feature wasn’t in the final game, but something they were looking into. Maybe it’s possible we will see co-op modes as DLC in the future?
Split/Second hopes to please fans of both racing and action games, and it sounds like Black Rock has succeeded at recapturing the feeling that the older Burnout games gave gamers: lots of action, lots of speed, and the feeling of wanting to see one more explosion or one more spectacular crash. Find out if you have what it takes to survive the fast paced world of Split/Second when it hits stores on May 18th.