GameXplain reviews single player and multiplayer separately

I wanna go fast.

Split/Second is just like what I’d picture a Top Gear-styled television racing show. It has a lot in common with the British car show – folks will get to see some exotic sports cars executing some dazzling stunts and participate in some of the most over-the-top racing you’ll ever see. Between some spectacular races, interesting presentation and solid gameplay, Split/Second proves to be both familiar and inventive, making for one of the best racing games we’ve seen in a while.

Presented in the style of a tv show, Split Second is structured as a season of a given series. Every “episode” consists of several different events, ranging from a standard race, elimination matches (where the car in last place is eliminated after a few seconds), or even some more unique modes such as survival (where you must avoid exploding barrels), and air strike, where you must avoid attacks from an overhead helicopter. Once you’ve accomplished all the tasks in an episode, it’s on to the next and more adrenaline-fueled mayhem. The presentation is very slick and vaguely familiar as quite a few shows currently on the air use a similar approach, but once you’re tossed into the driver’s seat, guiding your car through these extremely fun ordeals, you’ll soon find that there’s more going on here than just pure flash.

While it’s easy to describe Split/Second as a battle racing game a la Mario Kart or even the Wipeout series, it uses a mix of old conventions and a new technique in the “power play” system to keep the action fresh. In order to use power plays, you’ll need to earn energy for your power play bar by either drifting, drafting (staying in a competitor’s slip stream), or catching air. We’ve seen this approach before in games like Ridge Racer or the Burnout series, where it’ll let you use some performance-altering ability, usually in the form of a nitrous boost. But in Split/Second, things are a little different. Once you earn the ability to use a power play, you’ll be able to trigger it, but only at key points in the race – specifically, only when you’re close to an environmental hazard. This is how the game’s inherently different from others. Rather than being armed with weapons or some sort of a boost, you’ll have to use the game’s environment to run interference with your competitors. You’ll be able to detonate various objects such as buildings or cars, drop tanks of gas from above, or even reveal hidden shortcuts that other racers may not have access to, creating a very engaging way to play a racing game.

The interesting thing is just because you have the ability to set off a power play, that doesn’t mean you’ll want to use it right away, nor does it mean this attack will automatically work. Rather, you’ll have to time things just right. If you’re too early or late with your power play, other cars will simply speed by your trap without so much as a scratch, but if you nail the timing, you can wreck any other racer on the track. You could even effect the track itself with a power play, causing permanent damage to the roadway, creating a brand new route to take, thus changing the entire circuit for the rest of the event.

With all of this wonderful chaos happening on screen, it’s easy to get lost in the action, but once you do, it’s game over – you’re really encouraged to pay attention, and not only to your driving, but also to your opponents and the environment. Other competitors will be using power plays, with various hazards exploding out of the ether without any notice, and if you’re not wary of your own power plays, you can be taken out just as easily as an opponent if you’re too close to the target area. The drift system is another clever element  that demands your attention – yes, you’re expected to drift in order to earn the power play ability, but if you’re drifting around every corner, you’ll often find yourself going too slow to be competitive. Instead, you’re forced to decide when and how to drift, balancing speed vs. energy. If you’re not constantly scanning everything that’s happening, you’ll go from first to last in a -- pardon the expression -- split second.

While Split/Second introduces a decent amount of new components which add some extra flair to the genre, it’s when it’s coupled with the more traditional elements that it becomes truly noteworthy. Whether you’d like to participate in a standard race, or cause as much havok as possible, Split/Second has more than enough to keep racing fans coming back for more – rest assured, just like BBC America’s Top Gear, this is one supercharged bundle that is ready to give you one of the best rides this summer.

Flawed but fun.

Split/Second’s multiplayer is inherently flawed. It’s entirely dependant on the single player career if you’re to be competitive or have playing against others online. While the modes available are pretty fun, what’s not enjoyable is the fact that you’re at a disadvantage from the onset. You’ll often find that your opponents are in cars vastly superior to what’s available to you, and you’ll have no chance of winning an event. Even if these events aren’t reliant on how fast you are, these other cars are stronger, handle better and are capable of more, so you’ll still be at a loss.

However, if you put in your time in the single player, unlocking all there is to unlock, you’ll be able to keep up with the rest of the players, and things really pick up. Not only will you have learned the ins and outs of the various circuits, you’ll also have unlocked everything there is to be a real contender in these matches. Add the fact that your opponents are other players (rather than AI), you’ll have to employ some new tactics to combat these unpredictable players. The same old tricks you used offline may no longer work. Players are pretty crafty and aware of how to avoid your power plays, so you’ll have to figure out how to get a new advantage.

Multiplayer can be both great and agitating, depending on how much of the single player you’ve gone through. If you can remain competitive, then it’s a great deal of fun. However, if you just got the game and wanted to hop right into multiplayer, you’ll find that it’s easier said than done. While the online component is technically proficient and has the potential to be quite a bit of fun, the limitations you’ll find prove to be a huge turn off. There’s no shortage of ideas to improve accessibility that so many other games have implemented, it really confuses me to see what was done with Split/Second. Sure, it takes a bit of effort to get into the swing of things, but what if you don’t want to? It leaves you in the dust of others rather than having everyone on a level playing field from the onset.

Note: This game was reviewed on Xbox 360