Racing games that throw scripted obstacles at you as you tear around a track are pretty standard. But Split Second, the next title from
Pure developer Blackrock Studio, lets
you control those hazards. The underlying premise is simple, you're part of a televised racing show, sort of like in last year's aptly titled movie
Death Race (just without any death, prison, or Jason Stratham). Instead of racing for freedom, in Split Second you're racing for glory and money. The game doesn't have any licensed vehicles, and that's partly to add in destructible cars, and partly to allow for greater vehicle customization. But the Hollywood-style explosions are what separate this game from other arcade racers.
If I was making this game, it would be titled Split Second: Sh*t Blows Up, but for obvious reasons, I don't get to make those decisions. Blackrock Studio is keeping the controls very simple (accelerate, brake, and steer) so you can focus on setting off "super plays" -- jumping, drafting, and buzzing by obstacles and opponents without hitting them adds juice to the three-light super play meter displayed on your car's rear bumper. During each race, some objects in the distance will flash blue, just like the first two sections of your meter. Hit the action button when you see the azure flash and you'll activate that object's minor event with a small explosion, enough to take out one or two cars in the immediate vicinity. It also takes away one block from your meter. One strategy is to trigger constant minor events (like collapsing water towers or light posts) and explosions to keep your opponents constantly on their toes.
But the real fun comes in filling your meter up completely. The third light is red, and, if you hit the action button when you see a flashing scarlet structure, you're able to cause massive, course-altering mayhem. It completely depletes the meter, but any cars caught in the periphery of the damage don't stand a chance at survival. The effects aren't always immediately apparent either. During an airport race I watched, one triggered red obstacle brought down an air traffic control tower, which immediately caused a lot of trouble for everyone caught under the collapsing structure. But a little farther along, when the track streaked down the runway, a massive airliner smashed into the pavement (it no longer had the air tower for help, you see), taking out all the cars in its path.
Your enemies can also use the same powers, so driving around the track becomes a sequence of one over-the-top explosion after the other. Like every good racing game, Split Second will support the standard multiplayer modes, and the game representative I talked with said the team is also trying to integrate a few new game modes to keep things fresh. The game's development is in a very early stage (the projected release isn't until 2010), but it's already looking very exciting. The premise might seem gimmicky, but from the creator of Pure, I expect a whole lot of Michael Bay-approved fun.
ing sweet!
