Topic: Split/Second

[Plugabugz]

Or, as it should be called, Die Hard meets Burnout.

Has anyone else downloaded the demo? Thoughts?

[Plugabugz]

Well judging by the massive response i should get my views in.

The demo is on PSN/XBL, and its out on May 18. It's a racing game set in a fictional TV city where everything is rigged to blow up and go boom. Following closely behind other cars, drifting and jumping all builds (what i call) "charge" in two parts. If you build up to Level 1 you can set off an explosion in front of you (e.g. a bus). If you set off a Level 2 charge you set off a larger explosion that is very VERY big (e.g you can cause a plane to crash) or you can alter the track to a new design. Online (and i think 2-player online split screen) multiplayer has been confirmed already.

While i can't comment on controls all too much as you only have one car in the demo, the feel is arcadey and light and reminiscent of Burnout Paradise - but i feel that other cars will different control styles and won't be so easy to master.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpnUzI04_1s

Personally i'm very disappointed at the lack of hype surrounding the game. The demo is a stupid amout of fun and it seems, to me at least, that the general lack of attention is more to do with Black Rock Studios being owned by Disney Interactive. If EA owned them this would be a massive title.

[Dirk Temporo]

Not as awesome as Blur. That's why nobody's talking about it.

[Plugabugz]

Not as awesome as Blur. That's why nobody's talking about it.

There's no demo on PS3 (as far as i know) and it wasn't at the Eurogamer Expo last year so i can't comment on it.

That and it seems the US demos of Split/Second only just came out yesterday? Where we had them since last week.

[Plugabugz]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzopxZco8yY is 2 of the game modes so far revealed.

[broodwars]

On a whim, I decided to try out the PS3 demo today, and I actually had a surprising amount of fun.  I never did get the hang of Drifting to build up my Power Meter, but the game has a great sense of speed and there's just something satisfying about dealing with an obnoxious pack of opposing cards by dropping a plane on them in a big fiery explosion.  ^_^  I also appreciated that unlike other racing series (*cough*Mario Kart*cough*), just because some jerk behind you ignites a Power Play, that doesn't mean you're completely screwed.  From the looks of it, if you pay attention and have good reflexes, you might lose a few seconds in the process but you can at least avoid a total crash.  A "Jerry Bruckheimer Simulator", indeed.  I just might pick this game up one day, and I'm not a huge fan of racing games.

In related news, I tried out the demo for Mod Nation Racers as well.  Meh.

[broodwars]

Well, "one day" turned out to be "to-day", so yeah I picked up the game and have been playing a good deal of it.  I had a friend over anyway, and we actually spent most of the afternoon just having a blast tearing down the tracks.  I'm in the middle of Episode 2: Splashdown (after having spent a great deal of time getting 1st places in all the events in Episode 1), and so far my biggest complaint is that the collision detection can be rather buggy (I've seen the strangest things pronounced as "crashes"), and your cars have a nasty habit of refusing to pull out of drifts when you want them to.  The courses also repeat more than I'd like considering how few of them there are, and although I enjoy all the explosions it would be nice to see more Power Plays that used some other form of attack.  Overall, though, I'm having a great deal of fun with this game, and it actually reminds me a lot of Beetle Adventure Racing back on the N64, just with more explosions.

[Plugabugz]

I'm hoping to play it but Tesco Entertainment haven't even done anything with my order.

[Plugabugz]

So now i'm back from my holiday, i managed to get the item.

I got the game for £4.48!!!!!!! That's like a 95% discount.

Anyway, i'm LOVING this game and its TV series feel. Even right down to the splash screen-like icon for SPLIT/SECOND when you crash the car and the shakycam styled cutscenes at the start of each "episode".

I agree with broodwars sometimes that a lot of the early cars are very stubborn to pull out of drifts, and you have to slam into the wall to break it out of them - only to lose the time gained and the other cars catch up.

[broodwars]

Anyway, i'm LOVING this game and its TV series feel. Even right down to the splash screen-like icon for SPLIT/SECOND when you crash the car and the shakycam styled cutscenes at the start of each "episode".

Indeed.  I'm a little annoyed, though, that there's no way to rewatch those videos later.  I actually beat Season mode last night (see my review in "Rate the last Game you Played"), and overall I'm satisfied but frustrated by the incredibly cheap AI.  The game ends on a cliffhanger with the whole "TV show"  idea, so I hope the game sold well and we get a sequel.

[D_Average]

I really enjoyed the demo, but not as much as Pure.  BUT....it could be the track.  Perhaps the other tracks would suck me in more.  I'll definately  get it once the price drops.  I bought Pure at full price and it quickly dropped a couple weeks later.

[broodwars]

http://www.destructoid.com/split-second-dlc-is-about-to-blow-up-180918.phtml

Well, after several months of silence from Disney and disappointing sales numbers, we finally got confirmation that Split/Second will be receiving 4 DLC packs in the coming weeks: 3 vehicle DLC packs in August and one major DLC pack in September featuring a new track.  I don't care all that much about the vehicle packs, but a new track will definitely be enough to get me interested in playing the game again. Hopefully it won't be the only new track released this way.

I'm just happy to see that Disney hasn't given up on the game, because it deserved to sell a lot better than it did.

[Ian Sane]

I just got this a couple days ago actually.  I recently updated my internet plan to a higher speed so I decided to download some PS3 demos.  Before one demo would take like a whole day to download.  I loved the demo.  Then later that day my brother was going to Best Buy to get Starcraft II and I came along and noticed that Split/Second was selling for $20 off.  I figured "what the hell", bought it, and I love it.  It's got a real sense of speed and dodging all the bullshit flying at you is such a rush.  And it's also fun to wreck your opponents.

I like it a lot though I realize that being a Nintendo gamer for a long time I have not played many racing games over the years aside from F-Zero and Mario Kart.  I might be more impressed because I've played less.  But I like the power play gimmick, it's like a neat twist on the Mario Kart formula.

My brother and I however find it so funny how the game is presented as this TV show like they felt the need to come up with some excuse as to why all this stuff is happening.  And yet there is no explanation given as to how I, you know, survive these horrible car wrecks and how my car just re-enters the race.  It's a videogame.  I don't need an explanation why I'm racing around a city and triggering disasters.

[broodwars]

The "it's a TV show!" aspect is pretty goofy, but it did its job for me in stringing me along the singleplayer campaign with the "next time on Split/Second" and "today on Split/Second" teaser videos that hook you in for "just one more event."  They try to use it at the end of the singleplayer campaign to tease a potential sequel, but that really comes across silly and unnecessary.
 
Glad to see someone else picking this game up and giving it the fair shake it didn't get at launch.  You picked a good time, too, with all that DLC just around the corner (particularly the new track, which had better be a new track with new Power Play opportunities).  Speaking of which, what kind of track setting would you like to see for the DLC?  A trainyard would be cool.  They haven't had one of those yet.  Having a track set in the Woods could be interesting as well.  I'd also like to finally have DLC that lets you play all the tracks at night, something that's already in the game but they don't let you control.

[Plugabugz]

I completed it a while back but i'm still playing it online with lots other people (and skype conferences at the same time for ultimate fun).

I think the mistake Disney did with Split/Second was to release alongside Blur. even though SS is the superior game (i downloaded the demo and very quickly didn't the controls and the mario kart "ness" of it), having competition from a "similar" game didn't help.

The "it's a TV show!" aspect is pretty goofy, but it did its job for me in stringing me along the singleplayer campaign with the "next time on Split/Second" and "today on Split/Second" teaser videos that hook you in for "just one more event."  They try to use it at the end of the singleplayer campaign to tease a potential sequel, but that really comes across silly and unnecessary.
 
Glad to see someone else picking this game up and giving it the fair shake it didn't get at launch.  You picked a good time, too, with all that DLC just around the corner (particularly the new track, which had better be a new track with new Power Play opportunities).  Speaking of which, what kind of track setting would you like to see for the DLC?  A trainyard would be cool.  They haven't had one of those yet.  Having a track set in the Woods could be interesting as well.  I'd also like to finally have DLC that lets you play all the tracks at night, something that's already in the game but they don't let you control.

When i played the game at the Eurogamer Expo last year, there was a level for a shopping centre which never appeared in the final version. They may have retooled that?

[Ian Sane]

As I play this I've noticed that I suck at any event type except the straight up racing.  I suck at the elimination races because I don't usually maintain a lead throughout a race.  It's not uncommon for me to be quite behind throughout, only to catch up by the end.  That style of racing doesn't allow one to succeed at the elimination races.  And I really suck at the helicopter revenge levels which I also don't find very enjoyable.  I have to redo them a lot to get enough credits to continue.
 
The main reason I'm playing the season mode is too unlock all the tracks for multiplayer, though I do overall find it very fun, helicopter levels aside.  But as I've played I've grown tired of doing the same tracks again and again.  Most racing games I've played only make you go through each track once.  But with this it's like each episode only has one new track and everything else is something I've done before.  As I've gotten further that has gotten tiresome (though I'm getting pretty good at these tracks due to practice).  The whole thing seems like a pretty blatant attempt to stretch out the game.  And the thing is the game doesn't need it because it's so fun.  The replay value is high enough to ensure a long game length.
 
And every time I play a racing game I wonder why they don't just have all the tracks available right off the bat.  Why not?  Multiplayer is a big part of these games.  If I want to go through a season type mode I still can, just for the fun of it.  Sports games offer season modes but you can just play in multiplayer the whole time if you want.  It isn't like in Madden I have to win the Superbowl with the Cowboys in order to play them in multiplayer.

[broodwars]

I find on elimination the best way to win is to spam the Power Plays early, get in the Top 4 by the end of the first elimination; and then use Power Plays to work your way up.  I haven't won every elimination that way, but I have always ended in the Top 3 (usually 1st).  As for Helicoptor Revenge, I recommend either going with a Speedy car with excellent Drifting or a car with excellent Drifting and high durability.  You can also cheat Helicoptor Revenge a bit by waiting a few seconds at the beginning of the race for the Helicoptor to get in front of you and begin aiming.  Then you race off the starting line and start the clock, allowing you to get essentially a free round of missile dodges.  But the key to that entire mode is getting perfect clears and saving up for the Level 3 Power Play strikes.  Get used to good drifting and you should be fine.  It is a tricky mode, but I enjoy it.  The stages I hate the most are the Time Trial stages, because there is pretty much no margin for error and you can't use your own car.
 
Yeah, the repetition in the tracks is annoying (especially since there are really only 5 different environments that all the tracks are pulled from), and it is by far the worst flaw of the game.  That's why I'm hoping that we see more DLC tracks.  Hopefully, we'll see some sort of integration of the DLC track into singleplayer, though I doubt it.
 
And I don't understand why the tracks have to be unlocked for multi any more than I do having to unlock all the characters in Smash Bros.

[Ian Sane]

One thing they should think of for a sequel is in any time based event to indicate what position I'm on pace to make.  For 90% of the event it shows me as in first because I have yet to have surpassed that time.  Then I suddenly drop positions at a rapid rate as I go part the different time intervals.  The ranking is more or less useless.  But if it indicates what I'm on pace for I know I need to try to chop some time off.

I won an elimination event last night that I have no idea how I actually won.  It was down to the final two and I was in second and my opponent is just barely visible in front of me.  I've got like five seconds left and my only hope is to wreck him with a power play.  But that icon is not popping up so I just start mashing the X button in case it comes up in time so that I don't lose due to a slow reaction time.  The time runs out and... 1st place?  Huh?  I clearly didn't pass him.  I must have triggered a power play at the absolute last second and had no idea.

The coolest thing I've done yet in the game however was done in elimination mode - passing a guy with less than a second to go causing him to get eliminated instead of me.  We were right next to each other and I think I actually audibly yelled as I tried to pass him.  The timing was such that it looked like me inching in front of him directly caused him to explode.  It was that close.  Sadly if you have to pull off such a feat it probably means you're way behind and sure enough I was the next car eliminated.

I think a death race mode where the whole goal is to wreck your opponents and be the last alive would be an obvious addition for a sequel.  The only problem is there isn't much point in being in front then so you would have to add some benefit like being able to release oil slicks if you're in first.

[Plugabugz]

My friend suggested an idea where you sacrifice a level 1 power play to get a boost of power.
I also suggested sacrificing a level 1 power play to cancel their use of shortcuts.
Both of these would help to spice things up.


The game does need lots more tracks, and there are some areas where it looks like they will integrate them into the existing environments.

Survival is the worst mode of the whole game, it's virtually unplayable because the red and green barrels render UNDERNEATH the orange haze and explosions meaning you can't see anything until you're drifting into it.

[broodwars]

Survival is the worst mode of the whole game, it's virtually unplayable because the red and green barrels render UNDERNEATH the orange haze and explosions meaning you can't see anything until you're drifting into it.

I highly suggest using 1st person mode in Survival.  It makes a world of difference in visibility.
 
Yeah, having a Speed Boost Power Play would be nice.