Split Second User Review

I enjoy a good racer about once every two years or so. I don't usually care much for driving simulators such as GT. If it is too realistic and frustrating it just makes me want to go and drive a real car somewhere. I'm not putting GT down, it is a beautiful game, but the old ones never held my interest for very long. On the other side of the coin is Mario Kart which I play with my 6 year old about once a week. It's frantic fun, but winning or losing comes across as cheap so I never get into trying to play it alone. I was stoked about Modnation because I was hoping it would deliver some reward for skills, not just hitting "?" marks. It took me two nights to realize there was no real difference in the racing aspect. So, I took it back to Gamestop for a trade.

After reading Arnold's review I decided to give Split Second a shot as my racing fix. I've got to say that I am loving it. There are several strokes of pure genius throughout the gameplay that mixes some nice looking graphics with fun fantasy racing. I like feeling empowered in games and this one delivers. I love when I barely cross the finish line in first so excited that I'm talking trash to the AI drivers, then have to wipe the sweat off of my palms.

The genius comes in when you start figuring out the "power" moves. Unlike Mario or Modnation, these are for the most part avoidable with a bit of skill which makes every race seem a bit more fair. Usually when I lose a race, I am left only blaming myself knowing where I messed up and what I will do different when I retry. As you learn the courses you will improve and become aware of what to watch out for, leading to a fairly rewarding experience.

Also, the simple controls are great. My 6 year old can sit beside me and join right in. But mastering the drifting touch feels rewarding. Not much else I need to say about that. It's appreciated, though.

Saving up your "power" moves also adds to how well thought out the game seems to be. You can pretty much constantly barage your rivals with small scale attacks over and over, or save them up to unleash one huge attack. I had a race today where the right timing took me from last place to 1st, and it was fun watching Hell rain down on my enemies.

Now, the first downside I see so far is that the game may be too short overall. Maybe Burnout Paradise spoiled me a bit with several hundred events. But Split Second seems to be one season of a reality television series with 12 episodes total, each episode having 6 (I think) separate events. Maybe some DLC will add some new stuff later, but I have yet to hear anything on some, and I don't expect this company to be able to hold a torch to all that Criteion gave me over the years. There is online racing, and I suppose that will help expand my experience once I have a better car to compete with.

Next, I would have liked to see some customization or upgrading. Let me pick a body I like and tweak it where I see fit.

And they don't allow me to play my own music. I personally think that almost every game that isn't story driven should include this feature. But, that's a very small complaint as I have my PC right beside me to play my Pandora.

Overall? I'm digging it. Burnout did away with Crash Mode, which made for great stress relief after work, but the explosions and destruction in Split Second seem to be filling in that void in my life well. The modes that are offered other than racing are a blast, too. Arnold covered them pretty nicely in his review. A definite buy for anyone looking for a fantasy racing fix, and not one I will be trading in any time soon.