GamesRelay

Name: Split/Second

Brighton based Developers Black Rock Studio last graced our screens with the all terrain racing game Pure in 2008, to a somewhat muted response from most of the gaming community despite receiving generally favourable reviews from the industry. Two years later and they've stuck to their racing pedigree and brought us a more traditional racer with Split/Second, in the hope that this one will grab your attention a little more.

Not quite taking the, shall we say, normal view of racers, Black Rock have invented a reality TV show for you to take part in, you've a full season of 12 episodes to take part in. Your ultimate aim is to win points in each episode of the show which will carry you through to the next episode. Each episode is split into a series of races and you get points for winning each one which go towards your season total, obviously the aim is to win the season. Except it's not all that simple, Black Rock have designed their tracks with booby traps that can be triggered by rival racers with the sole purpose of taking you out of the race; these can vary from explosive charges at the side of the track, wrecking balls flailing around, dumper trucks to reverse onto the track, and sometimes whole buildings coming down on top of you. It's not all for destructive purposes though, sometimes you can trigger shortcuts and even complete route changes to help you along your way; suffice to say that it can get a little manic at times, but it's oh so delicious when it all kicks off around you.

As mentioned there are various types of events you can take part in, all racing based but with little tweaks. To start with you've got your bog standard races, well, they're not bog standard really as the destruction can reign supreme on the track. You've got a meter to fill when your racing, you can fill it by drifting round corners, getting in tight behind a car in a drafting position, or you can fill your meter by jumping. There are three of these bars to fill, the first two are blue and will allow you to set off the traps, or power plays as they are known, and the final one is red, once the red one is filled then you'll have access to bigger traps, or the ability to change the route of the track.

Once a trap has been set or a route changed then this will remain until you complete the race meaning that the courses are never the same twice, well, not unless you count the first lap which can be the same if nothing is destroyed. The route changes aren't just limited to one either, you can change the track again, or an AI opponent can also trigger a change, making each lap possibly different in some way or form. The different routes all come with their own set of traps and shortcuts as well so learning them all can get to be a real challenge, especially when you think you've seen anything and you get taken by surprise. The shortcuts in the track aren't limited to the ones you create either, they can come in many forms such as little side streets, but some are laden with traps, drive through a gas station at your peril for instance as it can all blow up around you, like wise, drive under a big structure at the risk of it falling down and crushing you with no warning. You'll always be wary of these things after they've hit you once, and you'll never take your eye off them again as you pass them looking for a sign that they are about to ruin your race.

One of the first things you'll notice about the game upon starting a race are the lush graphics that lay before your eyes, for anyone whose played the Ridge Racer games then you'll be taken back to how good those looked, the detail in and around the track is superb, even the cloud formations are impressive. The details are there to help integrate the track and its surroundings with the traps; think that train line is there just to look pretty? Think again, drive past it with enough energy to trigger the power play then the train will derail and come crashing down on the track. Think that Airport Control tower looks good with the sun behind it? No? Bring it crashing down onto the track and make it into a ramp then.

Races are helped by the fact that most of the debris you cause to get on the track stays on it throughout the race, that building or car you exploded last time round will still be there as an obstacle the next time you hit the track, any cars left on fire because of your actions will still be billowing smoke for a while too so you can see it before you reach it; this all brings a sense of realism to the proceedings and or course it makes it all that more fun to play through.