E3 2009: Split/Second Hands-On Preview

Split/Second released on May 18, 2010. Check out Spawn Kill’s review of Split/Second here!

In the world of racing games, there are very few openings for original IPs. Black Rock Studios, owned by Disney Interactive, is trying to break into the arcade-racing genre with a very explosive game called Split/Second. This new IP brings the speed of a Burnout game with the cinematic explosions of a car chase scene in a Michel Bay movie. At this year’s E3, Disney Interactive showcased one of the levels from Split/Second and Spawn Kill was there to get some hands-on time with it, along with video footage of the level shown.

The premise of this new racer is a reality TV show in which racers are thrown into various courses rigged with explosions. The competitors? Well, they’ll do whatever it takes to win. Not much has been released about the campaign but we do know that the show will be the focus while you play through the single player campaign.

The game relies on tons of action and less on realism when it comes to the cars. There aren’t any licensed cars but you will be able to customize the cars you have. The driving mechanics are simplified to allow everyone to be able to pick up and play the game. If you have ever played any arcade racers, you’ll be able to play this game with ease.

Disney Interactive wants to bring racing fans a great Hollywood cinematic experience when playing the game. From the level I saw they were quite successful in doing so. The HUD in the game is all centered at the back of the car. This allows the whole screen to be filled up with explosions and debris coming off the buildings. These explosions in the game are all caused by the racers which Disney labels as “strategic explosions.” When you are racing you can fill up a “power bar”, which can be seen on the HUD, by executing drafts, drifts and jumps. Once the bar is filled to a certain amount you can execute the “strategic explosions”, called “power plays” to take out the person in front of you or behind you. This is the point of emphasis in the game; you can’t really take out opponents simply by ramming them with your car so you have to use the environment to take them out. You can take your opponents out by blowing up buses or cars alongside the track and calling in helicopters to drop explosive barrels on the other drivers. You can also use the powerplays to create shortcuts on the map. This can give you a quick edge over your opponent but you can save your powerplay to build up towards a “SUPER Powerplay.” They are usually the biggest explosions on the map and can make a big impact on the race. You can use it to change the route of the track or cause a massive explosion to take out several opponents who are chasing you. All of these different powerplay scenarios were shown off at this years E3 when Disney Interactive had the Airport level on display.

The Airport level is full of the cinematic action one would expect from a Hollywood movie. This track brings you from the freeway entrance to outside the departure terminals, through the runway and hanger bay then back to the freeway entrance. After a quick fly over of the race track, the camera pans down to my car. It’s Lap 1 and I start off at the back of the pack on the freeway. With some drafting and quick drifts I was able to fill up one level of the power bar. I was then prompted to hit A which activated the normal powerplay. This caused the two cars in front of me to be hit by an exploding tanker on the side of the road. All of a sudden I found myself going from 8th to 5th in the first 20 seconds of lap one. Then right out of the blue I was hit by a barrel dropped from a helicopter, bringing me to the back of the pack. I was shocked when it happened but it was good to see that the AI also takes advantage of these powerplay explosions. The final product promises even more bang for your blowout, as it will have a more aggressive AI. The demo shown to us was to allow the gamer to execute most of the explosions. Once I got going again there were plenty of opportunities to drift and fill up my power bar. I finally got back to the starting line and I had enough to execute a super powerplay. An on-screen prompt came up again and instructed me to hit B and activate a route change. This caused the freeway ramp to explode and drop you right inside the airport. This changes the track for the entire game and now everyone else will be able to follow you through the alternate path. This was useful not only as a great shortcut but you can also take out opponents who are right over that part of the freeway. The route change also turned out to be a great shortcut and shot me to the front of the pack.

It’s now lap two and thanks to the jump from the route change and some drifting I found myself again with a full power bar. I then came to the runway and again was given the opportunity to use the super powerplay. This time it blew up the communication tower, forcing the drivers to drive right onto the runway. As you can see in the video footage if you aren’t prepared for the route change you’ll instantly find yourself going form the front of the pack to the back. Now we are forced through the hanger bay that previously was unavailable. This is where you find the first shortcut that you can activate if you have one bar filled up on the powerbar meter. The shortcut is a platform that lifts up to allow you to go through it instead of around it. But once you go through the shortcut it snaps down and it will crush anyone who tries to take the shortcut. On some occasions I was able to go through the shortcut with one of the AI drivers but I had to be right next to him. Another AI driver tried to take it behind us and I could hear it getting crushed by the platform.

Heading into lap three I only had one bar filled as I used two of them to take out two people in front of me as we exited the hanger bay. It’s easy to know when to use the powerplay because a small icon will appear on the car in front of you. As I took the jump that leads to the inside of the airport, I quickly filled up my bar again and was able to use the super powerplay. This time when I used it I blew up all the shops I was driving past in the airport. This not only looked awesome but it took out two people behind me. Now I was safely in 3rd place trying to catch the drivers in front of me. I came up on the runway and all I could see was a huge Boeing coming crashing down in front of me. I had to think quick and fly under the wings with the engines falling apart hitting one of the drivers in front of me. This powerplay caught everyone that was watching’s attention and I heard a whole bunch of people go “Oh S%*#!” Which was exactly my response because I did’t see that coming at all. Now I’m in 2nd but I had a full bar and was able to use the shortcut to catch up to the 1st place driver. With two more bars still left I used one more to take him out right before the finish line to grab first place.

Disney Interactive described their explosions as “strategic” and right at the end of the race I could tell why they call it that.  They want you to have the options to save the power bar or use it as you fill it up. The first place driver obviously called in the plane to take out the drivers behind him but because I dodged it I was able to use my powerplay for the shortcut and ultimately take him out. I played the Airport level many times and every time the explosions never got old. I was told that this particular level had 200 different powerplays to activate. As you can see in the video, the different explosions look really good and as I drove through or past them, I definitely got the “Hollywood car chase” feeling Disney was going for.

Although the game is a year away, slated for Q1 of 2010, the level shown looks really good with very few issues. The cars, the surrounding environment and the different explosions are full with of a ton of detail. The only issue I could really see was the drifting felt a bit off. It was a little to sensitive and as you can see in the videos some people were prone to drifting right into a wall. Despite this the controls felt really good and it follows all other racing games before it using the triggers to brake and accelerate. I was also told that online multiplayer will be included in the final version but Disney isn’t saying much about that just yet. So far Split/Second has gotten me excited about 2010. From what I got, everyone who sat down and played the game enjoyed it a lot. They always were left with a smile on their face. This game really shocked me and was easily one of my favorite games at this year’s E3. If the final product can bring as much action as in the airport level, this game definitely has a chance to succeed.

Don’t forget to check out the video footage of the first level and to come back to Spawn Kill for more about this exciting racer and more E3 2009 hands-on previews.