Split Second Velocity

Split Second is part of Disney's initiative to take gaming more seriously. Its first attempt was with Pure, released in 2008. Two years later and Disney brings another racing game to shelves: Split Second: Velocity. It allows players to destroy parts of the racetrack in order to try and win races. But is it explosive fun, or did someone set us up the bomb?

At first glance, Split Second looks like your typical arcade racer as you speed through city centres and drift around corners. It's only when you bring down an entire building on some poor sap's car that you realise this is anything but your typical arcade racer.Interestingly, "Split Second" is the name of a TV show within the game -- presumably produced by a company with limitless resources, considering how much stuff it has a hand in destroying. Its contestants must take part in a number of events in different episodes to become the season champion.The game has some high production values -- visually it looks stunning, with beautiful environments that almost look too pretty to blow up, effective lighting, and spectacular explosions as the carnage unfolds. In fact it's one of the few games that has truly amazed me with the sheer spectacle that it creates.It's unfortunate that gameplay is something of a mixed bag. There's no denying that dropping a building on top of that smug gimp in first place is as satisfying as it is jaw dropping, but the way that the cars handle simply doesn't feel right.

Throughout the main single player mode I found that almost every car I used slipped and slid through corners. It made controlling my car irritating, especially when you've got explosions jolting your vehicle, not to mention other cars ramming your exhaust. It's unfortunate, because it really detracts from what could be an amazing racer.Additionally the single player mode suffers from serious repetition -- you're going to find yourself driving the  same tracks time and time again. After a while the limited selection of 12 raceways starts to feel stale.And not to whinge too much, but the AI opponents always feel like they have an advantage over you. No matter how well you drive, no matter how perfectly you time your power-ups, the AI will always be able to magically catch up to you. I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow when an AI 4-by-4 simply flew past my fancy sports car going at full speed. The fact that you can't change the difficulty of the AI opponents in Season Mode only makes things more irritating, and it may intimidate the more casual gamer.By the end credits I felt a sense of relief, rather than a sense of accomplishment. To be perfectly honest the single player mode completely outstays its welcome, suffering from repetition, questionable driving mechanics and what feels like a heavy bias towards the AI opponents.It's a good job, then, that the game is much more enjoyable when you're playing against real people in online multiplayer races. The same questionable handling mechanics in the single player remain, but the experience is much less frustrating because everybody is in the same "skill boat" as you.It could benefit from some tweaking, however. I believe that the game needs a voting system that allows players to pick the racetrack they want to play on, rather than being stuck with whatever's chosen for you.

Another major oversight is the lack of a replay mode. Replay modes are common in racing games, and the fact that Split Second doesn't have one is a huge shame. Given the spectacle of the game, a replay mode with the ability to take screenshots would have allowed for some awesome community-created content and would have helped to put the game on-par with other top racing games, such asProject Gotham Racing or Forza Motorsport.The topic of community created content brings me on to my next point: player customisation. Again, the ability to customise your car is a common feature in racing games -- especially in arcade racers such as Need For Speed. Instead, all you have to customise your car with is a handful of paint jobs. Weak.Overall, Split Second is a great idea poorly executed. With other superb titles on offer it makes it hard to recommend it as a full-price purchase. It's certainly worth renting, or buying once the price has dropped. But if you really need a new racing game you should wait and see how Blur fares in our review first.