Disney Interactive Studios were kind enough to invite us along to spend some hands-on time with the multiplayer portion of Black Rock Studio’s upcoming racer, Split/Second: Velocity. After six rather intense hours, we stumbled out of their headquarters and a slightly amended version of the song from the movie ‘Team America: World Police’ sprung to mind: ‘Why does Michael Bay, keep on making movies…[when he could be making videogames like Split/Second]?‘

With Split/Second, Black Rock Studio look to have captured the essence of everything that is good about big-budget movie blockbusters (just think: Bigger! Louder! More!) and added them to a riotously enjoyable racer. Anyone who has played the recently released single player demo will be aware of the basic premise; drive fantasy supercars around cityscapes that have, literally, been rigged to blow while building up a powerplay metre by drifting round corners and drafting opponents. When this metre is filled you can unleash hell by triggering all manner of explosions, set pieces and, well, sheer destruction to take out other drivers. Though a supremely simple premise, that Black Rock Studio faced a daunting task in attempting to deliver enough BANG! to make you really sit up and take notice is something of an understatement. Has it succeeded? Well let us just say that from what we played, it’s consistently good looking, sounding great and full of surprises…so the signs are all very encouraging.

The biggest question in our minds when approaching the multiplayer for the first time was whether or not Split/Second’s mechanics would be able to offer the tight competitiveness on which racers of this type thrive, or would the carnage created by the powerplays make winning more of a lottery; a battle for survival rather than a battle of driving skill? The answer to this question became apparent fairly quickly; the early stages of races – when powerplay metres have yet to be filled – hold up extremely well as a straight-up race, with tight but accessible controls and well designed tracks with branching routes and corners that beg you to pull off a powerslide.

While it took us no time to get a handle on the driving model, the dynamic nature of the tracks mean that you’re constantly kept on your toes; level 1 powerplays – generally consisting of smaller explosions – rattle your car and force you to grapple for control and Level 2 and 3 powerplays threaten to crush your vehicle out of existence or, if your really unlucky, bring the actual track down around your ears – smoke stacks tumble, airplanes fall from the sky and oil-tankers slide across the track. Though this may sound chaotic (and, in truth, it often is exactly that) Black Rock look to have done an excellent job of retaining control and the powerplays never overshadow the need for driving finesse – yes, you and your opponents can drop dump trucks on each other, but taking that corner just right is still absolutely as important as it should be.

All the elements are coming together to create a rather bombastic multiplayer experience. Black Rock were showing off numerous multiplayer modes with each supporting up to eight racers online along with the option of 2 player split screen (which runs remarkably smoothly). The first mode, Race, is self descriptive. Elimination gradually whittles the pack down as the last racer is eliminated after a countdown until only one driver remains. Survival is a score based mode, with points being earned by dodging barrels that are discharged by a couple of tanker-trucks that charge around the track. Hit a blue barrel and you lose points and get shunted about; hit a red barrel and you explode; extra points are also awarded for overtaking a truck. When the time runs out, players are gradually eliminated until two drivers remain at which point it becomes a game of sudden death. It’s a genius concept that threw up a number of extremely close contests during our test, and we can see Survival becoming something of a favourite.

All the modes held up extremely well with each bringing a nice amount of variety that builds on the dynamic nature of the tracks (powerplays constantly open and close alternative routes and tracks can quickly become strewn with debris). The races we had were tense affairs, with no two competitions feeling the same, and at this stage it looking like it has that ‘just one more go’ factor in spades.

Black Rock are also promising a deep progression system – points that are won (both online and off) can be spent to purchase snazzier cars and in-game achievements are reflected on you car’s paintwork, making it easy to distinguish newcomers from game veterans. We thought this was a rather neat little touch that will undoubtedly contribute to your connection with the game.

Overall, our time with Split/Second’s multiplayer left us extremely impressed – the game itself has the potential to shake up what can be a fairly stale genre, delivering explosive, cutting edge visuals backed up by immensely robust and dynamic gameplay. Sure, it may all prove to be too much for some – it is after all a long way from the obsessive constraint and realism of the Gran Turismo’s of the world – but we can absolutely see the multiplayer getting a lot of attention. Make sure you check back for our full review in the coming weeks.

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