Split/Second Demo Out Now on XBLM

Having played the PAX09 demo, and the PAXEast demo, a bunch of observations:

a) Handbrake is gone (I recall it was on the X Button). Drift is purely brake + direction, very similar to something like Burnout and Ridge Racer.

b) Way more variety than the previous Airfield level, and having a longer track gives a better feel for how the moments work.

c) AI actually attacks, which feels good, but I can see some cheap deaths (drove into the gas station, got blown up :lol )

d) If you've come to a stop, acceleration is very very slow. Hopefully it's because these are low end cars.

Yup. Still Day 1 for me.
 
Thanks for the impressions so far. Being at stupid work makes me a sad panda.

I dont have anything reserved coming out terribly soon, trying to cut back my games budget, but WTF, I hope I dont like this game. May 17th having Super Mario Galaxy 2, Red Dead Redemption, Alan Wake, a new PoP I know nothing about and this?

That.... is one packed release day. Wont be buying a single one of them though. : (
 
wanted to maybe get this on triple, but if it gets no demo i prob wont buy, cause that prob means its a shitty port :>
 
Pure was intensely fun for a couple of hours and this feels like it's a similar concoction of totally ridiculous craziness that burns bright but fast. I'll definitely pick this game up at some point during the year, dodging that damn jumbo jet is completely nuts, but in the meantime I have Alan Wake, Red Dead Redemption, Yakuza 3, UFC 2010 and Alpha Protocol to get me through the summer.
 
Tiduz said:
wanted to maybe get this on triple, but if it gets no demo i prob wont buy, cause that prob means its a shitty port :>

Demo is coming to the PS3 11th of may.

Pure was a decent PS3 port, no significant differences.

Still exclusive demo's make no sense from a bussiness perspective at all (to me).
 
Deepack said:
Demo is coming to the PS3 11th of may.

Pure was a decent PS3 port, no significant differences.

Still exclusive demo's make no sense from a bussiness perspective at all (to me).
Possibly because MS approved it first, or it just went cert faster, who knows. Guys, it's not always console favoritism, don't try spinning it one way or another.


Corky said:
how is this compared to blur?

speed
visuals
controls?
Speed - At high end, both seems comparable. At low ends, Blur seems faster.
Visuals - Two different beasts. If you want me to draw it out in a NFS term: Blur -> Underground; SplitSecond -> Most Wanted
Controls - This feels like the lovechild of Ridge Racer + Burnout. Blur would be the lovechild of Mario Kart + PGR.

It's a good month for arcade racing fans.
 
Tiduz said:
wanted to maybe get this on triple, but if it gets no demo i prob wont buy, cause that prob means its a shitty port :>
That's always the fear I'd have as well, but luckily Black Rock has a history that would indicate otherwise:

their last major title Pure was virtually identical across the systems, with PC obviously being the exception.

This knowledge gives me hope.
 
Whoa crazy ass game i just had an airplane crash down on the runway and slide towards us before exploding and taking out three cars. :lol

Controls feel solid more so than Blur i like that like burnout you have to really concentrate whilst driving lest you become a victim.
 
I'm kind of surprised by how...demure this is. Essentially nothing at all happened for the first lap except for one very, very slow and telegraphed tractor trailer spill over that you would have had to be blind to actually run into. There was an airplane crash later in the race that I thought was pretty cool and impressive looking, but I thought we'd get that kind of destruction more regularly. The handling model isn't very satisfying for something so arcadey, I think, and would be better if there was some sort of handbrake in the mix.

As for the powerplays, I have to admit I kind of didn't understand what was going on. I'd drift and draft to build power, and then I'd see an icon pop up above the other cars, I'd press B for level 2 after building the meter up and nothing happened at all. Maybe these only get activated at set points, I thought, so I tried the level 1 powerup a very safe distance from the car ahead of me. I suicided.

It's good looking, though. Just like Pure, I think this game is supposed to keep you entertained by jamming a lot of "things for you to do"--or maybe just highlighting things you always did anyway--into a racing framework and hoping you don't get bored. There just wasn't enough chaos in this track to make me think that this was nearly as exciting as had been promised.

Oh, and a good way to absolutely kill your game is with cheesy buttrock.
 
Always-honest said:
just car and bumper as far as i could tell.
There's really no need for a cockpit view in this game. Or even the bumper cam really. Maybe it's the snazzy HUD and shiny car coupled with the wider FOV making you more aware of your surroundings. Just feels better.
 
AlphaTwo00 said:
Possibly because MS approved it first, or it just went cert faster, who knows. Guys, it's not always console favoritism, don't try spinning it one way or another.
Not trying to, but it's a missed opportunity for Disney and BlackRock. People with only a PS3 have less time to test the demo, so fewer people will play the demo on PS3, and that could result in fewer sales on that platform.

And indeed MS cert could have been faster, or PS3 development is 2 weeks behind or something.

Then again, releasing the demo simultaneously on PSN and XBL on may 11th would also be stupid.
 
Y2Kev said:
I'm kind of surprised by how...demure this is. Essentially nothing at all happened for the first lap except for one very, very slow and telegraphed tractor trailer spill over that you would have had to be blind to actually run into. There was an airplane crash later in the race that I thought was pretty cool and impressive looking, but I thought we'd get that kind of destruction more regularly. The handling model isn't very satisfying for something so arcadey, I think, and would be better if there was some sort of handbrake in the mix.

As for the powerplays, I have to admit I kind of didn't understand what was going on. I'd drift and draft to build power, and then I'd see an icon pop up above the other cars, I'd press B for level 2 after building the meter up and nothing happened at all. Maybe these only get activated at set points, I thought, so I tried the level 1 powerup a very safe distance from the car ahead of me. I suicided.

It's good looking, though. Just like Pure, I think this game is supposed to keep you entertained by jamming a lot of "things for you to do"--or maybe just highlighting things you always did anyway--into a racing framework and hoping you don't get bored. There just wasn't enough chaos in this track to make me think that this was nearly as exciting as had been promised.

Oh, and a good way to absolutely kill your game is with cheesy buttrock.

You're doing it wrong :D Level 1 Powerplays activate stuff on the background like cars that explode, explosives thrown from helicopters... there are many of these through the track and you can use them as long as you have a single fragment. As for Level 2 powerplays, they change the track or activate a huge explosion. Part of the fun is memorizing what each point of the track does, but taking risks is also fun. Of course, by the third track everyone in the race should be using some Powerplays, which is what makes the game so awesome, so I guess it was just a bad round for the AI.
 
VibratingDonkey said:
There's really no need for a cockpit view in this game. Or even the bumper cam really. Maybe it's the snazzy HUD and shiny car coupled with the wider FOV making you more aware of your surroundings. Just feels better.
i agree. no need for cockpit view ever imo. that's not what you see when you're in a car.
Looks cool, drives shit.
 
Y2Kev said:
I think, and would be better if there was some sort of handbrake in the mix.
IIRC there was handbrake at one point, and when I did play it back then, it was too handbrake-y. Like Burnout Paradise handbrake-y. I learned to avoid it.

Y2Kev said:
As for the powerplays, I have to admit I kind of didn't understand what was going on. I'd drift and draft to build power, and then I'd see an icon pop up above the other cars, I'd press B for level 2 after building the meter up and nothing happened at all. Maybe these only get activated at set points, I thought, so I tried the level 1 powerup a very safe distance from the car ahead of me. I suicided.
Drift/Draft/Airtime seems to build power. Small cars, some oil drum bombs and buildings are usually A/X, which has those icons pop-up infront of you. Since those are pretty much everywhere, it seems frequent enough.

The other thing that you can use the level 1s for is the shortcut, but the only one in this stage seems to be at the aircraft hanger, and you have to have triggered the control tower to ever see that.

The Level 2 power plays in this demo are as follows:

- Start of race track (road collapses into the ground)
- Airport Terminal (Before the gas station)
- Control Tower
- Jet landing (After the control tower goes down)
- Airplane overpass explosion (enter into a tunnel with plane above the road)
- Radar tower (tower collapses, bring the dish onto the road)

These have to be triggered quite a bit ways away when the message shows up.
 
mescalineeyes said:
does it feel slow at all?
the videos made it seem like the cars are going 50mph.

ya the cars feel really slow.

Some other points

- The destruction and instant replay is impressive, the graphcis are nothing mind blowing
- again cars feel heavy and slow and the controlling is close to shitty.
- the hud is on the bumper and really hard to understand, I am not how but I kept pressing A and B and the destruction

I don't think this game of blur justify a full 60 dollar prince point, but then again I have only played the demos.
 
AlphaTwo00 said:
IIRC there was handbrake at one point, and when I did play it back then, it was too handbrake-y. Like Burnout Paradise handbrake-y. I learned to avoid it.

Drift/Draft/Airtime seems to build power. Small cars, some oil drum bombs and buildings are usually A/X, which has those icons pop-up infront of you. Since those are pretty much everywhere, it seems frequent enough.

The other thing that you can use the level 1s for is the shortcut, but the only one in this stage seems to be at the aircraft hanger, and you have to have triggered the control tower to ever see that.

The Level 2 power plays in this demo are as follows:

- Start of race track (road collapses into the ground)
- Airport Terminal (Before the gas station)
- Control Tower
- Jet landing (After the control tower goes down)
- Airplane overpass explosion (enter into a tunnel with plane above the road)
- Radar tower (tower collapses, bring the dish onto the road)

These have to be triggered quite a bit ways away when the message shows up.

Yeah I triggered the Jet landing and had no idea what the trigger had done, until about 8 seconds later when the thing came down on 3 of my opponents. I also triggered the Radar Tower and got squashed myself with the dish.

It's a cool enough racer, and the high spots are very impressive. I worry that races will become repetitive though, how many tracks/environments/routes are there going to be? Do we know yet? The little blurbs at the end of the demo didn't say.
 
Gryphter said:
really? wow, care to elaborate? I'm planning on picking this game up Day 1, but won't have a chance to try the demo until after work. Are the cars slow, like you asked? Maybe it's just the (I assume) 1 car they give you on the demo?



They start slow but driving good lines will make your car go faster and faster. Opening up alternative routes seems to make them go even faster.



This games feels like burnout 2 combined with utlimate destruction.
 
i was wondering how this game would play and i have to admit that this track was awesome. the first race i was just getting used to the game, but on the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th plays, it was giving me a vibe that i haven't felt since playing Burnout 2. that amazing feeling associated with names like Rush and Cruis'n and i had a zen moment when i realized how western and japanese arcade racers have a totally different feel. not saying that one type is better than the other, because Ridge Racer and Outrun are awesome, but there's just a difference in ... something.

anyway, the BLUR Demo was awesome and this feels like it is too, wish it had online so i could really try it out.

anyway, if you think Burnout went downhill after 2, try this demo out NOW!
 
PjotrStroganov said:
They start slow but driving good lines will make your car go faster and faster. Opening up alternative routes seems to make them go even faster.



This games feels like burnout 2 combined with utlimate destruction.

Yeah once you get some nice open road area like the runway the cars just pick up crazy speed. I just finished a lap and i was going extremely fast.
 
The Faceless Master said:
anyway, if you think Burnout went downhill after 2, try this demo out NOW!

What?! Burnout 3: Takedown was DA BOMB! I played countless hours split-screen with my roommate back in the day. The series went downhill after 3.

Anyways I wish these guys had released an online demo as both Blur and Split/Second will live by their online component. Singleplayer can only get you so far and things will get repetitive soon. If online multiplayer isn't solid, this game will fail.

Btw, they only have 8 players online in Split/Second vs 10 or 20 in Blur.

The best thing in online races here will be the 2 to 3 massive events (airplane crashing and tower crashing in Airport level) per track. This will mean that everybody will be on their toes all the time since shit could hit the fan any second. On the other hand Blur becomes really sucky because the winners are decided by the 2nd or 3rd corner of the map. All the person in 1st place has to do is not crash, while the rest of the pack struggles to catch up a rank or two.
 
ok so since some of you asked, these are my initial impressions

liked:
+the graphics are rather nice
+ the HUD
+ the shaky cam + all the post processing

did not like:
- not a dealbreaker, but the resolution looks like MW2 -- not sure if my eyes are fucking with me or not, but it's either no AA or sub-HD (it's still a rather pretty game though!)
- it's really boring, there's not much going on save the odd power-plays
- the car feels slow and cumbersome and is not very fun to drive
- the Tier 1 powerplays are not very satisfying, and technically, neither are the Tier 2 ones as you hardly ever see them play out
- the soundtrack. good god, why?

I was pretty stoked for this game, but based on the demo this isn't even a rental.

Also, I liked (didn't love) Pure, I was always more of a Motorstorm kinda guy.
 
mescalineeyes said:
ok so since some of you asked, these are my initial impressions

- not a dealbreaker, but the resolution looks like MW2 -- not sure if my eyes are fucking with me or not, but it's either no AA or sub-HD (it's still a rather pretty game though!)
- it's really boring, there's not much going on save the odd power-plays
- the cars feel slow and cumbersome and are not very fun to drive
- the Tier 1 powerplays are not very satisfying, and technically, neither are the Tier 2 ones as you hardly ever see them play out
- the soundtrack. good god, why?

I was pretty stoked for this game, but based on the demo this isn't even a rental.

Also, I liked (didn't love) Pure, I was always more of a Motorstorm kinda guy.

:(
 
very nice, i've been wanting to see how this game was doing. it was a nice surprise at the last E3, I returned over and over to the track they had playable
 
Peff said:
so I guess it was just a bad round for the AI.

Quite possible. I've come in first the two races I've played. Why? Draft, Draft, Draft, Draft, Draft, Draft, Drfit, Draft, Draft, Draft, LEVEL 3? CHANGE TRACK!

What's that AI? Your top three crashed? I'm in first?

Drift, Drift, Drift, Drift, Drift. YOU'RE 2.3s AHEAD!

Drift, Drift, Drift, Drift, Drift. YOU'RE 2.3s AHEAD!

Drift, Drift, Drift, Drift, Drift. YOU'RE 1.8s AHEAD!

What's that? The AI overtook me?

POWERPLAY! 1st place!

And the damage is meh. It seems like the AI throws out powerplays but I'm going 50MPH 80 or whatever and able to entirely avoid it.

Meh. It's not a bad game, but it's boring to me because of this. Burnout holds me better, so that's where I'll stay for my "Shit Cars Blow Up" racers.

Faceless said:
anyway, if you think Burnout went downhill after 2, try this demo out NOW!

WAT.jpg? GTFO, FACELESS! *kicks you into the pit* 3: Takedown is still the best in the Burnout Series! (And I didn't like any of the games following after that with the exception of Paradise, which I felt was "return to form" even if it was a Sandbox racer)
 
WasteLand Soldier said:
HOLY SHIT not only at the game but the image quality and the framerate. INSTA BUY. wtf i'm used to this type of IQ on ps3. buy for 360? :O

Speaking of framerate, what is it.....30 or 60fps?
 
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