Split/Second Demo Out Now on XBLM

I very much enjoyed it but it has some issues. I don't like the slightly-shaky-cam or the blackness surrounding the screen. I also wish there were a map, though I understand why they decided against it for a game like this.

I'm DEFINITELY getting Blur and probably getting this. But the Blur demo is infinitely superior because it's online, has multiple cars and tracks, and a ranking system. This is very bare bones.
 
Just got done playing the demo.

I think this would be an AWESOME straight track (like Outrun) arcade racer where the point is to make it to the finish line while ridiculous Michael Bay-esque shit is going down around you. Kind of like, playing the high-action car chase scenes from blockbuster movies. The final promo video in the demo has that kind of feel, and it'd be a great game.

As a "play the same track over and over" lap-based racing game, I could see myself getting bored of it REAL quick. One of those experiences where it's awesome the first time, but then the novelty starts wearing off fast once you know everything that can/will happen.
 
I'll have to try this. I never got around to trying the Blur demo, I need a new arcade racer to fill that void.
Who knows when next Burnout will be now that Criterion is making a NFS.
I'll reserve most of my judgment until after the demo but it seems like s/s is way too gimmicky with all the triggering events and shit.
 
I liked it but not enough to drop $60 on it. Powerplays are cool in theory but it doesn't seem to be skill based at all. Just press a button and hope you take out some cars. If the powerplays were automated (and random) it would be pretty fucking awesome though.
 
robot said:
EDIT EDIT: Just watched the demo movie showing a Mac truck dumping out exploding barrels driving down what looked like the same street in that scene in T2. Man o man.
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That's an additional game mode. :)

MMaRsu said:
Wtf? You are going to rent a 40+hour game?
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I played WoW for 4 years. I've got the ability to burn through content down to a tee. :lol

That and if it's even close to being as err 'fun' as GTAIV it'll be going back as quickly as it came.

/offtopic
 
It was pretty fun, and the powerplays are a neat little mechanic, but I don't think that's enough to base a game off of. I enjoyed what I played, but I don't care to play more of it.
 
george_us said:
I liked it but not enough to drop $60 on it. Powerplays are cool in theory but it doesn't seem to be skill based at all. Just press a button and hope you take out some cars. If the powerplays were automated (and random) it would be pretty fucking awesome though.
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the skill comes from knowing where the small powerplays are and to get the timing right. Yeah, there is the icon showing up, but that does not guarantee a takedown.

anyway, I had a blast playing the demo and will definitely buy it. the speed is great in my opinion and although it handles a little differently than Burnout, like the cars are heavier, it's still fun to drive.
 
the car is slow and it handles poorly, it's too stiff. looks like a "level 1" problem but if you're putting toghether a demo you should not put in the worst parts... or not?
 
soqquatto said:
the car is slow and it handles poorly, it's too stiff. looks like a "level 1" problem but if you're putting toghether a demo you should not put in the worst parts... or not?
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i soon got used to the handling, the game is crazy, i really like it, but i dont think i will get it day one, maybe, not sure, argh *will play it as soon as he gets home*
 
soqquatto said:
the car is slow and it handles poorly, it's too stiff. looks like a "level 1" problem but if you're putting toghether a demo you should not put in the worst parts... or not?
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Same here, maybe it's a bad demo but I didn't like the controls - felt stiff as you said, I expected fast and responsive controls a la Burnout. :(

Well the good news is that the game looks really good, IQ is decent & the frame-rate is rock solid with no frame drops and tearing which is really nice..wtf @ comments that it runs like shit? :lol

I'll definitely give it another go, maybe it's just a bad demo like DiRT 2 which turned out awesome IMO.
 
soqquatto said:
the car is slow and it handles poorly, it's too stiff. looks like a "level 1" problem but if you're putting toghether a demo you should not put in the worst parts... or not?
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I don't know, the handling looked a bit off in most gameplay videos I've seen, too. But I didn't love Pure either, so maybe that's just me. Still, the game doesn't quite give me the Burnout-vibe I was hoping for. :/
 
Played a few more last night, and like some here, it still didnt grab me. The powerplays are "neat", but as some said, it has a random feel to it along with unless you use the replay, which takes you completely out of the action, you have no idea what happened anyways.

With Blur, I had a fantastic time initially. However, after topping off the level cap, it quickly becomes the same thing over and over. The top 3 cars are usually decided within the first 2-3 turns, those cars run away with it, while the remaining contestants hit each other over and over. I dont think the game needs a "blue shell" so to speak, but with the races being short (IMO), if you aren't in the front group out of the gate, it's going to take some very poor racing up front for you to catch up.

With Split/Second, while Im obviously not blown away with the demo, I'm still curious about it because the online I think has a chance to still be good, and thats my meat and potatoes with a game like this. Even if the final game is good, I still feel the speed of the game needs to be increased, AT LEAST like 10%, prefer 20%-25%.
 
geebee said:
Easy, don't burst a blood vessel. I have not been on XBL much the past couple of years, and I could've sworn that there are occasionally demos available to all users right away.

To those who don't like the handling of the cars, I believe there are different classes that handle differently. They might pick a slower car for the demo so people can get a good look/feeling of how everything in the track can play out.
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Sorry man, it was late last night and I was kinda agitated :p.
 
racing games start getting good at about half way through when you start unlocking the better, faster, more agile cars.

i cant blame people for being a bit disappointed, but im gonna get the game as i think it will get better as you learn the ins and outs.
 
TheApatheticOne said:
The top 3 cars are usually decided within the first 2-3 turns, those cars run away with it, while the remaining contestants hit each other over and over. I dont think the game needs a "blue shell" so to speak, but with the races being short (IMO), if you aren't in the front group out of the gate, it's going to take some very poor racing up front for you to catch up.

With Split/Second, while Im obviously not blown away with the demo, I'm still curious about it because the online I think has a chance to still be good, and thats my meat and potatoes with a game like this. Even if the final game is good, I still feel the speed of the game needs to be increased, AT LEAST like 10%, prefer 20%-25%.
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Completely agree with you on Blur. I just take the shields & boosts and give my self a 5-10 second lead and dominate the race from there. I'm worrying it'll turn out to be another turd like MW2 and it's bullshit killstreaks if they don't sort it pre-release.

Though GB did a preview of the multiplayer in S/S saying exactly the same thing - with a few running away in front. In this case I wouldn't mind a bit of rubber banding to make the game a bit more competitive.
 
Well, I got to race a few more times this morning and I like it better than my initial impressions. After doing a bunch of different races you get to see just how much the track changes from race to race. Sometimes you are driving on the runway, sometimes you are in the underground parking structure, other times you are on the tarmac. I like the randomness of it. I could see this being fun in multiplayer games when people are more apt to save up their power plays for the big track-changing events.

The only downsides I've noticed are the blatant AI rubberbanding and the lack of anything to do when you are in first place. It almost seems like you are better off staying in 2nd or 3rd place throughout the whole race and just use a power play at the end of the last lap to catapult into 1st. Otherwise you sit there in 1st with nothing to do but wait for the AI players to rubberband past you at breakneck speed.
 
Well here is my $.02....IMO the handling is PERFECT. I get the feeling some people in here are trying to play SS like they played BO and thus expected the vehicle handling to be the same (Somewhat floaty). BAD IDEA. This game got it right IMO. The car actually feels like it has some weight to it. It's no mistake that most on this board who played the demo more than twice like the game more after each play. It's because they are getting a better understanding of how the devs intended the game to be played (Just like Blur, another demo I love).

I think they intentionally put the wieght in the car to differentiate themselves from other arcade racers in the handling department. Otherwise it might as well just be BO plus. It feels like a racer with it's own identity to me with the dynamic course changes and the frantic destruction. I get now why the the speed seems to be dialed down just a notch, cuz if we were all going Daytona USA, Super GT like speeds, you (the player) would get frustrated at constantly running into another racers powerplays without the chance to either steer out of the way or enjoy watching someone else catch a bad one. To me Split Second is more about the journey between the start and finish line and the crazy events that you will get to experience IF and only IF you manage break yourself out of the BO mindframe.
 
I played the demo 3x last night. Got first place on my 1st shot but I agree with the post above, there's nothing to do if you're in 1st place. The plane didn't land for me and the garage area right after the start line didn't open up for me either, they did in my later runs, though. The 2nd and 3rd times I played it, I purposefully hung back a bit so I could see the variety of the powerplays. For the one where the bus blows up and shoots sideways onto the track, I would kill myself everytime, I just failed to avoid it.

There's one spot in the demo where I felt like the speed was right, it's towards the end of the lap, you're in like a tunnel or something. It might be slightly downhill or the fact that I was drafting behind a guy the whole time, but the speed in there felt right. I think it's just the demo car's acceleration being just average and not kick ass. I have yet to try Blur but as it stands now, I wouldn't mind picking up Split/Second, just not right away. A few months down the line, this game will drop to like $30-$40 and I'll grab it then... unless Blur really is that much better, we'll see.
 
so I asked Richard Leadbetter of Digital Foundry what he thought the resolution was, and he, too, came away a bit perplexed:

S/S appears to be native 720p but with a drop down to something like 1152x648 on any object that is being post-processed. Very very weird.
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Coldsnap said:
This is made by the Pure team right? Can you tell while playing Split/Second that it was?
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Yes, then no. Personally I think Pure had a lot more personality and for some reason I liked the graphics better, maybe just because it was more natural environments.
 
Always-honest said:
so now we all miss the blue shell right?
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Ha, maybe. While in first place I noticed the edges of the screen turn black every once in a while and my car would get knocked sideways just a bit. I knew that someone tried to hit me with a powerplay, but I never saw what it was that happened and thus didn't even need to react to it. I assume it was the helicopter dropping the explosive barrel right behind me. Those needed to happen up ahead and cause me to actually dodge shit
 
I'll try out the full game. I just wonder if hitting a button when cars drive near a part will get boring after a while. I thought the demo was pretty fun though.
 
shidoshi said:
Just got done playing the demo.

I think this would be an AWESOME straight track (like Outrun) arcade racer where the point is to make it to the finish line while ridiculous Michael Bay-esque shit is going down around you. Kind of like, playing the high-action car chase scenes from blockbuster movies. The final promo video in the demo has that kind of feel, and it'd be a great game.

As a "play the same track over and over" lap-based racing game, I could see myself getting bored of it REAL quick. One of those experiences where it's awesome the first time, but then the novelty starts wearing off fast once you know everything that can/will happen.
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have you ever played the stuntman games? You basically described them. both are excellent. Warning about the ps2 original though: the load screens are enough to make most people give up. especially since the game is so damn hard and you have to restart from the beginning of the level if you mess up. start with the 360 one. it is really awesome. i love the stuntman titles because they are just insane stunts one after another. it is really more of a puzzle game than a racing game though.
 
AlphaTwo00 said:
Re: 1st place issue. Seems like they aren't rubberbanding high enough.
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In any other game that wouldn't be a problem, but it's kind of a bummer when you don't really feel comfortable or in control but you still manage to smoke the competition. It's really weird and hard to articulate, but it feels like the game is patting me on the back for a job well done and I don't feel like I'm actually doing well at steering my stiff dumptruck around the track.
 
Always-honest said:
so now we all miss the blue shell right?
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More like Banana peals (or the bombs in Blur).

And I agree with what most are saying; Split Second seems rock solid, but I hope the full product allowes you to mix things up a bit. It's fun, but for just how many hours?
 
TheApatheticOne said:
Played a few more last night, and like some here, it still didnt grab me. The powerplays are "neat", but as some said, it has a random feel to it along with unless you use the replay, which takes you completely out of the action, you have no idea what happened anyways.
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Why would you not know what happens? It tends to happen right in front of you, doesn't it? Are people just triggering the powerplays "blind"? Does that even work? How does the game know which of the many "bombs" to set off, if you aren't using the icons?

Here's how I play, which results in me seeing exactly what damage I do, 90+% of the time:

1) For the first half of the first lap, I just drive. Drift and draft. Build up the meter.
2) While the field is still pretty bunched up, I'll try to get a few early multi-kills. Try to get eyes on a "pack" of cars, which are 100 yards ahead. Mash A as soon as you get a multi-icon light-up. Dodge the resulting debris.
3) Depends on the race. You can either continue to take pot shots with the stage one bombs, or you can build up for some stage two stuff. Or, you can just drive like the wind.

In any event, none of the damage seems at all random or mysterious. I'm essentially "aiming" at cars, and blowing them up. Via impovised roadside bombs. So topical! So ripped from the headlines! :D

Also: There's a replay? What button is that?
 
@Ding, I try to watch the road so I'm not watching the other cars wipe out, for some of them it'll prompt you to hit LB and you can watch the crash Burnout style. When it snaps back to driving mode it takes a second to get back into it, unlike burnout which always sets you in a safe spot. One time after watching a crash with LB it set me in a position where I had no choice but to bump the car in front of me
 
This really felt like Burnout Revenge 2.0 to me with some tweaks here and there (i.e. instead of boost, you get juice for powerplays). And seeing as how I played a crap-ton of BR online, I think this will be great online as well.
 
damn, this game has really got a hold of me. i have a bad case of "one more race" happening. don't know what it is but i love the drifting model. after changing the course at the start/finish line there is a branching route to the left that ends in a big curve that you can powerslide around and fall into place with other racers that took the branch to the right. that experience is so good. i hope i don't burn myself out on the demo. if i am unable to do so by launch then this will be my racing game of the year.
 
I'm not a big fan of this games gimmick. I find myself just charging up to 2 or 3 and then activating it and then soon enough I'm in first place.

The driving didn't feel satisfying enough to carry the game when you aren't using powerplays (that's what they're called, right?).

It could be a fun game to play with friends, but I cannot see myself playing this game single player.
 
MMaRsu said:
Every frikkin time I swear. EVERY NEW DEMO IS GOLD EXCLUSIVE FOR A WEEK. After that week it's available to everybody.

Damn..Is that really so hard to understand? I see people bitching about this all the time, or asking questions. Is this not something that's widely known?
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i guess it goes to show how stupid the decision to delay demos a week was. they're doing the opposite of striking while the iron is hot.
 
I played the demo for a good few hours over the weekend, and I have to say I'm quite impressed.

Most of you have mentioned the apparent lack of speed, which to some extent I can agree. What I think would help is the inclusion of a boost, which could be an alternative use of the power bar. Even if it just gave you a few seconds, it would enable you to avoid a wreck or catch up just enough to activate a take down.

When you reach first place it does seem quite simple to stay ahead, so perhaps the player in second and third should be given some additional help; an instant gauge fill or the aforementioned boost.
 
I like it. I'd like to see more of it. Went from meh to awesome in 3 races. I assume that was just me getting used to the power play thing.
 
The car handled a bit naff, but aside from that, I had a lot of fun with this. The power plays were very cool. Being in first place sucks though. :lol
 
Differences Between the PS3 and 360 Demos:

-The Controller

... Thats it. Black Rock seems to have achieved total platform parity. Awesome job :D
 
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