Brighton's Black Rock Studio has imagined the forceful pace of American primetime TV made with the limitless budget of a summer blockbuster film, and it's a totally convincing fantasy. And while at first it might seem worryingly lightweight, its purity is in the end a deep breath of fresh air - while its refinement, faultless execution and awesome visuals keep you coming back long after you thought you'd have exhausted its basic appeal to your adrenaline gland.Įven those quote marks around the one-syllable exclamation of Split/Second's gameplay are impeccably crafted.
On-screen readouts are even tidied away to a little holograph floating behind your car, the better to let the untrammelled spectacle wash over you. They just needed to be fast, loud, exciting and fun. They didn't need complex progression or even depth. While that gimmick gives Split/Second its contemporary mass-media sheen and grants it a little ironic distance, its blunt style also reminds you of a simpler time in gaming when arcade racers like this ruled the land and only needed the promise of speed and spectacle to get by. It's the ultimate in high concept videogaming with just one arch twist, the TV show conceit that puts its gleeful, apparently unrefined stupidity in quote marks (as well as serving family-conscious publisher Disney with a useful disclaimer - it's all just for show, kids). It presents a single idea that's bold, brash and basic, one that anyone could understand. Like the Hollywood movies and TV spectaculars it emulates, Split/Second: Velocity is a simple proposition.
It's got everything: Speed! Explosions! Er, more speed and explosions! It's Pop Idol with dynamite, the X Factor with its foot on the gas. It's triple-threat reality TV, Mr Bruckhiemer. The stars: sleek supercars, rugged pickups and menacing muscle cars hell-bent on taking each other down. The scene: airports, power plants, dams, dockyards, anywhere that can be rigged to blow so the rubble, concrete and twisted metal can rain from the sky. Here's the elevator pitch, Mr Bruckheimer: a brutal racing TV show, a merciless media motorsport in which contestants have to dodge traps, explosions and stage-managed catastrophes - hazards which they earn the right to trigger on each other through stylish driving.
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