Split/Second Demo Impressions

Split/Second is still a game I have mixed feelings on. I had the opportunity to check out the demo and I played through the solitary race (the only one included in the demo) 4 or 5 times in a row. Based on the demo and my previous hands-on time with the game I feel like I am not seeing a large enough sample of this game (perhaps the much touted Survival mode would sell me?) - at the very least, not enough to merit a purchase. This game will be a word of mouth purchase if it ends up purchased at all.

Alas, I am jumping to my own conclusions too soon; at the very least these demo impressions will be a comparison (hopefully a stark one) to my previous hands-on time.

To start I will say that the same events, both large and small, still feel copy and pasted though I did get to experience two course alterations whereas previously I had only noticed one major one per track. One of the course alterations was a large tower falling and thus changing the course of the race but it felt extraordinarily reminiscent of the Space Needle falling on the track (and from other trailers there look to be a lot of falling tall structures).

In my five races I only lost once, and just barely, and I found that I was just trying to get a better time (my best being '4"24). I experienced every event that this track had to offer and by the end (except for trying to get a better time) I was tiring of the sameness. I even had earning Power Play juice down to an exact science.

I also noticed this time around different Power Play levels (1 & 2). The first are simple things such as blowing up a parked car as an opponent drives by and having explosive barrels dropped from helicopters. Level 2 Power Plays require the full PP Meter (course alterations require this as well) but with good reason - buildings blow up and can take out upwards of 5 opponents at a time. It is fun a few times but perhaps it would be more satisfying if I were playing this demo online.

The major thing that I noticed that was a stark comparison from my hands-on time with the game was that there seems to be little or no slowdown at all (one of my previous major worries).

I may be one of this games only critics but Split/Second is still on my list of wait-and-see games. Perhaps I should check out this Blur Multiplayer Beta I have been hearing a lot about.