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Almost immediately after the release of Pure learned about developing a new game from Black Rock Studio. Some time later, there were also great videos to blow up bridges and the Leaning Tower. And finally, something long awaited Split / Second before us in all its destructive glory.
So, the first impression of the new game - exactly as it is from Pure: delight. What's happening on screen, attracts everyone who passes by: unreal speed, explosions, smoke, accidents, explosions again, again, explosions, more explosions. Split / Second unquestionably earned the title of the most explosive race on next-generation consoles.
In general, the ability to Black Rock Studio to find interesting ideas and build around them the whole game is amazing. It would seem that there are three successful concept of the modern action-racing: Wipeout, grew out of Mario Kart, with bonuses scattered along the road, Burnout, savoring his accident, born, in fact, of the Destruction Derby. And Twisted Metal - with weapons mounted on vehicles. Combining or simply cloning these mechanics, many developers create a hit game one after another. But the creators of the Pure is not one of them, they really try to do something new and already so interesting.
 | |  | One of the interesting finds Black Rock Studio: All vinyl on the body of the machine - not just a collection of beautiful labels, and clear demonstration of your success in the game: each label corresponds to some received Achievement. | | Looking at how the track worked destruction, particularly acute regret the absence of normal repeats, and only occasionally during the race, you can press LB and again to see the grand stage. |
The basic idea of Split / Second borrowed from a small and not very noticeable piece of the gameplay is not particularly popular game Full Auto. There, in some places, the route could not shoot a missile at an opponent, and a bridge or water tower, after covering rivals rubble.In the chaotic and intense firefights Full Auto, so even with pereuslozhnennym control, this detail has not played a significant role. Black Rock Studio as the idea is not just a fancy - they could make an interesting and very memorable game, in fact, based only on it.
As seen in Split / Second to explode! A lot and hard to blow up everything that is on the track. And, most interestingly, no weapons - missiles and other mines - not here. In this regard, we have the usual races like Ridge Racer or Burnout, - where the winner is the one who came first. During the drift, jumping and riding close to the opponents put a bonus - filled with a special three-stage lineup. But, unlike other games, it is not responsible for the acceleration, and a set detonate explosives on the entire route that activates these or other traps.
How does it look? Once you have typed one or two-thirds of the scale, then it will be seen next to the opponent a special icon, marker, suggests that this is where you can make a good explosion. Seeing such a beacon, press the button that activates the trap, and watch as the taxi stand at the curb suddenly explode and fly towards the opponent, sweeping away everything in its path, or as a helicopter flying over the trail drops a barrel of explosives or a tractor leaves on the road, prolamyvayas wall of the house and literally sweeping substituting rivals. Most of this interesting is that the destruction of these - not scripting paint roller "Fatality", from all the traps - even from flying in your direction the bus - you can dodge, if in time to orient. But each such event is necessarily accompanied by a good blast and diverging from it a powerful blast. So even if you or a competitor managed to avoid a collision, force majeure chatters car so that on net entry into a turn, you can forget.
 | |  | Another finding of the developers - hosted interface. Rather than throw it in the corners of the screen, as is usually done in racing, all the indicators are hanging like a sticky back of your car. | | Of all the special effects are best developers failed smoke. It is lengthy and quite like this, whether it's a huge explosion and dust hung over the road. |
 | |  | As you can see, in order to blow up any building, you can simply press a single button. Do not forget only that every explosion is spent hanging behind the bar car. | | In addition to the vinyl single player achivmentov in the number of your machine, too, is taken not from the ceiling - it reflects your position in the championship: what place is, so is the number. |
But all that's flowers, in fact, saved up all three sections of this line, you can not activate the banal explosions standing in the middle of the road trucks, and something truly amazing.For example, opponents to overturn the huge TV tower, get off the rail giant train, but what's there - you can even drop the aircraft. And it should be noted this is not some kind of resurgent bonuses, which appear again on every lap, all these traps disposable, and their implications are still in the game until the finish. If you had stopped in the second half of the disk tracks with concrete blocks, cut through them very arrogant opponents on the next round of yourself waiting for a high-speed slalom between these obstacles.
Do you think this is sufficient for an exciting adrenaline racing? Developers do not seem, and they added another one, the most interesting possibility. In addition to the explosions and all sorts of destruction rivals, the miracle strip can be spent on discovery cutoffs, allowing to reduce the decent way. And what's more - the complete rerouting of trails! Yes, yes, change your route. For example, if the track was laid through the streets of the city, having accumulated all three sections, and clicking the appropriate button on a certain part of the track can be, say, drop the house and throw a detour on the roofs. This allows not only to admire the dazzling special effects, but also to remove at once all the contenders who went through the old route properly to get ahead.
Summing up all the proposed features, we see a lot of tactics that are applicable in each race. You can "save power" to try to overtake all honesty and only if "something went wrong", to use the full arsenal. You can just share that just an explosion of drums, cars and other little things, interfering with each other to get ahead. And you can, knowing full well the track, using cutting and, if necessary, Tselikov changes in the route. While the best course to learn how to combine all these tactics, instantly adjusting to the situation on the road.
 | Black Shark against traffic congestion |
Besides the usual races, where winning the one who came first, Split / Second boasts several very unusual game modes.
Most original, perhaps, is the Air Strike, where on the track in general there are no rivals, but there is a helicopter gunship, constantly releasing volleys of rockets at you. Purpose - to "stay alive": the longer you're on the road, going from the fire, the more points you earn and the more missile launches by helicopter to you. And although the landing of each shell is marked with a red marker on the pavement, dodging every second is becoming harder and harder, especially since, even just run over by a blast wave, you can easily say goodbye to life.
 | |  | Air Strike | | Detonator |
But a major hit in our editorial was the regime Detonator, which is, in fact, the usual arrival date at the time, but so far you are from start to finish, on a line are automatically activated all the traps, turning your arrival in hell, and a feast of special effects! So beautiful and exciting time trial'a we have not seen more than ever.
 | |  | Lighting effects - a source of pride developers. They argue that on the track Split / Second is twice as light sources than any other race. | | All the most beautiful explosions and destruction, of course, scripted. Before you pay at the mercy of physical engine small fragments, the play breaks down and destroys everything in accordance with a strict scenario. |
Here, perhaps, you want to insert a few words about the physics and driving. However, to speak here especially not about this: anyone who has played in at least one Burnout, will feel like a fish in water. Is that in Split / Second a little difficult to implement drift, the performance you want to play the hammer the gas, so that, without losing speed, out of controlled skid. Otherwise, everything is good arcade and convenient. The controls are very responsive and smooth. The only thing that could spoil the mood at first, this power struggle in the clashes, and if you expect that when flanging with rivals they will fly off on you like matchboxes, and break the walls, we hasten to upset you: the only option to withdraw the car from an opponent system in addition to controlled explosions - is to make him crash at high speed into a wall at right, as a pine in a field angle. In other shoving on the track is very reminiscent of Ridge Racer 7.
After a long story about the beauty and benefits of all the bombings, of course, interesting, and as far as graphically appealing game looks in general? The answer: Split / Second - a beautiful game. Maybe not the most tech and amazing, but, more importantly, very spectacular. The main emphasis developers made for lighting and smoke effects, so that, driving to the local tracks, and really feel like on the battlefield. The remains of blown-up cars are spread on the track, blazing fire, soot and smoke rocker sometimes does not allow you to see a turn or sudden vyprygnuvshy on the hood of a telegraph pole, and the night trail at the power station is just a wild delight. And it does not notice that the polygons in the cars still are not enough, that the wreckage of crumbling bridge too angular, that textures in places far from ideal ... All this brightens competent design and excellent special effects.
Do you already have the impression that this is a perfect arcade racing? We are going to destroy, because deficiencies are also missing. The first - the sound of it in the game is very unconvincing. Explosions all muted and the volume, the roar of engines does not inspire any confidence, and although on the whole, very good noise and buzz, not a sensation, if you really got on the deadly trail and around you every second rumble tens of tons of TNT.
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Next on the list - an accident. Because of the small number of polygons in the cars and the lack of a good system damage, all accidents, compared with the same Burnout, look unconvincing. You can believe that this broken and divided cheap Chinese cars to the radio control, but not true sports cars. Separate conversation - that all of these spectacular explosions and massive piles can not savor. Yes, you can split second to slow down time and make a little run over the leaning tower, but what exactly happened there at the time of her fall - you do not know, in Split / Second, the game, like the specially established for the sake of spectacle, not even banal repetition, and it is very, very frustrating. After all, the speed is high, the number of dangers faced by you in the next corner, is enormous, and stare at the special effects do not have time - alas, posmakovat his strategic genius and driving after the race you will not be able to. It's a shame.
And such hurtful stuff in Split / Second annoying and puzzling. For example, why before the start of the race in single player mode it was necessary to arrange for some "preparatory screens, where you first write, what to do in this game mode, and then show a table of records? And since each individual need to be closed by pressing the button every time you start the race! Until finally launches the long-awaited arrival, manages to not just curse the unknown developer came up with this mockery.
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Well, the main complaint about the Split / Second - this is a local career mode. Boring him to do, probably, it was already difficult. Indeed, the very first commercials we were promised a steep television show, where you and screensavers, and commentators, and all attached.And we got curios in the spirit of the first games lineup Burnout, where the only required - to pass the race for the race in the opening episodes of the series, no splash, perebivok, plot, or at least the commentators - a simple set of races, one after another. Get points for wins, spectacles, opening up new cars and tracks - all. Between "seem to be episodes of TV shows" there is only a kind of sideshow to the unconvincing story about "what lies ahead" - ugly and neuvlekatelnye. But do developers have at least some hint of the plot, write the dynamic feedback to what is happening on the track, and play in single player mode would be much more interesting.
And yet to play in Split / Second like it captivating by the gameplay and stunning design of the trails. Probably, one only design it, you can immediately erect a monument on the mall of Fame game. So varied, interesting, spectacular and beautiful tracks we have not seen for a long time. And considering how they are transformed after the first round, do not get tired marvel of imagination and skill development. It does not matter that a single mode boring - most importantly, what to play in Split / Second very interesting, and instead of computer opponents, who, it must be said here is very good (in contrast to a recent public demo) you can always connect to the case of old friends, or find new friends on the Internet. Because of good online companies such games as Split / Second, literally flourishing.
| | Lost in translation |
Nice to see that all the latest games initially, even in the European version, containing the Russian language. Was no exception and our guest today. Menus, prompts, text and voice - all entirely in Russian. On the one hand, cool and fun, but on the other ... The translation of some phrases seemed to us very doubtful. For example, the use of spaced along the trap in the English version called Power Play. In the Russian did it suddenly become a "Release of Power." Whether the British were the fans of hockey, whether Russian - ardent fans of "Star Wars", but the fact is very funny. I think we need to now offer this term Russian hockey commentators.
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