Split/Second (released in Europe as Split/Second: Velocity) is an arcade racing video game developed by Black Rock Studio and published by Disney Interactive Studios for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. Revealed in March 2009, the game was released in May 2010[1] and was later released for OnLive in June 2011.[2] In the game, players take part in a fictional reality television show, consisting of a variety of events, each focusing on destructible environments triggered remotely by driver actions known as “power plays”.[3]
Split/Second was ported to the PlayStation Portable on November 2010.[4]
In Split/Second, players take part in a fictional reality TV program where participants race for money and glory. Throughout a race, players can build up their “power play” meter by performing stunts, such as jumps and mid-air overtakes, and precision driving, such as drafting opponents and drifting. As the player builds up their meter, special events can be triggered, which create obstacles for other players, open up shortcuts, or alter an entire section of the race course.[5] These triggers are also activated by the AI opponents.
Target-rendered screenshot showing cars driving past an exploding airport terminal.
Such events range from shockwave-inducing explosions to buckling highways and dam breaches. The severity of the events available to trigger varies depending on how full the player’s meter is. The Level 1 events become available when one of the three segments of the bar are full and the Level 2 events can only be triggered upon a full bar. Event locations, and the vehicles they will affect, are highlighted with blue icons for the level one power plays, and red icons for level two, and the player must time the action accurately in order to hinder his or her competitors as much as possible. The power play meter is used up by one segment once a level one event is triggered, so the player must also choose whether to activate the less destructive first-level events as soon as they are available, or save their power play energy and build it up further in order to trigger the top-tier actions
