There is a TV show called Split/Second about crashing vehicles and setting them on fire, and the producers are always seeking fresh contestants. They employ the player to participate in all twelve episodes of the next season as one of the eighth drivers, with the possibility that the player will win the championship. It is a racing game with an arcade-style theme that features fictitious versions of real-world sports automobiles with made-up names. Everyone gets access to a power play bar, so instead of simply racing around the racetrack and trying to win by being the best driver, a new element is added to the game. The three portions of the bar can be filled up by doing maneuvers like drifts, drafting (driving in the slipstream of another car), jumping, or escaping a power play that has been initiated. Players gain access to a level two power play slot when they fill up the third power play slot. The first two power-play slots trigger two level-one power plays.
When the player is close enough to make a power play, a symbol will appear above the cars in front of them if the appropriate portion of the bar has been filled. These power plays can take the form of anything from a helicopter that drops explosive barrels to a parked automobile rigged to explode. Still, they can also take the form of far more significant occurrences, such as a train bridge that catches fire or an entire ship that slides to one side. The first two are examples of level one power plays, whereas the second two are examples of level two. In addition, a switch in the track will occur if you activate a power play of level two. After the ship has been blown up, the regular route is obstructed by fire, so the drivers have little choice but to take an alternate route across the ship’s deck. There are also frequent shortcuts on the track that may be accessed by spending a level one power play and then closing again a few seconds later, crushing anyone foolish enough to pursue the player (or whoever opened it up) when it was closed. The goal of utilizing these power plays is straightforward: to ruin the opponent. This may be accomplished in one of two ways: by allowing him to crash into things or by shaking him up to the point where he loses control of his vehicle and crashes himself. The athlete needs to use caution. Even he is susceptible to becoming caught up in his power play, which can result in losing his edge and, most of the time, even the entire race. A significant portion of the driving consists of drifting through curves and carefully applying throttle to maintain the drift. Long drifts are not only fun to do, but they are also the quickest method to fill up your power play meter.
The game has various game modes in addition to the standard competitions, such as Destruction, in which the player’s objective is to cross the finish line as quickly as possible while simultaneously having all the power plays on the track activated. In the game Air Strike, the player aims to avoid being hit by missiles fired by a helicopter flying in front of them. This is taken even further in the game Air Revenge, which allows the player to send those missiles back to where they came from. There are further events known as Time Trials, in which all power plays are immediately activated, and Eliminations, in which the driver who finishes the race in the lowest place is disqualified from further competition after predetermined intervals of time have elapsed.
Credits are awarded to the player throughout the campaign per the place they finish each event. By accumulating credits, the player will be granted access to the concluding event of each episode, as well as a more difficult race and additional vehicles. In addition, the player can obtain unique decals by doing insane tasks, such as winning a race by a fraction of a second. In addition, each episode contains a bonus event that can only be accessed when the player has successfully wrecked a predetermined number of vehicles in the main events.
The game is playable on all platforms in a split-screen format for two players and in an online multiplayer setting for up to eight players; each can choose from one of three different game styles.
