A demo for the upcoming racer Split/Second (grab it here) released on Xbox Live Marketplace this week so I decided to check it out on my lunch break.  I’ve mentioned before I do not play a lot of racing games but this one if from Black Rock Studio who made Pure which I really liked. Split/Second has been getting some comparisons to Blur because the both are coming out around the same time, and both feature the use of power ups. I don’t think the comparison is very fair though as they are very different styles of games. Blur is along the lines of an HD Mario Kart meets Project Gotham Racing. Split/Second reminds me of the demos for Burnout but with a lot more explosions.

The Split/Second demo has only one single player level. It takes place at an airport. The race track ranges from on the airport’s runway, to inside hangers and on surface streets. As you race you fill your power meter by drifting, drafting and jumping. It is pretty easy to get your power meter filled to level 1 by drafting right at the start of the race. Once you hit level 1 you can use the power up to destroy cars that are in front you or trigger short cuts. However, if you wait and get your power meter to level 2 then you can perform race track altering stunts that change the entire flow of the race. In the demo’s level there are a couple of these. The first is right after the starting line where you can blow the ground out causing the race to go underground through the parking garage. The other forces you from going around the runway, where planes are landing, to strait down it. Both of these track adjustments make the race more technical as you have tight turns to navigate and planes to dodge.

There is virtually no heads up display in Split/Second. When you have the ability to perform any of the power ups an indicator pops up on screen. It also shows you the lap and position information on your rear bumper. However, there is no mini-map showing the track layout and the position of racers which is fairly common in most racing games. There are on track clues when major turns are coming up but I found the lack of a mini-map frustrating because I could not easily tell when an opponent was drafting or attempting to pass me. There is an option to look backwards but in such a fast paced race I never even felt like I could take the time to do that without risking crashing.

Another aspect I did not like is that there is not any defense. If an enemy has you in their sites and triggers a power up you are going to get wrecked. After playing Blur where you can use many of the power ups defensively I found this really annoying. I could be driving a great race and then have someone blow me up and win at the last second without any way to stop them. While Blur and Split/Second are two very different racing games I found that playing Blur has made it hard to play other racing games. Blur is so much fun that switching gears to Split/Second does not feel as enjoyable. If you like Burnout style racers then check out the Split/Second demo, but if you have been really enjoying Blur then be prepared for some major differences.

If you’re interested in Split/Second Amazon has a $10 bonus currently for pre-ordering.