Split/Second [PSP]

Intro: Split/Second is a game developed by Disney Interactive. Now, before you dismiss this as some sort of watered-down, mario kart style need for speed, let me tell you that I personally loved it. This may be the only cool game Disney made. Besides Kingdom Hearts of course.

Gameplay: I know what you're thinking: "It's made by Disney, how cool can it be?" Before you get images of friendly cartoon racers shaking hands and giving out cheesy high-five's, you should know how the game works. You pop in the UMD and are greeted with a sweet intro of smashed glass and a quick preview of a few of the maps. Then, you pick your car and plunge in. You are greeted into the race, and as you tear away from the starting line, you realize this ain't your momma's Disney. While in most games you fill your "power bar" doojigger up for Nitro, this game has a completely different system. As you drift, draft, and jump, you fill up one of three power bars. Once one's full, it begins filling up the second. You use these power bars to trigger explosions and destroy your opposition. These explosions, called powerplays, can cause a myriad of things, including dropping a bridge onto the track, knocking over an airport control tower, and just plain blowin shit up. If you're more the pacifist type, you can use them to instead trigger shortcuts, like dropping the front end of a plane to make a giant ramp. Each powerplay costs one bar of power. If you fill up all three bars, you can trigger a Super Powerplay, which can include blowing the entire side of a cliff onto the track, or exploding an entire field of abandoned aircraft. Overall, the racing is good fun. One thing that got me is the physics. One moment, you're a two-ton racecar, roaring down the track. Then, you spin out, hit a wall, and suddenly you weigh less than a loaf of bread. Opponents aren't even slowed as the plow right into your flaming wreck as you wait for respawn. However, god forbid you hit a downed enemy, lest you explode in flames and careen off the track.


Graphics: Anything not in motion is your average, run-of-the-mill graphics. Nothing great to speak of. The cars, however, look great. The powerplays like a wrecking ball and a swinging boom lift look great with authentic rust spots and paint splatters, but it does seem a bit copy and pasted.

Sound: Your average racecar sounds. Not really much else. Vroom, crash, shatter.

Overall: I could have asked for better graphics or more exciting sounds, but given that the PSP has such limitations as one joystick and not-so-great graphics, Disney really delivered a decent racing game with unique gameplay and addctive fun. 8.5/10

Never heard of it so I looked it up. Not as bad as you might think but definitely not worth the $40 it costs. Honestly, similar games like Motorstorm: Arctic Edge and Gran Turismo look much better and cost half that price. Disney should stick to making movies and TV series. Don't get me wrong, I hate the things that come out of Disney. They just make a shitload of money with their success at just about everything.

Honestly, to no surprise, I enjoy the console version much better.

@LolICU: Not all of Disney stuff is bad (but I admit, almost everything is absolute garbage). I mean, I wasn't able to dodge a detonated nuclear reactor in GT5, narrowly miss a burning plane about to crash into me, or fly through a wall of fire with just my car.

I thought it was exhilarating and hilarious, especially to see those cars blow up in front of me.

Nice review. I played the demo for it a while back and it was really fun, didn't think it was too great to buy the full version.

Good review, I'm not really a fan of racing games. But this review doesn't have anything to do with me, right? So good review!

Also, the graphics are pretty horrible if you ask me.

Yeah, I borrowed it from a friend so I forgot to mention the pricetag.