Ever wonder what would happen if Michael Bay made a video game? Well, now you no longer have to. Take 1 part Burnout and 2 parts Michael Bay’s directing and you get Split/Second, is this such a bad thing? No, not really. Split/Second is an intense action based racing game brought to you by the Blackrock studio, creators of the hit ATV racing game, Pure.

Split/Second is designed to feel like a reality TV game show, the races are divided into 12 seasons of 6 races each; each season consists of a few different types of races like your standard race, elimination and aerial assault. Since most of you are familiar with the first 2 I’ll explain aerial assault. Aerial assault is as a race where you have to avoid on oncoming assault of rockets from a helicopter. You have to continue to avouch them until you reach first place, simple right, not at all. It can actually be extremely frustrating trying to dodge all the rockets being thrown at you especially when you’re about to capture first place and end up driving right into a rocket out of nowhere. Even though aerial assault is frustrating it’s still one of my favorite modes in the game.

I suppose you’re probably asking what makes Split/Second different from all the other racing games out there, well for starters there are power plays, power plays are what can make or break your race if an opponent is too far ahead of you. If you happen to find yourself down a few positions drop a power play on your opponent and send the exploding into oblivion, or just a few spots back. Power plays can be anything from dropping bridges in front of your opponent to blowing up buses into them. Power plays aren’t the only thing that can help you regain your lead there’s also route changers, this is probably one of the greatest things in Split/Second, at any given time the track can be completely changed giving you another advantage to get ahead of your opponents.

I really only have a few issues about Split/Second, my first though it the rubber band AI. Nothing can be more frustrating than blasting your opponents, getting out in the lead only to be passed up at the last second of the race and lose. If I take the lead in a racing game I want to be able to hold that lead and not have to worry about the AI catching me at the last second and passing me for the win.

Overall Split/Second is a great racing game, if you enjoy high speed, intense action racing, then Split/Second is definitely the game for you. There are plenty of tracks to keep you busy for awhile and plenty of hours to be spent online destroying your friends in multiplayer.

Split/Second was provided for review by the publisher.

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Split/Second

Platform: PlayStation 3,Xbox 360,PC,PSP; Rated E10

Developer: Black Rock Studio

Publisher: Disney Interactive Studios

Release: April 22, 2010

When I first started Just Cause 2, I fully expected to walk away disappointed. The first one was filled with glitches and other issues that made the game unplayable for me. So needless to say, I was extremely surprised when I realized just how much I was going to enjoy Just Cause 2. You play as Rico Rodriguez, secret agent, sent in to cause chaos, jack helicopters and grapple his way around the island of Panau.

You are given 2 tools to work with to make your way around the island, your grapple hook and your parachute, which combined make for an excellent way to get places without having to hunt down vehicles or quickly escape enemies. Not only can you use the grapple hook to travel from building to building quickly, you can also you use it to whip enemies, attach it to enemies, hang them to trees or building, or attach them to a car and take the for a fun ride, fun for you, not them of course. Parachute and grappling hook not enough to get you around Panau quickly? Well, no need to worry there are 104 unique vehicles in the game to keep you occupied, from boats, to helicopters, to planes to motorcycles and cars there are always some modes of transportation available. If vehicles aren’t quick enough for you then give your friend a call and fast travel to any locations you’ve discovered.

The island of Panau is huge, and one of the most impressive things you will find about Just Cause 2 is no loading screens while traveling the entire island. The only time you will ever get loading screens is during cut scenes or after you die (obviously). There is plenty to do on the island of Panau, if you don’t feel like blowing stuff up (my personal favorite) to cause more chaos around the island, then you can complete faction missions, complete faction missions, Agency missions and discover new locations. Each location has a resources scattered throughout the area along with enemy resources that need to be destroyed before you can get 100%. If you plan to do them all you’re in for a very, very long journey.

I really only have a few complaints about Just Cause 2, my first and biggest would be the driving, driving cars that is, boats, planes and helicopters handle rather nicely, especially the helicopters (easily my vehicle of choice), but the cars drive horrible, most of the time I was fighting to keep my vehicle on the road rather than just drive it, contact with any object sends you spinning out of control and off into a ditch or into oncoming traffic. My next complaint is the ammo, it seemed like I was always running out of ammo, especially in the middle of a bigger battle where ammo was crucial. This is only a minor complaint since you can later upgrade your weapons to hold more ammo, but still, this made for some tough times in the beginning of the game. My final complaint, well, actually not really a complaint, but something I wish was in the game is co-op, this game would have made for such a perfect co-op game, I guess I can always dream right?

Overall Just Cause 2 is an excellent game and will make you forget you ever played the first one. Gamers new to the series will love it and anyone that played the first one will be very impressed, I’ve easily put 50+ hours into Just Cause 2 and I’ve barely even scratched the surface, with future plans for DLC tons of Easter eggs (think LOST) and so much in the game already Just Cause 2 is a definite buy. If you’re having trouble getting used to the controls, give it some time, you’ll get the hang of it and have a great time. Remember if you’re having trouble finding a vehicle or ammo don’t forget to hit down on the d-pad and press Y to call in your black market dealer to hook you up, it’ll make life much easier.

Just Cause 2 was provided for review by the publisher.

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Just Cause 2

Platform: PlayStation 3,Xbox 360,PC; Rated M

Developer: Avalanche Studios, Eidos Interactive

Publisher: Square Enix

Release: March 23, 2010

I still remember the first time I laid my eyes upon on the beauty of Rapture. I recall hopping into a bathysphere not being prepared for the amazing journey I was about to endure, I remember being greeted by the soothing voice of Atlus, I remember the hair on my back of my neck standing up as the splicer outside of my bathysphere scraping his hooks against the glass. I remember wanting more Read more →

The Saboteur is a free roaming action-adventure game brought to you by Pandemic (RIP) set in Paris during the 1940′s. You play as Sean Devlin, an Irish race car driver/mechanic who is out for revenge to take out Kurt Dierker, the man who killed his best friend. Read more →