I've been consistently impressed by what I've played of the single-player aspect of Split/Second, Black Rock Studios' explosive action-racer, ever since we got our hands on it for the first time at E3 last year. I expected the 8-player online experience to be thrilling, but I think I actually under-anticipated just how over-the-top it would be.

Everything about the game looks and feels like it's really coming together in advance of its May 18 release, with the online component being the final -- and, from this hands-on preview, important -- piece of the experience. During the demo event, I played the multiplayer "Survival" mode and competed in several straight-up races against 7 other players via Xbox Live (although they were stationed in the same room). Calling any race "straight-up" in Split/Second, however, just isn't accurate at all.