PlatformOVERALL
Xbox 3608.00
Overall 8.00
Full Auto was a launch title for the 360 and while such games are notorious for graphics that lose their luster fast, this game still looks great after five years. It therefore comes as no surprise that the company responsible for development, Pseudo Interactive, is headed by David Wu -- the man responsible for creating the first tech demo for the 360.  That demo showed a high-end performance car that rapidly accelerated into a wall.

Full Auto is much more than a tech demo though, and much more than the Burnout clone it first appears to be.  Beyond being an arcade racer it is a track-based car combat game.  Car combat games tend to be set in arenas, as with Battle Wheels, Twisted Metal and Vigilante 8.  While these games are enjoyable they are little more than extensions of regular on-foot death matches.  Track-based car combat games like R.C. Pro-Am, Battle Cars and Mario Kart combine the challenges of racing and survival.

Technically the game is as strong as Burnout with no discernible frame-rate drops or slowdown.  Given the destructible (and detailed) urban environments, car explosions and speed of the vehicles I was fully expecting some drop, but even in the most intense moments the game did not fail.

Beyond the campaign mode, in which you unlock the cars, there are five other modes including online multi-player, each with several challenges in each category so there is plenty of replay.  The modes are unlocked bit by bit, giving incentive to try everything out.

Vehicle models are understandably fictional, given the punishment they go through, but they resemble all the usual car types you find in arcade racers.  Each model is appropriate to it's styling with plenty of variation between light and heavy controlling cars.

The only problem with Full Auto is the very obvious rubber band AI which enable non-human competitors o speed by you if you get too far ahead (even when you are using your "turbo").  The reverse is true when you get too far behind, but even so it diminishes the enjoyment of the single player experience.

Full Auto is certainly worth adding to your collection if you think you'd enjoy seeing what the bastard child of Burnout and Mario Kart would turn out like.
Posted by aspro Sat, 06 Mar 2010 05:48:25
 
Tue, 09 Mar 2010 04:43:27
Sega. Happy
 
Tue, 09 Mar 2010 05:34:00


If I made a game it would be called: Full Anus.

 
Tue, 09 Mar 2010 07:15:54
LOL
 
Tue, 09 Mar 2010 07:24:43
On SEGA, it's actually an almost interesting story.  Microsoft funded most of the development of Full Auto and then pulled out of publishing it.  SEGA came in and picked up the project.
 
Wed, 10 Mar 2010 01:35:14
Your review tempted me in picking this game up as a gift for my daughter. She likes arcade racers.
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