Full Auto 2: Battlelines

Developer: Psuedo Interactive
Publisher: Sega
Release Date: Dec. 7, 2006
Systems: PS3 (reviewed), PSP
ESRB Rating: T
Official Web Site

In a nutshell: Destruction Derby: The Next Generation.

0:01 The controls are shown for about ten seconds during the loading screen. All I saw was that the select button is self destruct. Intriguing.
0:02 I have a feeling durability is going to be important, so I chose the most durable car and some homing missiles and rear grenades.
0:06 Right off the bat the controls feel a little loose. The turning radius on this thing must be huge. Not very responsive. Also, I can't tell if my weapons are doing any damage, or how many weapons I have left. The interface is too sparse.
0:08 Finished with my first race. I had no idea what was happening much of the time, because the screen is so full of collapsing stuff and explosions. I get interecepted and wrecked without warning. Someone should tell the designers simpler is better.
0:11 As far as I can tell, there's no reason to ever stop firing homing missiles. So I don't. I've taken out five cars so far this race. Not that it seems to matter, they come right back, as I do when I explode. Very pretty though.
0:13 I finish race #2, this time in fifth. I like how there are multiple paths through the course, but I don't like how easy it is to crash into an exposed corner and lose a lot of time.
0:17 It's really hard to race when your view is clouded by the black smoke of the car in front of you, which is most of the time. Can we tone down the graphical effects a bit?
0:18 This time I get third place by focusing on the shortcuts instead of shooting. Still getting hung up on outhanging walls and corners. Very annoying.
0:19 Time to try gladiator mode, where the goal is to kill kill kill. I pick a car that resembles a tank mixed with an SUV.
0:20 A guy lasers my tail, so I turn around (slowly) and barrel into his lightweight ass. Yeehaw!
0:22 I just accidentally leveled a building. The environment seems like it's made out of balsa wood.
0:25 The quick slow-mo replays when you kill or get killed are a nice touch. They show the carnage well without slowing down the action too much.
0:26 The controls are a little better suited to the slower pace of Gladiator mode. Turning is easier at the lower speeds.
0:28 I win with 21 points. I get five kills in a row at one point. There homing missiles rule.
0:29 This time I'm trying out the "ram," a spiky cudgel o nthe front of the car. Hoo baby.
0:31 The environments are beautfiul, but it's a little hard to pick out opposing cars against them. If not for the little arrows over the cars it would be impossible. Even with them it's pretty hard.
0:34 My professional opinion is that the ram sucks. I'd barrel into opponents and they'd be no worse for wear. I come in last this time. Time to try some more weapons.
0:36 All the cool weapons I see my opponents using are locked. Boo for limited demos.
0:38 Annoyance: Dead cars stay around as carcasses. Fun to look at, but it's hard to tell that they aren't targets.
0:39 I get seven kills in a row before dying. I seem to get my best results with a combination of missiles and ramming. Yes it's as fun as it sounds.
0:42 After my initial salvo I can't buy another kill and finish third.
0:43 This time I try a speedy, manueverable, light car. Seems ill suited to the mode, but we'll see.
0:46 Wow! I get sandwiched between too cars and go flying in a 1080 end over end flip. Perfect opportunity for a replay with the touch of a button. Fun to zoom and pan around. I could watch this all day.
0:52 Surprisingly, the little car can still take a good number of hits, and the added manueverability makes it easier to position yourself. After holding first the whole match, though, I come in second.
1:00 I try to set up an online match, a nice touch in a demo. Eight minutes later we only have three of the required four players.
1:01 Now we're going. I'll go into overtime I guess.
1:06 Wow, the human players are a lot better than the computers. For one, they have much less tendency to run into walls. With only five players the course is a little sparse.

Would I play this game for more than an hour? Yes.
Why? Despite iffy controls and confusing graphics, it's just fun destroying cars.

This review based on a demo version downloaded from the PlayStation Network.