Full Auto 2: Battlelines

"Better than the original"

I actually enjoyed the original Full Auto on the Xbox 360. I was slightly disappointed that the PS3 got the sequel, only because I wanted to play it. Well, I got my PS3 and I gave the game a rent. Does it hold up to the original? Is it better? Is it another good exclusive notch in Sony's belt? Read on!

The game starts off with you going into training for a special job. I won't go any further but I must admit that it's nice having a plot since the original didn't, even if it isn't the best plot ever. It does get the job done.

The graphics look rather nice. About the same as the first game. Destruction in the game looks flat out amusing. Vehicles look good and damage nicely. The stages even have a great design to them and over all I found the game to be rather pleasing to my eyes.

Sound is really good in the game. Things break, smash, crumble with flair. The explosions and stuff sound great. Vehicles sound alright. The voice work is pretty decent as well. The music fit the game but didn't do much else for me.

The game has a very easy to remember control set up. R2 is gas, L2 is reverse. L1 is turbo. Square is brake, X is first weapon and circle is your second weapons. Very easy to just pick this game up and play it.

Fans of the twisted Metal series or the Burnout series should really enjoy this game. It's a mixture of them both. Your vehicle has weapons during the races and there are even some combat arena stages.

The combat is fast, it's easy to die so you need to know when to let up or when to go all out. The arenas are neat because not only do you need to kill X amount of enemies but there are sub objectives like destroy 6 of these items or whatever. It keeps things interesting so every mission doesn't feel the same just with a new setting.

The game is made up of story sections. The sections have 1-4 missions. You have normal races. You get knockout races where at the end of each lap the last person is booted from the race, one on one races. It's all interesting and the way enemies attack can keep your blood racing in your system

The game sure lows to blow stuff up as well. You can bust through glass windows, barriers and a few other things. Items will explode and you can knock stuff down to cause problems for the other races.

As you advance in the game you acquire new weapons. Machine guns, smoke bombs, shot guns and the list goes on. You can equip a main weapon and a sub weapon and the choice is completely yours as long as you have the weapon.

Within the game itself you can be blown up but that only matters in the arena stages. Other wise it just hinders your progress a bit. Same goes for the enemy during races and it's a smart idea to take care of as many guys as you can because they will attack you. Also, as you advance in the game you will get random guys showing up in the middle of a race and hunting you down. It really keeps you on your toes.

The game is a ton of fun. It's not too difficult but it's just a blast to play. If you enjoyed the original game it's more of the same but with some added content here and there. Track designs are good and they contain secret paths. The game offers a good amount of races and missions so it won't be over too quickly.

I would honestly buy Full Auto 2 if it was $40 or so. It's the perfect rental as well but I could just pop this bad boy in and do some mindless action. The game actually reminds me of a summer action flick. Leave your brain at the door and just blow stuff up and have some fun. It's a casual gamers dream come true.

Story - 6/10
Graphics - 9/10
Sound - 8/10
Control - 9/10
Game Play - 9/10
Replay Value - 7/10

Final Score: - 9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/16/07