If we didn't know better, we'd say Sony is planning to release a powerful new console this November. That seemed to be the case when we visited Sega today and walked into a room full of shiny new final-version PlayStation 3 development kits running the latest build of Full Auto 2: Battlelines, the sequel to Pseudo Interactive's combat racer released for the Xbox 360 last year. Pseudo and Sega apparently want to be among the first to produce two games on brand-spanking-new hardware, since Battlelines is a PS3 exclusive just like the first Full Auto was particular to the 360 earlier this year. At any rate, we got our hands on the game for the first time since E3 to check out how the madcap multiplayer mode is shaping up, including a new game type and a look at a new map.
But to start off, we tried our hand in an eight-player match of the traditional competitive racing mode to get a feel for it. The short version is that this is the Full Auto you remember--the focus is still on outracing and outgunning your opponents at an insane rate of speed. But we noticed a few minor tweaks here and there. For instance, you can now fire your primary weapon by clicking R3 (the right analog stick), which makes simultaneous free-aiming and shooting easier than it was before. We also got to try out a near-final version of the PlayStation 3 controller, with its triggerlike L2 and R2 buttons, which obviously made accelerating and braking a lot more precise.
Sega's big tagline for Battlelines is "destruction matters." According to them, this means that all the havoc you could cause in the first game--which was often more pretty window dressing than anything--will this time have more gameplay relevance. What it really boils down to is that you'll be able to shoot down a bunch of the scenery to really ruin your opponents' day. In the sample race we tried--which had us winding back and forth between massive containers in an industrial shipping yard--boxes, pipes, and other big heavy objects hanging overhead were constantly blocking our path, thanks to the other racers' weaponry (this should hopefully prove to be a useful new offensive option for savvier players).
Afterward we got to try Full Auto 2's new deathmatch mode, which is also available in a team variant and which had us simply battling it out with seven other cars in a sparkling city square with an underground parking garage to hide in and lots of glass-fronted buildings to smash. Buses and other vehicles often came hurtling through, presenting yet another obstacle. A few power-ups were available, such as a mortarlike superweapon and a wrench that repaired some of our car's damage. In the final game, you'll be able to choose from a number of cars and weapon loadouts, but we only had a cluster-missile launcher and minelayer on our default car in this demo. The action here was fast-paced and chaotic--pretty much what you'd expect from Full Auto, except that instead of driving a linear course, we were raging in an enclosed area that was sealed off by an artificial energy barrier in some places.
Lastly, we tried the new base assault multiplayer type on the same map. In this four-on-four mode, a bomb is spawned randomly in the middle of a map that has a base for each team at either end. The objective, obviously, is to get to the bomb first and deliver it to the other team's base when it explodes. Whether or not you're actually in possession of the bomb when this happens, your team will get a point. Finally, we heard about one more new multiplayer mode called cat and mouse. From the sound of it, this one has two players racing against each other, while the rest of the pack simply guns for them and tries to disrupt the race as much as possible. We should find out more about that one in the months ahead.
Full Auto 2 is looking good and solid right now. The art style is unmistakably similar to the first game, and the level of visual fidelity is actually just about the same, from what we saw. The textures might be a little sharper and some of the effects a little more real, but visually the two games are pretty comparable. Performance was fairly fluid, though the frame rate bogged down some during intense moments. However, the developers are targeting a consistent 60 frames per second for launch, and Sega says the game is in the feature-complete alpha stage at this point, which means the code wizards have a good long while to spend on bug fixes and optimizations.
Pseudo and Sega promise there's plenty more information yet to reveal about Full Auto 2--they just aren't revealing it yet. We're talking about things like the events that will make up the revamped career mode, and how the game will utilize the PS3 controller's tilt functionality (which will purportedly be in a meaningful way). It's also worth noting that we played Full Auto 2's multiplayer on the actual PlayStation network platform, so apparently Sony already has its online gaming infrastructure up and running well ahead of the new system's release. Of course, we're just as curious as you are about how the PlayStation 3's first round of games will turn out, so stay tuned for more on Full Auto 2 and all of Sony's other launch titles in the coming months.
looks sweet
Rewind ?
horrible game, i rented the one for xbox 360 and it sucked, this one looks the same
Rofl ever notice how Sony lovers dont over do it with Sony stuff for their avatars??? Hell every Xbox owner i see talkin has either a master chief for their avatar or a 360 model... like they are compensating for a lack of something so they overdo it with a retarded FOLLOW THE CHIEF WITH BLIND ABANDON AND DONT EVEN TRY COMPARING IT TO A PC GAME ...(common sense that the 360 is not gonna last 10 years like they say it will) Halo sucks compared to anything decent the PC throws at it. CounterStrike 1.6 is still going strong almost 10 years after its release. Tell me one Xbox game thats had strong online after 4... 0 BECAUSE Xbox games have no modablility.
Full Auto 2 Might Be Coming To 360 As Well As PS3
Well, the previews for this game have been nothing but extraordinary. The fact that a developer bother to take the responses from fans and critics from the first game and made improvements is awesome. Both IGN and Gamespots artciles said the same thing, the game play, the modes, and the fun factor for the game are already light years above the original. Full Auto 2 should be a killer app at launch for the PS3
im sorry, this game, we all full know, is lame as chips, so why we arguing, it could have run on the regular xbox, or the ps2, its lame, stop judging a console on the graphics of a lame game
Why are so many people arguing about a sub-par game. This game didn't even sell that well on the Xbox 360 (I know, I work at GameCrazy and giving free faceplates away with them and everything wouldn't get them off the shelves) and now they are planning a sequel less the a year later (that's right Gamespot got that wrong, the game came out in February of THIS year not LAST year) and you expect it to be a vast improvement? That is just being ignorant. What they should have done with this franchise is drastically change the gameplay style (Think of Dynasty Warriors, the original was a 1 on 1 fighter, and now it's a strategical hack-n-slash, that's a drastic change) by taking what made the first game so fun and applying it more and toning back on the bad parts. Instead it just seems like they are adding more to do and leaving what people hated in there, it's a really bad idea.
The framerate is so messed up, lets just hope they fix this before the game goes retail (which they didn't on the 360 version).
so gamespot says the ps3 version looks more realistic after playing it and yet a 360 fanboy claims the 360 version looks better after watching a 4 inch video screen? why am i not surprised.........................
For the love of god... Both PS3 and Xbox360 are /brand new/! There isn't any game out there that's REMOTELY pushing either system's capabilities yet!
im no Xbox fanboy but i personaly think the 360 verson of fullauto looks that bit better than the PS3
This looks just like FA on XB360. And Warhammer, I've read in the Australian Official Xbox360 Magazine and qoute " Among the previously touted as PS3-exclusive which now have been confirmed by our sources as being schedules for release on XB 360 are Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed and Virtual Tennis 3. (Virual fighter 5 and Full Auto 2 are also listed as possibilities.)
lol sony fanboys like forgetting their beloved companys lies... LOL "The ps3 will be 2x as fast as our competitors" lol 2 teraflops vs 1teraflop... hmm this looks awfully... AWFULLY similar to the fullauto2 that we played a year ago on the 360 on a system that costs 200$ less
LOL give me a break.... same graphics as past FA... has framerate issues... ya sounds the same as the 360 version... and i play it on a console that cost 200$ left and i had the game a year ago...? Is it only me that notices that PS3 fanboys are getting excited about a game we played a year ago? The name changed the game is the same... As for the game networking... i'd hope it was atleast partially up, microsoft had private betas long before the 360 launched.
Can't Believe Its Not Coming Out On 360 As Well !
lol :D No rumble indeed. Still sad though...
Actually there won't be any rumble
This is the PS3's power. PS3 FTW! PS3 IS READY TO RUMBLE! PS3 > all Thank you.
I will get this one but I was wondering how Twisted Metal will look on this powerful PS3 machine!!!
yeah...its not a whole lot better than the 360 version...c'mon man this is PS3!!! i want to see something that blows me away!
If this is final PS3 hardware il be surprised. The graphics of Full Auto 2 look exaclty like the X360 Full Auto. i compared sreenshots. The only reason i would get a PS3 is for Assasians Creed anyway
if this game is cheap then i'll be impressed,cause there doesnt seem like there is much to it(cat and mouse seems cool though). i really need twisted metal.
Wow, reminds me of the good ol' days with Vigilante 8 and Vigilante 8 2nd Offense.
Battlelines, eh? More Like: FULL AUTO 2: FOOL ME TWICE.
the game was just boring on 360, why do people think it will be any better just because of some new modes n maps, its generally a rubbish game n id punch myself in the face if it helped sell anymore ps3's.
It's always good to have exclusives, but I have to admit I was pretty underwhelmed with Full Auto on Xbox 360. The environments were too constrained. Twisted Metal, on the other hand, I'd like to see on PS3.
I WONDER WHAT TWISTED METAL WILL LOOK LIKE ON THE PS3 ????
The Graphics had better look good! This would be a 2cd or 3rd generation title on the 360. I'm not sure anybody cares anyway, but $600 to play these games is seriously atrocious.
Could be a good launch title.
I played it at E3 and the framerate seemed ok. It was a deathmatch scenario and the action was pretty intense. I liked it so much I went out and bought the 360 version. The experience wasn't the same. No deathmatch and what appeared to be a slower framerate. Still, I loved the multiplayer mayhem in Roadkill and I think this game has a lot of potential to fill the void left by the absense of the Twisted Metal franchise. The only reason I never got into the TM games was becase the graphics were butt ugly. Starting with the original XBox, they were finally able to make these types of games look like they are supposed to. If Sony pulls of their networking service, I foresee a great time-waster in this game.
It sounds alright, even though I wouldn't get it!!
Yeah this game sucked huge on 360 which means it will suck even more after u spend 60$-100$ for a game that sucks a$$
Sweet! Graphical improvements, please? Nonetheless, a great launch title... and PS3 exclusive ^^
Yes, more car mayhem, nice!
The frame rate is terrible, though it is an early build i guess
im not impressed at all with this....not at all! i think its only exclusive so it wont look any better on another console!
sweet
This game is gonna suck on XBox360 and on Ps3... and the whole graphics thing come on people stop with OH its the Cell CHIP!!.. or xbox with its ATI chips.. Who freaking CARES...Im not a fanboy or w/e but im comparing this to old school stuff as games.. Like Ps2 had the crappiest line up of games with OKay decent graphics.. As years went on Graphics Gotten better.. CUZ developers had to get used to it and toy around with samething as the xbox Halo Looked like a freaking PC game now look at Halo2 Big OD improvement.. Honestly in what I see I think Xbox is going to take it this year cuz they have had a year start and also the games are looking a lot better now...than it did before.. Ps3 is gonna be really good I can't wait for that Metal Gear.. its gonna kick ass... Wii Idk what to say about it but Im getting it.. Ps3 will do good they just need to lower the price down a bit so it can sell and catch up with Xbox.. PS3 and X360 Have nothing really different from each other if u look at the Specs and details.. its not really by much its just by a little. and yes I do agree that PS3 is tru Next Gen, but its not always gonna be about graphics or w/e it comes down to gameplay also cuz you know if we have Mario in our Hands you'll be rocking that game right now just as the same way people are rocking Street Fighter on x360.. Honestly in my opinion Xbox is gonna take it all the way but if sony watns to catch up they just gotta lower their price and they'll be set..
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NightRogue77 Don't be a fanboy the game sucked on the 360 it will suck on the PS3 thats no suprise.
Doesn't look that much better than the first one, next gen hardware needs next gen software and this isn't it/
Wow, looks EXACTLY the same as it did on the 360. On top of that, it appears to have the same gay framerate issues. PS3 better start pulling some better punches or I'm not gonna shell out the 600 bucks - I'll just stick with my 360 and get a Wii as well.
Wow this game looks really impressive, but i'd rather have a new Twisted Metal.
Sweet! Now i can play a crappy MP deathmatch game instead of just a crappy MP race game!
i dont really care about this game, but it was interesting to see that the PNP was up and running, and most devs are making use of the tilt in some way with their games....seems like every updated impressions or interview or something a dev confirms the controller will be used.
Don't get too excited about this game, PS3 fans. Just a fair warning...
physics off the CELL is gonna be crazy!!!
cant wait for the PS3 goodness
this game wasnt all that good........