May 17, 2005 - It's not a stretch to assume that speed and guns is a formula that sounds like it would appeal to almost any gamer, but it all depends on how well those elements are put together. While next-gen graphics and eye candy are already set to impress and astound, we have a discerning eye focused on how companies are going to wow us with their next-generation gameplay. With only one day left to go before E3 "officially" opens, we don't have long to wait to play all the next-gen games and see how the developers are doing. But being the lucky little devils we are, we had a chance to play Sega's Full Auto on Xenon development hardware before E3, and what follows is our impressions of the balls-to-the-wall combat racing title.
Full Auto is being developed by Toronto-based Pseudo Interactive. If that name sounds familiar to you, it may be because they were the minds behind another car combat title -- Cel Damage -- a few years ago, as well as the little-known PC version of Full Auto way back in 1999. However, with the exception of weapon-strapped cars, their next-gen project bears little resemblance to their earlier games. More relevant to their next-gen expertise is the fact that they were the team called on by Microsoft to create the impressive Crash demo shown at GDC last year. Remember the one with realistic physics, dynamic model crumpling, breaking glass, flying tires and loads of particle effects? Yeah, that one. Although the Crash demo was very brief, that's not a bad base to build off of for a combat racing title.
Full Auto reminds us a lot of Burnout 3 with guns and massive, fiery explosions. Like most racing games, your main goal is to cross the finish line first. Sounds easy enough, right? But in Full Auto the real challenge may be crossing the finish line at all. With guns blazing, missiles flying and plenty of environmental objects like telephone poles and buildings to wrap your car around, sometimes getting to the end of a race isn't as easy as it sounds.
