For the past couple of days I've been playing Full Auto .  Several months back I played the demo and really wasn't impressed.  Now that I've played the full game, I can still say that I'm......not really too impressed with it, but it's mindless fun for a while.

 

Most people would probably call this game "Burnout with Guns", and for the most part they'd be right.  It's basically the same style of gameplay with a  few twists.  You're encouraged to drive recklessly, causing as much damage to other racers, and the enviornment, as you can.  Throughout the course of the game you unlock a fair amount of cars to use, and different colors and skins(decals) for them.  You can build up a boost bar by doing jumps or drifting around corners, and, once it's full, blaze by the competition for a brief period.

 

The biggest difference between this game and Burnout(besides the machine guns, grenade launchers, rockets and missles), is the "UnWreck" ability.  Exclusive to offline modes of play, this allows the player to rewind time, giving them a second chance at correcting a turn, avoiding hazards, or even taking out a rival.  It's done nicely, and actually becomes very useful at the later stages of Career mode where getting blown up can cost you the race.

 

I would say this game is good strictly for a rental, especially right now in the 360's lifecycle because there isn't much out there to play.  Pick it up and have some fun with it for a few days.  Earn some easy achievement points.  Take it back to the store on time(or send it back within a week via Gamefly, whichever you prefer).  In a few months, you're not even going to care about this game, or any of the other average 360 games out there.  Play it now before titles like Dead Rising or Saints Row are in stores.  I'm only playing it because I've tried most of the other titles at my job already.

 

If I had to grade this game, I'd give it a C+. 

 

Graphics: Good, but not great.  About what you'd expect from a launch title. There is some inexcusable slowdown that pops up here and there.

 

Sound: Pretty good sound effects.  The soundtrack itself is quite generic and ultimately forgettable.  You'll end up using your own soundtrack within a day, tops.

 

Controls: Default setting takes a little getting used to, but works out well.  I never felt the need to reconfigure my setup.

 

Fun Factor: This title isn't worth $60, and while there is some fun to be had, it is not a must play.  Did I mention the word "rental" yet?

 

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One phrase I've seen alot on the Xbox forums is "Sony is copying (us/them/it)!", especially after Sony's somewhat disappointing E3 showing this year.  While this phrase is justified(Poor Mario got reamed in this regard), couldn't the same be said for all gaming consoles, and for pretty much every popular developer out there today?

 

What do you think?

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For those who may not have known, Microsoft put up a demo for the new Hitman game, Hitman: Blood Money. 

 

The demo has some fun moments, although it's not anything spectacular.  While I can't say this truly takes advantage of the Xbox 360's power(while crisp and clean, the graphics are more on par with a mid-range PC game), I think the final product will at least warrant a playthrough and should be really fun for fans of the series.

 

Tonight I'm going to see a midnight showing with some friends.  I'll post a spoiler-free review sometime tommorrow or Saturday.

 

Thanks for stopping by.

Hey,

 

My name is Thomas, I'm 26, and this is my first blog entry here at MSN Spaces.  I look forward to being a part of this community as more people join and it continues to grow.

 

As you can see from my GamerCard, I'm a pretty big fan of the Xbox 360.  I will admit that I only own one game, Dead or Alive 4, but I've played quite a few.  Some titles I'm looking forward to are Dead Rising, Gears of War, Lost Planet and Saints Row.

 

The $60 price tag on 360 titles is a little high for my tastes, so I've been really picky buying games.  The only reason I've been able to play so many is because I work for a video game store.

 

I've always had sort of an unofficial policy for buying games.  I won't drop my money on them unless they're quality titles with high replay value.  If I can finish it in a few days, entirely, then I don't think it's worth the investment.

 

Dead Rising, looks like it could be a really fun game.  You're a photo journalist trapped in a mall overrun with zombies.  There will supposedly be a wealth of different decisions you can make throughout the course of the game, which will give you one of many endings.  If this is true, and the gameplay is intuitive and exciting, then at the very least this game could end up on the "must play" list.  We'll have to wait and see. 

 

Gears of War has been hyped for ages, well before the Xbox 360 first dropped.  This past E3 we finally got to see some gameplay footage, and it was awesome.  Multiplayer? Online Co-Op? My money is already down for this one......but I still want a demo soon.  Preferably online, but if it's offline I'll still play the hell out of it.

 

Lost Planet took me by surprise.  The trailer looked promising, but the demo is really something else.  Impressive visual effects backed up by solid hit detection and easy to use controls.  In the latest issue of Game Informer, Capcom states that there will be "both cooperative and competitive online modes".  Go CAPCOM.

 

Saints Row...I'm on the fence.  I've got it reserved, and it looks like it could hold some potential, but it's another one of those "GTA clones".  My main concerns after watching some gameplay footage are the aiming(looks a little off, but I can't judge it without playing the game), and controls.  The game looks good.  Not "great", but good.  Multiplayer, if done right, is what will really sell this game.  People have been screaming "Bring GTA online!" ever since Grand Theft Auto III.  If Volition makes a good game, they'll pretty much start their own franchise.

 

I've got to go, see you next time...