Pros: Nice gameplay, cool graphics
Cons: Sometimes the goals can be really tough to complete
The bottom line: This is the only kind of racing game I really like to play.
I’m not a big fan of racing games unless you can shoot or blow up the other cars, and that’s just what you do in Full Auto 2: Battlelines for the PlayStation 3. This is an ‘older’ PS3 title that can be found for cheap nowadays, and I think it’s worth checking it out if you can find it at a low price.

I think there may be some kind of story in the middle of all the action, but it’s not worth mentioning. Basically, you play a guy starting out in a racing circuit and your job is to make a name for yourself by taking on other racers. As you progress through the game, you’ll get better cars and weapons to use against your opponents, but keep in mind that your opponents will also have upgraded equipment.

Each of the tracks have certain goals you need to meet before you go onto the next one. You will have primary and secondary goals. The primary ones are required for progression, and the secondary ones allow you to unlock weapons and vehicles. Naturally, you’ll want to complete as many of the secondary ones as possible, otherwise it’ll be a lot tougher for you the further you get into the game.

Most of the goals can be broken down into one or two different categories – time trials and combat elimination. You either need to complete a race under a certain time limit, or you will need to take out either a boss or X number of opponents. Some races give bonuses for getting the first kill within a certain amount of time, and so on.

The racing part of the game is actually pretty fun, and I found the controls to work well. One thing that always annoyed by about the Gran Turismo games is how easily you could spin out of control. It still happens in this game, but not quite as often. Part of the reason why is that the environment is very interactive, meaning building windows smash when you crash into them, and sometimes you can bring a whole building down.

The combat part of this game is also pretty fun, but it can be tough. You can’t really tell how much damage a vehicle has taken until you are right up on them, so it’s tough to pick off the weaker ones. You do have a variety of cool weapons at your disposal, such as machine guns or smoke screens, plus some occasional explosive devices. I’ve found that you have to balance between racing and fighting, otherwise you’ll have trouble finishing the objectives. If you spend too much time trying to blow up the other cars, you’ll lose the race.

The graphics are pretty neat in this one, especially with how you can go off the main track to interact with the environment. You’ll also find some hidden stuff if you go crashing through some buildings. The animation is all very fast paced and it’s not uncommon to half a screen full of smoke or fire as you are racing. When you are up close to a damaged vehicle, you can see their doors or bumper hanging, and so on. Too bad you can’t really see them until they are close, though.

The sound is also pretty nice in that you get warnings when you are under attack or enemy cars are close. The main sound effects consist of your standard engine revving and brake squealing sounds, plus you get some nice explosions when you take out other cars. I don’t really remember anything about the music that stood out.

In the end, I found Full Auto 2: Battlelines to be a very fun and accessible game. It can be challenging at times, and it has a good bit of replay value since you’ll be racing through some tracks time and again to try and complete some of the tougher secondary objectives to unlock the best stuff.