March 27, 2007 - The most fulfilling sight to see in a video game is something plain old getting wrecked. Most gamers love to kick the bologna out of another vehicle, making it explode into a billion pieces. Just like Oscar Mayer Weiner, everyone’s in love with eye-drying speed too. I’m proud to report that Battlelines will satisfy both of those cravings, but don’t count on any condiments.

Full Auto has pinned itself as a big competitor in the “death racer” genre against series such as Burnout, ranging back to Twisted Metal and many others. Releasing the first to the series less than a year ago on the 360, Full Auto offered up a mix of super high-speed racing and destruction. Suffering from a few performance issues, and being somewhat un-original, brought the game’s scores down across the board. Full Auto lacked a battle mode where players could simply tear each other a new one in head to head combat. But the biggest issue was in fact its unoriginality, failing to bring something new to the table. So while it definitely entertained, Full Auto as a series still had quite some room to grow.

To make it clear as day, Full Auto 2: Full Auto 2 did not grow all that much. It strives to innovate upon the original, but there are parts that shine. First of all, it runs like a dream on the PS3, though it still can slow down when tearing down builds of multiple cars as you pile through some barrels, spraying automatic shells at two other cars. Most of the time, it’s as smooth as the Fonz, filling the screen with countless pieces of, well everything. Shredding through cars, buildings, signs, bridges, and countless pipes, boxes, and barrels will and have little effect on the frame rate, thus making it a fast paced race, which is just dandy.

Full Auto 2 switches it’s modes up quite a bit, offering arcade, multiplayer, online and career, each having its own bit of added content. Career mode opens up so players have a choice between multiple missions. The objectives mean little, so plan on doing the same number of events as in the original Full Auto. These events range from escort runs, straightforward races, rival challenges, and time trials. There are also tracks that call for protection of teammates in any of the mentioned event types, but most simply offer a series of primary and secondary objectives, which puts a bit of variability into the gameplay. These can range from taking out specific rival vehicles, killing a specific number of average enemies, taking out ammo supply depot’s, completing the event without dying, or completing the event under a certain time limit.

A computer-based authority figure called S.A.G.E. is who you’ll be guided by throughout the career. This female voiced computer has brought you in because the world needs riddance from the evil gang running amuck in the streets. The gang cannot be stopped by the fuzz, so of course it's all up to you to take ‘em all out. In the end, the thin story that is present doesn't spike any interest, and will never add to the game. The career mode is menu-driven, and takes you from one set of events to the next.

Unfortunately, the gameplay is what hasn’t changed much, only adding a couple of features to make it prevail over its predecessor. The biggest change is the much needed arena-style combat, not making much sense to be excluded from the first game, especially when that game features hood-mounted rockets. These combat arenas do show themselves as missions in the career mode, but you can launch the multiplayer mode found in the start menu at any time. Offering up six arenas, most succeed in good layout, including power-up placement. Take the madness to a large industrial complex, destroyed urban area, or even a shipyard with your friends, and have the most fun Full Auto 2 will probably offer. Arena battles in Full Auto 2 really bring a next-gen Twisted Metal kind of feel. The large amounts of exploding vehicles and flaming frames, flying shells and loud smacking side swipes will tickle you pink, that’s for sure. The aforesaid power-ups are scattered about the arena, allowing for a limited time the use of awesome enhancements like unlimited firepower (reload time = 0), ammo, napalm, and instant repair. The items show up on your radar when you’re close enough, and picking them up can really make or break you. Thus, the pick-ups really add strategy to the whole ordeal.