Full Auto: Milky Way racing
Sega's <em>Full Auto</em> is the latest drip from the Xbox 360 games trickle. Like <em>Burnout</em> with guns, the game looks pretty but is marred by floaty handling and unsatisfying combat
Call us shallow graphics whores, but once you've upgraded to Xbox 360, it's very difficult to go back to the standard-definition, low polygon world of Xbox and PS2. There's a gamut of quality releases for the older consoles this month, like Black, Shadow of the Colossus and TOCA Race Driver 3, but we just end up playing mediocre 360 games like Full Auto instead, simply because they look so pretty.
You can tell that the design meeting for Full Auto was probably based around the pitch of 'Burnout...with guns!' When pumped through Xbox 360 and its online gaming service this is a tantalising prospect, but the result could have done with more restraint. There are so many explosions and weapons flying about that it actually becomes quite tiresome to play. The floaty handling of the cars and the difficulty of hitting other cars with your weapons only adds to the frustration.
If you think of Full Auto as the Milky Way of racing games -- a light snack to consume in between proper games of Project Gotham Racing 3, then it might hold your attention, but it's hard to justify the £50 price tag. Hopefully the 360 update of Burnout: Revenge will fulfil our urge for arcade racing when it arrives in a couple of weeks' time. -GC