Flashback – SNES
Flashback is a side-scrolling adventure game, Basically all of the backgrounds were detailed still images and you moved along climbing jumping sneaking one image to the next, the character was very small on the screen but the animation was buttery smooth, they also had what were some of the earliest cut scenes, they made what looked like 3D models (unheard of for the time) by simply moving around sprites in a really smart way. Later they re-released it on Sega CD with “improved” graphics and completely re-done cut scenes. The background graphics were better but I think the re-done cut-scenes added the early FMV graininess for only slightly better detail and the game lost a whole lot of it’s charm.

It really pushed the envelope graphically for it’s time and it was one of the first games where I experienced somewhat of a cinematic experience on a console. Despite it’s age the graphics are solid enough and the plot is interesting enough that this game is still very enjoyable to play today even beyond reasons of nostalgia, it’s just a good game. If you’re interested in playing it I recommend checking out the multi-platform port REminiscence.

Hard Drivin’ – Arcade
Released at the early beginnings of the 3D era it was the first arcade racer to feature true 3D graphics… and they were horrible. Cars consisted of about 10 polygons and you were lucky if there were any textures. Even still, playing Hard Drivin’ in the arcade today is still the most realistic driving experience I have ever had in an arcade (yes even better then F355 Challenge), it used a real clutch and the had weights in the back to provide force feedback on steering wheel. A real gated shifter (as opposed to the up down crap they have today). They even made you turn a key to start your car before you could drive. The game stands as a testament to gameplay over graphics. The fact that even with all the great racing games we have today I can still put some quarters in Hard Drivin’ and get a realistic enjoyable experience means something. What made the game even more fun was the fact that in addition to the realistic physics and gameplay they featured a stunt course with jumps, banked corners and even a loop, things you’d probably never want to try in a real car, and definitely not offered in any of todays simulators.

They made a sequel to this called Race Drivin’ but it wasn’t as good, they also made a similar game for PC called STUNT which was interesting but obviously lacking in the whole simulation department. I’d love to see them make a similar game today but with modern graphics, it really wouldn’t be all the difficult to do but most arcade manufacturers just throw their games in generic cabinets instead of taking the time to tweak physics, force-feedback and controls for a genuine simulator experience.

Killer Instinct 2 – Arcade
A joint effort between Rare and Nintendo used to push their “Ultra 64″ platform. The N64 never got a good version of the game. Out of all the fighting games I’ve ever played Killer Instinct 2 is still my favorite and I still consider it to be the best. It fit a very interesting niche squarely between 2D fighters and 3D fighters. Basically the fighters were modeled in 3D then they took still images to make 2D sprites, from there they created real 3D backgrounds. Gameplay is similar to a 2D fighter but the character move around the arena like a 3D fighter… and it looks like a 3D fighter. Since the fighters were computer generated frame-rates were buttery smooth and the game was was amazing looking when compared to the first run of 3D fighters such a Virtua Fighter.

Graphics are not what really made this game great though, basically the developers looked at the other popular fighters out there, they took what worked, avoided what didn’t work and then added some features that still haven’t been matched. It took Street Fighters solid 6 button layout, special moves were similar to Street Fighter with semi-circles and charges. Then they looked at Mortal Kombat they added finishing moves called “ultimates” as well as their own sort of stage fatalities but rather then having the enemy stand there like a dope after you’d won 2 rounds you were required to perform the maneuver while the player was still alive but with their 2nd health bar in “danger”. Once an opponents life was low if they avoided attacks they could gain back a little life and take themselves out of danger, making the end of battles last a bit longer while the person hung on by a thread. It took a solid hit to finish them off rather then just toppling over when someone just lightly taps their little toe. Another cool feature was the round system. Most fighting games after you finish the round the screen blinks, the health is reset, the starting positions are reset and it’s as if the first round never happened except for that little check box next to the winner’s name. In KI2 the characters would pick themselves up off the ground dust themselves off and get ready for the next round right were they left off. In addition to that whatever health the winner had lost in the previous round STAYS LOST. So if you won but damaged half your health you started the next round with only half your health. So basically it was like one big round with a little break to recollect yourself. The only game I’ve seen use the Killer Instinct round system is Tao Feng for Xbox.

That’s not even the best part though. The combo system in KI2 to this day is the best any fighting game has ever implemented. Basically different special moves and different advanced moves (direction+button as opposed to just button) had different functions. Some were “starters” others were “linkers”, or “jugglers” and others were “finishers” There was an order to the buttons too, so if you started with LP your next move had to include either MK or SP You started with a starter, then did a basic move, then a linker, another basic move and ended with a finisher, if you knocked them up in the air you could do a juggler. You could do moves more then once per combo and having to switch up your buttons limited your options. The combo system was completely open ended, unlike the regimented “auto combos” in Mortal Kombat but it was bound by a regimented set of rules good enough that you could figure out a combo on paper, try it in the game and it would work, unlike the fairly random and sloppy combos in capcom and other fighters. In addition to that it also featured a super move that could be used as a “finisher” like a fatality but attached to a combo for the ultimate smiting. Combos could also be broken, certain special moves were dubbed “breakers” and performing the move using the same button that your opponent is using in their combo would attack them and break you out of the combo. Similar to the countering system in DOA but it was attack based instead of position based.

Considering that Rare holds the rights to the Killer Instinct franchise I really hope they bring an arcade perfect port of KI2 to the Xbox Live arcade. I also really hope they make a whole new chapter in the KI series using similar gameplay but with modern graphics, AI, and multiplayer capabilities.

Space Channel 5 part 2 – Dreamcast
I started with a list of about 50 and narrowed it down to 5… and somehow Space Channel 5 part 2 made the cut. It’s not as random as you might think. When SC5 part 1 hit the Dreamcast I was mostly uninterested. The game looked like it would be pretty stupid, J-Pop 70s disco themed with rhythm gameplay and childish graphics. At some point I got a Space Channel 5 as part of an eBay lot with a bunch of other games and decided to play it out of boredom. I was INSTANTLY HOOKED. The game basically plays like a really advanced version of Simon put to music (some have compared it to a sci-fi disco version of Parappa the Rappa). The game gives you a direction or button, then you repeat it on beat, then the game gives you 2 directions or buttons and you repeat them on beat and it builds up and up just like Simon. Sometimes they’ll change it up so they’ll give you 5 instructions then 5 different instructions.

In addition the stupid fun gameplay the graphics were pretty damn good for the time. Like many other Sega games from the Dreamcast era they used a Cell Shading derivative, so even if the game was remade today it would look mostly the same because the art style fit within the bounds of the graphics technology of the time.

The game takes place in the future as seen through the eyes of someone from the 60s and 70s. Basically you play as Ulala (pronounced: ooh-la-la) and you’re a reporter for a news channel called “Space Channel 5″ your job is to get to the bottom of an attack by aliens or are invading and forcing people to dance. You defeat the aliens and save people along the way by out dancing the aliens. Ulala is voiced and motion captured by Apollo Smile who is known as the “live action Anime girl”. She sings pop songs, does voice acting and almost always shows up at Anime conventions. The game has some Anime style to it but really not that much Apollo Smile IS Ulala though; body and soul. The game is really quite comical and it feels like it could be a side story to one of Austin Powers many adventures.

Why part 2 though? While the first game was original and really fun the 2nd game just took it to a whole new level. The story was branching, depending on how you score on one section determine the next section you go to. The graphics improved, the dancing improved, the story improved, the music improved they added another button and hidden beats which added a lot to the gameplay as well as keeping it fresh and interesting. They also added loads of hidden stuff, unlockable costumes, characters and accessories, unlockable modes, different game modes (including a VS mode), and part 2 also included many cameos by famous 80s pop singers, most notably Michael Jackson and Boy George (yes both of them really did voice and motion capture for the game).

This is one of very few games that I find myself going back and playing through again, and again. The Dreamcast version was never released in the US, but they re-released both part 1 and part 2 for the Gamecube and PS2. I’ve since purchased the PS2 version but it’s the Dreamcast one I imported from Japan that I fell in love with, I also think the Japanese voices on the Dreamcast sound much better then the GC and PS2 ports, particularly because they used cheap voices actors and poorly translated the English versions of Part 2.

Rez – Dreamcast
Rez is another music and rhythm game. Unlike other music games you don’t follow a song or set pattern the game is completely free form and you’re free to play it how you like. At it’s core Rez is an “on-rails” shooter similar to Panzer Dragoon (not surprising considering it was developed by members of the PD team) and the music will change as a results of how you play.

Graphically the game stands the test of time, similar to Space Channel 5 the art direction is such that even a modern remake would not provide any real benefit to the the graphics. Basically the elements on screen are all 3D wire-frame as you progress the wire-frames become more structurally detailed and eventually gain solid colored polygons. Similar to the graphics the music also evolves as you progress. The graphics and sound tie into the game much more deeply as concepts of evolution, self awareness, and the meaning of life become the underlying themes for the game. It’s difficult to describe but the game is truly an example of interactive art (and has won awards to that effect). Anyone who likes music games and the graphical style of games like Geometry Wars or Boom Boom Rocket will find a lot to love about Rez.

It was only ever released on the Dreamcast in Europe and Japan and later on the PS2 worldwide. I’d love to see more games like this. A re-release for the Xbox Live arcade with some new features would be a God-send, though I question if the game would fit within the 150MB limit for XBLA games.

Honorable Mentions

Tony Hawks Project 8 – Xbox 360
The Tony Hawk series is probably one of my favorite franchises. Originally I considered THPS4 to be the pinnacle of the series but with the release of THP8 I think a new championed is crowned. THP8 managed to dramatically improve on the series where it was thought that little more could be done. One major problem that kept it out of my top 5 is that the game mechanics are buggy. The foundation of the Tony Hawk series has always been it’s near flawless and smooth game mechanics, and while THP8 improved nearly every aspect of the series the one aspect that didn’t need improving actually took a hit. Even still the game is definitely worth playing and definitely a treat for new-comers to the series as well as veterans.

Sonic Spinball – Sega Genesis
I love pinball machines, though most pinball video games just don’t do it for me, the problem is they try to emulate the experience and that is something they will always fail at achieving. You simply cannot get a real arcade pinball feel from a controller and video monitor. Sonic Spinball was different though. Rather then trying to emulate an arcade experience they utilized platformer aspects from the sonic series in conjunction with the pinball gameplay. The result is a pinball game that could never exist in an arcade machine because it utilizes the aspects that make pinball fun and at the same time integrate game elements that can only be afforded to a video game platform. Basically, it wins as a video pinball game because it doesn’t pretend to be an arcade machine.

I really hope this game makes its way to the Xbox Live Arcade. If they do re-release it I think they should update the music a bit as the the old midi tunes are melodically sound but their reproduction is quite harsh on modern ears. I was happy to see it released for the Wii’s Virtual Console though.

Rockstar is probably most well known for their Grand Theft Auto series of games. A game that sells in enormous quantities with each new release and is constantly in the press over due to it’s excessive use of video game violence, sexual content, and language that would make a sailor blush. Even Rockstar’s other games are fairly “adult oriented” in terms of their content. So when the announcement dropped they would be making an exclusive Xbox 360 game it’s pretty clear what people were expecting to see. It was quite surprising when it was announced that the new game would be Table Tennis. Since then it has been rumored that the engine used for the table tennis game is the same one Rockstar plans to use for the next Grand Theft Auto game. Making a small game based around the same engine is quite a good idea because it builds familiarity with the system and the engine. Despite the game simply acting as a testing ground for their REAL next title that doesn’t mean that Rockstar just threw it together. It’s a really well put together game and just as deserving of your money as any other title.

TITLE: Rockstar Games presents Table Tennis
PUBLISHER: Rockstar Games
DEVELOPER: Rockstar San Diego
DATE RELEASED: 5/23/2006
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 2
XBOX SYSTEM LINK: no
XBOX LIVE COMPATIBLE: Yes
HDTV Support: 720p
5.1 Surround Sound: Yes
GENRE: Sports (Table Tennis)
PLATFORM: Xbox 360
ESRB: E (Everyone)
Retail Price: $39.99 USD
WEBSITE: http://www.rockstargames.com/tabletennis/

At fist glance the game looks incredibly simple. Two players with paddles standing at opposite sides of a table hitting a ball back and forth; really it’s the most advanced version of Pong ever made. It sound simple but the first game against the computer or against a human opponent online and you’ll soon find that the game isn’t as simple as it first seemed. Much like the real game of Table Tennis you must tweak various aspects of your shot to make it difficult for your opponent to return a shot. This includes adjusting the spin (english) you put on the ball, the amount of power in which you hit the ball, the location on your opponent’s side of the table where the ball will bounce, and your players position which effects the aforementioned factors, whether you hit it with a back hand or forehand, as well as help line you up for your next shot.

The left analog stick moves your character around, it’s not as restrictive as you might think. Though your character will always face the table you can take a good six to eight steps off to either side and even further when moving straight back. This gives you a whole lot of freedom to play around with the space For returning the ball you can either use the right analog stick or the ABXY buttons. Each button (or direction) corresponds to a different type of spin; topspin (A or Up), backspin (Y or Down), left-spin (X or Left), or right-spin (B or Right). holding a direction on the right stick or button will anchor your player in place and wind up the shot. The longer you hold the more powerful the shot. Once you start winding up the left stick is used to place the ball on the other side of the table. The controller’s rumble will let you feel out the edge of the table getting more intense the closer you get to the edge and going full blast if you go over (causing your shot to go OUT). This system works pretty well overall but on occasion you’ll push your direction a fraction of a second before you start winding up and make your character walk off in the complete opposite direction you intended, since you’ll often want to position yourself right and hit left. It would have been nice if they provided an option to invert the ball placement control, as that would fix the problems in these situations.

Putting spin on the ball will add small spin indicators that swirl around it, each spin is given a different color, which matches with the associated ABXY button that creates the spin. This allows you to better analyze the on coming shot. The more spin on the ball the brighter the indicators and the more obvious it is. While this isn’t vital to playing the game it’s a shame that there aren’t any options available for the colorblind (For instant Hexic HD provides an overlay with symbols in addition to colors).

In addition to the basic controls there are buttons you can push for soft shots or “focus” shots which will temporarily boost the accuracy, power, and spin on the ball. Your focus meter is built up with each successful shot and builds faster with more powerful shots. If the option is enabled it will also slow down time and zoom in on the shot, as if you’re the Neo of table tennis. You can also enter focus mode which will drain your focus meter constantly over time. If both players enter focus mode at the same time the room will darken save a spot light on the table and everything gets quiet as if the whole world has been blocked out. It’s a really cool effect and really makes the game more intense.

Graphically the game is awesome, the animations are smooth and natural, everything is fully detailed and photographic from scuff marks on the paddles to a fully animated stadium audience that reacts appropriately to the game. Little details like clothing that moves and sways like real fabric or a net that ripples realistically when hit by the ball, even characters with flowing hair will have it bounce and wave like you’d expect (much more realistic then the blocky hair in Dead or Alive 4)

Much like the gameplay and graphics the sound in this game is fantastic as well. Sneakers squeak on the floor, paddles make a satisfying and non-repetitive percussive sound when met with the ball. Characters grunt and shout things in their native tongues. Even the audience sounds incredibly realistic. A silent room waiting for a serve one or two individual people will shout out encouragement to a specific player. When a good shot is made the crowd will cheer and when it gets down to the wire they’ll stamp their feet or chant. All of this become that much more exciting with the eerily accurate echos in 5.1 surround, if you closed your eyes you’d swear you were in an actual stadium. Most of the game doesn’t have music but if you begin to have a good rally (number of consecutive hits back and forth) the music will kick in and add to the intensity. It’s done very well.

While the characters may not be based on real life people they certainly feel like they were at least inspired by them. Each character hails from a different country and has unique stats that can dramatically change how they play. Jesper from Sweden is the largest character, he has fantastic reach and the most power, but most of his other abilities such as speed, spin, serve, accuracy, etc. are lacking. Kumi on the other hand hails from Japan and has low power but excellent spin abilities, also being one of the shorter players her reach isn’t as good so she needs to move around a lot more then Jesper does. A lot of the players do fit into the stereotypes of their native countrymen but regardless the players available range dramatically in stats and it makes for a very interesting game. Some characters play into other’s weaknesses, others are evenly matched. Some characters will cater more to your personal play style then others. The character you choose in this game is just about as important as picking the right character in a fighting game. Also each character has a distinct personality and quirks. Liu Ping from China remains completely stone faced at all time and will sometimes fan his face with the paddle if he misses a shot. Hailey from the US is very animated rocking back and rolling her eyes in disappointment, letting out an exasperated “oh man!” when she misses a shot and shouting in excitement when she scores a point. It’s often quite funny to see these characters take a game of table tennis so seriously but it also gives them a personality that gives them more of a human feel then graphics and sound alone.

As far as Replay value goes, for such a simple game it’s bursting with longevity. Playing offline you have tournaments you can enter at 4 different difficulty levels as well as the ability to play exhibition games against the computer or against another human opponent on the same console. There are lots of things to unlock here too each character starts with 2 outfits with 4 more you can unlock by accomplishing particular tasks within a game. Like winning a game by making your opponent hit the net or rallying for over 40 hits. Each character also has a “recreational” arena in their homeland that you can unlock through accomplishing a particular task. Locations like a gym, a basement or a warehouse. A number of characters need to be unlocked as well. This can be accomplished by winning tournaments against the computer at certain difficulties or within certain time limits or simply by winning against the computer X amount of times. There are loads of offline achievements for collecting all the costumes, characters, and locations as well as for winning tournaments at different difficulties or winning tournaments with every character, even an achievement for playing offline for over 10 hours.

Online play as just as many options and challenges as offline play. There’s a ranked mode, and unranked mode, spectator mode, and just like offline each game is customizable in terms of number of rounds, points per serve, game points, match points etc. Achievements are well dispersed here as well with points dispersed for winning your first match, winning X matches in ranked mode, winning so many tournaments, watching a game, playing for 10 hours online, even an achievement for earning the highest TrueRank possible. Gamerscore whores beware this game can be very difficult to earn points in. Which is bad for players just looking for quick points but fantastic for those of us who’d like a game to be really fun and challenging for a long long time. Like Geometry Was you’ll either love this title or hate it but if you find love you’ll be addicted and find it hard to put down. The $40 price tag makes it all that much more appealing.

On a whole Rockstar Games presents Table Tennis is a fantastic. Its a very new take on one of the oldest genres in video game history. Graphics, sound, gameplay, and soul make it a true winner on every front. Oodles of replay value in this fun game coupled with the very reasonable $40 price tag make it definite buy. If Rockstar puts half the heart and detail into their next titles as they did into this title then we have a very exciting next generation to look forward to.

Overall I give Rockstar Games presents Table Tennis a 9.5 out of 10

The X-men movies have been doing well in the theaters and on DVD over the past few years. With the release of the third and final film into theaters comes the first video game based around the X-men movie franchise. While the game uses characters and locations from the films, as well as video game likenesses of the real life actors, the plot line is completely different. The game carries an alternate storyline that in some ways fits between the second and third films and in other ways replaces all three. Without giving anything away I’ll say that while the story’s ending provides closure they throw a small blurb in at the end with a “to be continued…” it’s unclear if the “continued” portion will be a second game based in the movie’s universe or if it was simply alluding to the third film. Despite the game’s logo being identical to that of the X-men 3 film the game doesn’t actually have 3 in the title; it’s simply “X-Men: The Official Game”. Similarly if you’re hoping this is a third X-Men Legends game you’re out of luck, this title has nothing to do with the X-Men Legends series.

TITLE: X-Men: The Official Game
PUBLISHER: Activision, Inc.
DEVELOPER: Z-Axis
DATE RELEASED: 5/17/2006
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 1
XBOX SYSTEM LINK: no
XBOX LIVE COMPATIBLE: no
HDTV Support: 720p
5.1 Surround Sound: Yes
GENRE: Action
PLATFORM: Xbox 360, Xbox, PC, PS2, Gamecube, GBA, NDS
ESRB: T (Teen): Language, Violence
Retail Price: $59.99 USD
WEBSITE: http://www.x-mengame.com/

X-men mostly plays like your run of the mill beat-em-up; though, it does have a few twists, thankfully. The game is essentially split up into 3 types of levels each type dedicated to one of 3 X-men characters; Wolverine, Nightcrawler, and The Iceman. Wolverine’s levels are straight forward; run around and mash on the X and Y buttons to beat people up, there are blocking and dodging maneuvers too but they’re pretty useless unless you’re fighting a difficult boss or re-playing the game on the “Superhero” (Hard) difficulty. I was pleased to see that Wolverine could heal, but apparently the developers thought it was such a handy game device they gave the other characters the ability to heal as well. Nightcrawler’s levels are more interesting with the ability to teleport, While the goals of Wolverine’s levels are typically “kill everyone and move forward” Nightcrawler’s levels have a good mix of brawling, and sneaking, they’re also the only levels that require you to use any real strategy (though not much). The Iceman’s levels all have him surfing on his own ice-shoot and he has the ability to shoot an “Ice Beam” (sort of a blue laser) and an “Ice Blast” (blue rockets). He can also block using an “Ice Shield” but much like Wolverines blocking and dodging maneuvers it’s pretty useless with the exception of two levels when played on the Superhero difficulty. Given the Iceman’s skill set in the game his levels, rather then play like a run of the mill brawler, play like a run of the mill shooter. For his levels you either fly around in circles shooting things, or you have a time limit to fly through a tunnel avoiding obstacles. Sometimes they’ll be tricky and give you a time limit to fly around in circles shooting things. Storm also makes a cameo in a couple of levels providing a “kill everything on the screen” lightning bolt that you can use to help you out. While each character uses a different control setup (each with their own options for tweaking the controller) the controls are pretty straight-forward with only one or two moves that might trip you up.

The first three levels of the game are of course training missions to get you acclimated with the different control styles for the different characters. After that you move on to the generic “meat” of the game. Each character also has at least one boss battle at some point. Once you’re through the training levels you’ll start to have choices. The plot driving ‘tween level cut-scenes will have the X-men splitting up to perform different tasks as the player you’ll have the choice of playing through which ever path you like. I thought this was a great idea when I first saw it but unfortunately seeing as the game is so short they make you play through every possible path before moving on to the next section of the story. Even if it would have shortened the game further it would have been nice if it were setup like a “choose your own adventure” book, encouraging you to play through multiple times to see how the different paths turned out.

The cut-scenes are the only things that move the plot forward, you don’t uncover anything or make any advances while the user is in control. Also rather then use movie clips the cut scenes play like an animated comic book with the likenesses of the movie’s actors shown in still frames with the occasional light animation. I’m not sure how I feel about them. Sometimes they’re perfectly suiting for the game, other times they feel incredibly cheap and corny.

Graphically on the Xbox 360 the game feels like it could have easily been made on the Xbox 1 with the exception of the occasional high resolution texture or particle effect. Dare I say it’s one of the worst looking games on the console so far. that’s not to say it looks BAD just that it’s not nearly at the level it could or should have been. Especially for the extra $10 they charge over the-last gen versions. Overall the game looks dull and drab. Most of the textures are fairly muddy for an Xbox 360 game and most of the surfaces look the same. By comparison the cut-scenes are often bright and vibrant (like a comic book) which make the actual game graphics feel that much more lifeless. They didn’t seem to make use of any modern graphical effects and the polygon count is incredibly low; that is to say getting near just about any object in the game you could easily pause the game and count the polygons. The character models are a little better then the scenery but not by much. On the Xbox 1 this is forgivable because some of the levels are fairly large so low poly models would be somewhat acceptable but with games like Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, or Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter on the Xbox 360; games with such expansive yet still highly detailed graphics, X-men comes off as being graphically apathetic by comparison. Even some of the menus look low res. when you first boot the game before displaying the main menu there’s a graphic of the circular door to Cerebro sliding open and it looks like a low-res highly compressed jpeg… it made me cringe whenever I put the disc in.

The Audio is about as generic as the rest of the game. Sound effects are pretty standard occasionally getting repetitive (but only because the game has you repeating the same action over and over again). Most of the voices sound like they were done by the movie’s original actor or a very close facsimile. Occasionally during gameplay the character will say something that you might expect that character to say. The music is better then the sounds in the game providing the same type of epic orchestra backdrop, theme-music, you might recall from the movies. It easily sticks out more then the other audio aspects of the game but at the same time it does get a bit overused and can drill into your head if you’ve been playing for a few hours.

As far as replay value goes X-men does provide some but nothing too substantial. Each level has six hidden artifacts. Five “Sentinel Tech” pieces and one “Weapon-X File” collecting these artifacts is useless unless you collect all of them for a particular character’s levels. Collecting all of the Sentinel Tech or all of the Weapon-X Files for a particular character will unlock alternate costumes for the character. One alternate costume will be the characters causal close from the movie, the other alternate costume is a classic comic book style version of the character. While these make a nice addition to the game, by the time you’ve earned them you’ve already beaten the game (possibly more then once if you had to go back to collect pieces you previously missed). For the most part the pieces are just sitting out in the open and they all have audible hums that alert you to their presence for those that are hidden (similar to the Nirnroot in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion). So they shouldn’t be too difficult to collect anyway.

Another game mechanic that might encourage you to go back and play are the Mutation Upgrades each level provides you a number of genes you can place in the characters DNA to improve their health bar, attack damage, special abilities, etc. The number of upgrades a level provides can range from nothing to four and often will give you more for completing the level at a higher difficulty level. Most levels will provide one upgrade for Novice (easy) difficulty, two upgrades for the Hero (Normal) difficulty and three upgrades for the Superhero (Hard) difficulty. Playing through the game at the Superhero difficulty from the start can be overwhelmingly difficult but playing through it most of the way on Hero and going back and replaying at the Superhero level (after you’ve got a good number of upgrades) is unbelievably easy. I was able to go back and re-beat all of the previous levels in a little over 2 hours on the Superhero difficulty. The real question is: Why would you bother? Aside from doing it just to see the 100% text on top of every level Xbox 360 owners will be rewarded (handsomely) with GamerPoints for collecting all of the Mutant Upgrades. Owners of the last-gen version of this game would only have the motivation of doing it “for fun”.

Three Achievements are awarded for finishing each of the three training levels (a whopping ZERO points). Three Achievements are awarded for finishing each of the three acts. Three more for Collecting all the sentinel tech, three more for all the weapon X files, and three more for collecting all of the mutant upgrades (over half of the points are earned here). And one last achievement that you earn by completing all of the other achievements (creative huh). For the Gamerscore-whores out there the game gives next to nothing for achievements until the end of the game (so long as you collected all the stuff) and you wont even get half of the points until you re-beat most of the levels on the highest difficulty. Even still if you’re a decent player you can 100% this game in a weekend.

When it comes down to it the game is terribly generic, standard fair gameplay, drab last-gen graphics, with a few elements throw in the mix to help keep it interesting but not nearly enough to save it from homogeneity. If you’re a fan of mindless beat-em-ups, a die-hard X-Men fan, or a gamerscore whore you might enjoy this game for a rental. It does provide some beat-em-up button mashing action that’s hard to find these days, but it also reminds us WHY it’s hard to find. Die-hard X-Men fans might be interested in seeing the alternate story line, and gamerscore whores might find themselves 1000 points richer after a marathon weekend session.

Overall I give X-Men a 6.0 out of 10

Tomb Raider has easily been one of the most well known franchises in video games, ever since the first Tomb Raider game was released in November of 1996. Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Legend marks the seventh release of the series in 10 years.

TITLE: Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Legend
PUBLISHER: Eidos Interactive
DEVELOPER: Crystal Dynamics
DATE RELEASED: April 11, 2006
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 1
XBOX SYSTEM LINK: no
XBOX LIVE COMPATIBLE: Aware
HDTV Support: 1080i
5.1 Surround Sound: Yes
GENRE: Action
PLATFORM: Xbox 360, Xbox, PC, PS2, PSP
ESRB: T (Teen):Blood, Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
Retail Price: $59.99 USD
WEBSITE: http://www.tombraider.com/

It’s important to note that the first four releases of the series all came within a year of each other and were all released for the Playstation and PC. Because of this many felt that the series lost it’s flair after the first two games. The first Tomb Raider was hailed for it’s originality Tomb Raider II was hailed for improving on the first title in nearly every aspect: gameplay, graphics, sound, level design, the addition of vehicles etc. After Tomb Raider III and later, Tomb Raider Revelation, and Tomb Raider Chronicles (the fourth and fifth games in the series respectively) were met with far less excitement. Graphically they were the same game, and gameplay elements remained unchanged. Despite the game having received annual “updates” for it’s first 5 years 2001 marked the first year there was NOT a Tomb Raider release. The franchise however took form as a successful major motion picture. The Picture spawned a sequel that was released in 2003 just day’s after the sixth game in the Tomb Raider series, Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness, was release on the PS2 and PC after three years of hibernation. Angel of Darkness was supposedly the most ambitious game in the series yet it was to receive substantial graphical updates and it was hoped that it would revive the series. Unfortunately, despite many delays and the substantial gap in time between releases it was ultimately considered the biggest let-down of the series. The game was found to have many bugs on different systems, basic controls were drastically changed. Despite the solid plot concept what ended up in the game was full of holes that only confused the player. Most disappointing however were the uninspired levels taking place in urban environments as opposed to tombs or ruins as well as the absence of Lara’s trademark pistols. The game did so poorly in fact that Paramount blamed it for the lackluster turnout for the second Movie.

Up to this point every game in the Tomb Raider series had been developed by Core Design. For the seventh addition Eidos Interactive gave the project to Crystal Dynamics for development. Despite the change in development teams Toby Garb had returned to act as adviser. Garb, who is credited as the creator of Lara Croft, had left Core Design after the creation of the first Tomb Raider game. While he was acting only as an adviser his role was important in that they’d hoped he would be able to help “reset” the series back to what made the first game so very popular. Riley Cooper lead the design team responsible for this game, the same group responsible for The Legacy Of Kain series. So the question now is, was Crystal Dynamics able to revive the Tomb Raider series back to it’s original glory?

You might have noticed that the name of the game isn’t just “Tomb Raider” as past titles were called; the game has received a slight name change to “Lara Croft Tomb Raider” this falls in line with the movie spin-off of the same base name. While the movie and the game arn’t entirely related the name change is important. It implies that the game will hold more importance on Lara herself and this is true. The game’s plot has a far more personal touch and exploits a major part of Lara’s back story that was created for her bio in the first Tomb Raider game. The game kicks off in a flashback with Lara as a child. She witnesses her mother getting pulled into a portal of some kind just before it collapses. It’s clear that this event was a driving force that shaped Lara into who she is today. The game follows Lara as she attempts to uncover the mystery behind key used to trigger the portal that killed her mother. This takes her all around the world to a number of interesting places. The plot develops as a very good pace and throughout the game you learn more about Lara’s history as well as the the mysterious key she is attempting to uncover. The story is even related to another well known legend (hence the title) which I felt gave it a nice touch. While there are those who have been disappointed by the ending I personally felt it was appropriate and it provided closure to the game as opposed to leaving you with a cliff-hanger. This leaves the game open to an entirely fresh and new adventure with it’s next rendition as opposed to dragging out the same story arc.

TRL includes seven levels across seven different locations. Each location takes about an hour to complete and includes at least one boss battle or major gun fight, and at least one major puzzle to solve. The rest of the game includes a good balance of acrobatics (reminiscent of Prince of Persia: Sands of Time), gun fighting, and problem solving. It’s really executed quite nicely. You’ll encounter Puzzles that include a mix of thinking about how a puzzle will work as well as thinking about how you need to run, swing, crawl, push, jump, and climb through the area. At no point did I think the puzzles were overly difficult nor overly simple and they seemed to all make good use of the various tools available. In addition to the seven main levels there is also a final boss battle level that takes place in the same location as the first level (bringing the story full circle), as well as a bonus level that you can explore, Croft Manor.

While the level designs include interesting puzzles and well thought out acrobatic arrangements the game is incredibly linear. Very rarely will the player not know where to go next. while you might get stuck in a room and have to think critically about how to use your skills to climb the walls, you’ll almost always know that you’re supposed to progress UP. I suppose it’s difficult to make an open ended game with such a ridged plot structure, perhaps this could be something they work out in the next game. Even still linear progression has it’s merits as it allows for more movie like plot development and ensures that the game plays as the designers intended. One nice thing though is that you typically go through a level, get what you were looking for and go back out the way you came facing each area from a different perspective. I thought this was a nice true to life touch as rarely would you exit ancient ruins from a different location then where you entered.

Despite the relatively short game in terms of how long it will take your first time through There are a number of things that have been added to increase the game’s replay value. In addition to simply pushing the plot forward and progressing through the levels there are a number of artifacts for you to find. Each level includes one Gold artifact, a small number of Silver artifacts and a larger number of Bronze artifacts. Most of the Bronze artifacts hide in plain site. Though they are often skillfully placed in such a way that they will come into view when you are no where near them but once you are up close you wont notice them unless you’re looking for it explicitly. Silver artifacts are hidden a little better, often requiring you to explore slightly off the beaten path or to find slightly hidden passageways. The gold reward in each level is usually hidden quite elaborately and requires the player to question certain obstacles and really dig and explore all the nuances of the levels. While the Croft Manor level doesn’t have any sort of structure or plot related to the main game it has a number of these hidden artifacts (more then any of the other levels). In addition to the artifacts you also must find all of Lara’s equipment throughout the manor, this means certain puzzles cannot be solved until a particular/necessary article of equipment is found which adds an interesting element to the bonus level.

Another feature that adds a substantial amount of replay value is Time Trial mode. Once a level has been completed a new “Time Trial” difficulty is opened up. This difficulty setting will add a countdown timer and requires you to complete the level before the timer reaches Zero. While the linear level design and overall short game might be negative things in general, a time trial mode of this nature might not work as well otherwise. If you’re familiar with the level design and comfortable with the controls you could easily blaze through the entire game in under 2 hours. Levels that might have taken about hour to complete the first time through only give you an average of 20 minutes to complete in time trial mode. Playing through all the levels in this mode myself I was pleasantly surprised how well each of the levels worked for varying gameplay types. On the one hand they offered elaborate puzzles and a complex series of poles and cracks for you to swing and climb on, on the other hand the levels are laid out so that if you know where you’re going you can flow through each of them in one smooth motion that will help you net your best time possible. Areas that you used for for cover to strategically take out enemies the first time now serve as cover to help you simply run by them without getting hit.

Artifacts and short level times don’t just provide replay value and self satisfaction though. Xbox 360 owners will be rewarded with Achievement points for uncovering a certain number of artifacts, as well as completing each of the levels in time trail mode. Both are far easier said then done. Also by completing these tasks you’ll unlock lots of bonus material such as concept art, object models, gun upgrades, cheat codes, character bios, even new outfits that Lara can wear while replaying the game or just while having fun just scaling the walls of Croft Manor. This is similar to the rewards provided by Condemned: Criminal Origins for finding birds, metal pieces and propaganda reports. I think its a fantastic reward system because none of the bonus items are critical to the game but they’re all things that true fans would enjoy unlocking and using. Not to mention it gives that same group an excuse to give the game another play through.

Not only are the levels creatively designed but they’re also drop dead gorgeous. It’s no surprise that the game’s tag-line is “Seeing is Believing”. And it’s not just hype you really truly need to see the game in action to fully appreciate how good it looks. I played through on the Xbox 360 version I would imagine the other versions of the game have their graphics tuned accordingly. I can easily say that the 360 version really shows off a lot of the console’s power, the gameplay is smooth, I never saw it drop in frame rate or frame tear. They made good use of Anti-Aliasing providing crisp jaggy-free graphics. Shadowing, particle effects etc. are all done well. This is particularly impressive considering the game is a cross-platform release, since most cross-platform releases come up short in the graphics department. The most impressive however is the animation. All of the movements are fluid and natural looking; one move flows well into the next. Even small details like if you grab onto a bar slightly askew she’ll swing around off balance and naturally correct herself. Details like that make the overall look and feel of the graphics really impressive. It’s the kind of thing lost on a screen shot that can make or break a game graphically and TRL passes with flying colors.

All of the games plot developing cut-scenes are rendered with the in-game engine And they look as good as you’d expect from something pre-rendered. Quite frequently I’d be watching a cut scene and then Lara would stop moving and talking. I’d question if the game froze only to realize that the cut-scene had ended and the game had returned control to me. The transition from gameplay to cut-scene is completely fluid and really helps the game move a long at a good pace. the fact that it uses the in-game engine to create the cut-scenes not only attests to the quality of the actual game environments and character models but it allows for small details that really help pull the game together and keep the player right in the game world. If you enter an area that triggers a cut scene the computer simply takes over your character right where they are. The steps don’t miss a beat, if you have an uncommon weapon equipped that weapon will stay in her hands. Even if you left her flashlight on it will remain on. This detail really brought a smile to my face, I can’t tell you how many times other games have pulled me out of the game experience when I had some alternate weapon equipped or was wearing a alternate costume, but once the cut-scene started my character was magically in the default outfit with the crappy weapon I started the game with. Seeing that has the same effect as watching a movie and noticing a stage hand walk by in the background, it totally pulls you out of the experience. I think it’s this attention to detail that makes TRL great.

Maybe more beautiful then the graphics is the audio. The game is cut wonderfully in 5.1 surround sound. The voice acting, though a bit corny in spots (but that’s more the fault of the script), is fantastic as are the sound effects. Footsteps and gunshots have enough variation as to not get repetitive. Noises like water splashes, tumbling rocks, or the creak of bars as you swing off of them are all very natural sounding and have accurate spatial placement. The game is even scored amazingly ranging from traditional native sounding songs to modern techno depending on the feeling trying to be portrayed. The music is done well enough that it never draws attention to itself but always sets an appropriate mood for the part of the level you’re going through.

Plot, level design, graphics, and sound are all well and good but all utterly useless unless the core gameplay and controls work well. In general the game does play really well. The controls almost always do what you’d expect them to do and very rarely do you have the excuse of blaming them when you die. That’s not to say they are without problems. The game controls almost identical to the original title on the Playstation. This even includes some of it’s faults. The controls rely heavily on which direction you’re pushing the analog stick. You need to instruct where the game should push a block or where you plan on jumping to next. Like most 3rd person games these directions change based on where the camera is. If you’re hanging from a ledge and the camera is behind you. you need to push right to jump right, but if the camera is to your left, pushing right will make you jump backwards as opposed to your right. Once or twice in the game I ended up jumping to my death simply because I disagreed with the game as to which direction I was instructing Lara to move. Or in some cases the camera would change positions at the last second, just enough to screw me up. This can also make jumping to and from ropes difficult at times. This problem is most apparent when pushing around boxes or other game objects. While these sort of things detract from the game play they are forgivable on some levels as I’ve yet to see a game that relies this heavily on directional/camera based movement that has completely nailed the controls. They did a really good job keeping the original control style while fixing a lot of it’s faults. Though the problems that still exist are mostly inherent in this type of control scheme, I still feel that they are the most natural controls you could use for this type of game.

In addition to the general running, jumping, and shooting you’re doing, the game often gives you control over cut-scene action sequences. It seems rather cheesy at first but after playing through the game a few times I felt it really added some nice breaks and changes to the gameplay. Most levels have at least one of these action sequences. Essentially a cut-scene starts and as it progresses a button icon appears on the screen that the player must push within a certain amount of time. If the wrong button is pushed or if the button is not pushed in time Lara will die and you’ll return to the last checkpoint. If the proper button is pushed within the time limit then Lara will conquer the obstacle and the cut-scene will progress further. Most of these are action sequences that in any other game the user simply wouln’t have control over at all. You know the type where you’re typically limited control wise through the whole game and then the cut-scene happens and the character does all the cool stuff that you wish you could do but can’t, then it’s back to crappy controls. Despite the simple button push operations it gives you some control over the cool stylized action cut-scenes and makes you feel like you’re still in control. I think it’s a nice way to break up some of the levels to help keep it interesting. The buttons you push arn’t random either. If you’re watching the cut scene and it looks like Lara needs to jump, most likely you’ll be pushing the Jump button.

Another change of pace added to some of the levels is the use of a motorcycle or some other vehicle. The Motorcycle portions again serve to break up the gameplay a bit. The controls here do make a lot of sense. They fit well with the rest of the game. However if you’re someone who plays a lot of racers you might get confused. In TRL the Triggers are used for targeting and shooting and the A button is used for action. So naturally when you get on the bike the triggers still shoot and the A button is used for Acceleration. Playing this game after having just finished Full Auto, which uses the A button to shoot and the right trigger for acceleration, I occasionally found myself finishing up a gun battle and slowly decelerating while shooting forward aimlessly wondering why I wasn’t speeding up and why I was still shooting. It a minor nit-pick and mostly my own fault for being TOO acclimated to a different control scheme. In all fairness the one they chose for the bike does make the most sense in fitting with the rest of the game.

TRL does fantastic in almost every aspect but it’s biggest fault, like many modern games, is it’s length. Tomb Raider fans will be pleased with and get some good use out of the hidden artifacts and time trial modes but casual gamers probably wont get much use out of those things and most likely question why they spent $60 for only 7 hours of game. While I explored every nook and cranny of the extra features I felt the game could have been a good deal longer. another 5 to 7 hours of gameplay tacked on to the main game would have been very nice to see. The level length was good but I would have rather seen 12 to 14 levels then the 7 that we got. I felt this was needed particularly because of the game’s linear nature and lack of multiplayer features. Even if you were to exhaust the extra features it still only offers up about 16 hours of gameplay.

All things considered did Crystal Dynamics succeed in reviving the Tomb Raider franchise? Regardless of my opinion the industry and consumers alike have shouted a resounding YES! Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Legend is the fastest selling Tomb Raider game to date. Not only that it has also received some of the best review scores of any Tomb Raider game since Tomb Raider II back in 1997. There is no question that this game did not succeed in it’s goal. I really hope this title stands as a new beginning to the franchise and that they can build on it from here. Even still Tomb Raider isn’t for everyone and it’s short length makes this much more of a rental rather then a buy for most gamers. Aside from that the game does very well for itself in just about every other aspect.

I give Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Legend an 8.5 out of 10

Full Auto is a new franchise from Sega, being a game based in automotive destruction it was met with great anticipation, however delays that pushed it past the Xbox 360′s launch followed by a demo that left a lot to be desired put off many of the game’s would-be fans. I myself fall into this category; however, I also had the opportunity to rent the final game and play it all the way through. While it does have some shortcomings the game is a whole lot more fun and offers far more replay value then the demo let on.

TITLE: Full Auto
PUBLISHER: Pseudo Interactive
DEVELOPER: Sega
DATE RELEASED: February 14th, 2006
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 2
XBOX SYSTEM LINK: no
XBOX LIVE COMPATIBLE: yes, 2-8
HDTV Support: 1080i
5.1 Surround Sound: Yes
GENRE: Racing/Action
PLATFORM: Xbox 360
ESRB: T (Teen): Violence
Retail Price: $59.99 USD
WEBSITE: http://www.sega.com/gamesite/fullauto/

Full Auto is a no-nonsense game. It’s very straightforward and to the point and that carries through from the interfaces to the game modes to the graphics and even the gameplay. Overall it has a very indy garage-programmer as well as a made-for-arcade feel to the whole title. I wouldn’t be terribly shocked if I had seen “insert coin” blinking somewhere on the screen. While we know this wasn’t an indy title, Sega is FAR from indy, they do however have deep roots in the arcade business and I imagine that’s where this overall game design came from. At the time of this writing I couldn’t find any information of an arcade version existing but I wouldn’t be surprised if they began popping up. Playing through this title I’m often reminded of the Battle mode offered in the console versions of San Francisco Rush 2049. Another straight and to the point automotive combat game Full Auto plays as if someone saw that mini-game and said “lets make a whole title that plays like this”.

Like many other racing games the cars are split up into various classes. “C” class cars are typically the slowest and they get progressively faster as you move up the ranks. Regardless of the rank each car has 3 aspects Durability, Handling, and Speed. And while moving up the ranks generally improves your handling and speed, durability drops significantly. “A” class cars only require two or three well placed hits to take out while “B” and “C” class cars require significantly more. There is also one car you’ll eventually earn that is in a class of it’s own with all of the stats maxed. Cars must be unlocked for multiplayer modes but if one of your human opponents has the vehicles unlocked you can use them too. In addition to unlocking cars you can also unlock different skins for those cars and different colors for the skins. Skins include various paint styles, it changes the Police Car into Mall Security Adds flame paint to the hot-rod or pin striping to the low rider etc. They obviously don’t give you any sort of gameplay benefit but it’s nice to have tangible rewards for completing the career mode challenges. None of the cars are base on real vehicles but they’re all very well designed and most could easily pass for something you’d see going down the street. Some have obvious visual cues to real life vehicles, nothing overt but enough to give the car some soul. The cars are also given names. There are enough unique characteristics that you’ll have your favorites and you rarely end up online with everyone using the same car.

Like the car selection the weapons system is simple and easy to understand. There are number of pre-determined sets of weapons. Each set has 2 weapons. In most cases you’ll have a front mount weapon and a rear mount weapon, but in some cases both weapons will be front mount. The A button will control the primary front mounted weapon. If that weapon is movable you’ll also be able to control it’s direction with the Right Analog stick, clicking it to fire. The auxiliary or rear mount weapon is always stationary and controlled by the B button. Each set is given a title like “Assault”, “Tactical” or “Mêlée”. At first I was a bit disappointed that I didn’t have full control over the weapons on my car but there are a limited number of weapons and the combinations are set to keep things balanced. Playing through you’ll get a good feel for which weapon combinations are best for a particular game type, car class, track, and user skill. There isn’t one set that’s better then the others but there is usually one or two that will work best based on the factors of the race you’re about to enter. I think this works well because it requires a level of strategy while keeping in tune with the simplistic style of the game. Even still it would be nice to allow total control over the weapons if so desired. All the essential weapon types you’d expect are covered, machine guns, mines, grenades, shotguns, missiles, canons, and smoke screens. Reading the description on Xbox.com it would seem that they had initially planed on a few others such as oil slicks but it would seem that they didn’t make it into the final game. Once you progress in career mode you’ll eventually unlock the ability to tune the weapons’ power. You have 4 total points, typically the weapons are split up 2 and 2 but if you’d rather one be more powerful then the other you can split it up 1 and 3. Again, it adds strategy to the gameplay without becoming complex.

Despite the very simplistic drive and shoot gameplay the game has a bit of depth by giving you a set of goals at the start of each race. These goals can be anything from how many competitors you take out, to how much property damage you cause, the place you finished in, or the time it took you to finish, etc. Based on how well you did in theses areas for the particular race you’ll earn one of three medals. Survivor (Bronze), Semi-Auto (Silver), or Full Auto (Gold). So even if you finish the race in 1st place you still might only earn the Survivor metal because you didn’t do enough property damage along the way. It’s not always the case, sometimes you’re just looking for 1st place or X # of cars taken out, but sometimes there are multiple goals. This adds a really nice dynamic to the gameplay and encourages you to always be conscious of the balance between the destruction aspects as well as the racing aspects of the gameplay.

The gameplay in Full Auto has some other interesting aspects to it too. Despite being just a racing game with guns it includes a unique “un-wreck” feature. The Right Bumper is the un-wreck button and essentially it allows you to rewind time. If you take a corner too wide and crash, hold the un-wreck button and try it again. If an enemy destroys you with a rocket, un-wreck and dodge it as if you had ESP (I can’t help but think Sega took the idea from their classic arcade title “Time Traveler”). While the feature seems novelty at first it allows you to take certain risks that you might otherwise try to avoid. Taking narrow shortcuts where you’d risk smashing into a wall or driving head-first into a gun battle with little health are situations one might normally avoid but with the un-wreck available you can take those risks and see how it turns out, if you pull it off GREAT!, if you screw it up, no big deal, try it again or do something different. Towards the end of Career mode you’ll make heavy use of this feature as the game challenges you to take those risks to come out on top. Similar to the ability to rewind time you also have the option of one touch instant replay. If you did something awesome and want to see it right away just a push of a button and you’ll be shown an instant replay of the action. Taking out enemies or crashing also pulls you out of your driving view for a stylized close up of the action, similar to Burnout.

Un-wreck isn’t unlimited though, at the start of the race your un-wreck is full, however once it’s depleted you’ll need to cause destruction to fill it back up, destroying buildings, opponents or various artifacts adorning the streets will help fill up your un-wreck ability sort of like some twisted theory of relativity. You also have a boost available. At the start of a race your boost meter is empty, to fill it up you need to do style based moves, e-brake drifting around corners, going off of jumps etc. will work towards filling up your boost. This also adds some interesting game play again encouraging players to take risks to help them get out ahead. If you want to keep up with the competition you need boost, if you want boost you need to take risks, if you take risks you need un-wreck and if you want un-wreck you need to destroy things.

What’s interesting is that most Automotive combat games are arena based. That is to say they’re like an FPS death-match with cars. Full Auto is exclusively track based. Everything you do is on a track with positional winners. While it’s refreshing when contrasted with similar titles like Twisted Metal it would have been nice to have some arena options available. Despite that there are a number of track styles such as circuit, point to point, and head-to-head (where half of the racers run backwards around the track) to keep things interesting.

Despite the lack of arenas there are number of game modes available including all the ones you’d expect from the main menu: Arcade, Career, Versus, Xbox Live etc. Career mode and Xbox Live are easily the most interesting modes available. My biggest disappointment was with the limited number of players in Versus mode. Only 2 players can compete locally. I would have appreciated a 4 player split screen option as that would have made this a fantastic party game (and a sure buy at the end of my rental). I can understand it’s absence however as most games take severe graphical hit when splitting the screen up, Even still Full Auto hums along at a steady 60FPS with fantastic bump mapping,particle effects, motion blur etc. Graphically the game isn’t the best looking on the console, some of the models and textures leave something to be desired, but it’s certainly superior to anything last generation consoles could have produced

Career mode offers 17 “series” each with a number of races. As with most Auto racing games you start off on an easy track with a relatively uninspiring car. In this case the car isn’t so much slow as it’s uninspiring because you don’t even have any weapons. The first series is more of a training session to get you acclimated to the game before you’re let off into the wild. You start off with just your car going around a track and they introduce the boost system, the un-wreck system, and eventually weapons. The series that follow progress you through the different car classes, starting with C and building up through B and A and eventually to the S class. The series after that could be described as custom game types. They offer particular types of challenges. Toward the end of career mode they’ll start to take away some of the features you’ve come to depend on by making you play without the ability to re-spawn (you crash or get killed, it’s over) or without the un-wreck feature etc.

The pre-determined challenges in Career mode wont hold you over very long, if you’re a decent player you’ll probably do everything there is to do there in about the 10 hours it took me. If you enjoy playing against the computer then you might find some decent replay value in Versus or Arcade modes, which will let you customize your own game types but the REAL replay value comes from Xbox Live. Xbox Live is really the crown jewel of this game. As with most games rooted in Arcade style it’s setup for highly competitive short dosage 2-8 player fun. Understandably the unique un-wreck and one touch instant replay features have been removed for online play but all of the other game elements are there. Like all of the other aspects of the game the Xbox Live portion is simple and straight forward. Unfortunately though, I think that hurts it a bit here. While the game host has a number of options to set game type, car class, number of players etc. All players (including the host) are dumped back into the Xbox Live menu after the race. So if you really enjoyed the group you were playing with you pretty much have to choose quick match and hope the host re-created the room and that is the one the search finds. All in all though the Xbox Live online play is what makes this game a keeper. Online games are fast and fun and since the game is so simplistic veterans can play with first timers and still have a good time. Also despite the achievement for different ranks they arn’t used (or at very least arn’t in view) when actually playing online. With no sort of ranking available you’ll often get a large disparity between some players. My 2nd or 3rd game online I ended up in a race with the #2 ranked player.. a few laps in I was in 2nd place and 45 second behind. I played him again later on and the races were more competitive (I even beat him a couple of times) but some form of ranking would have been nice to keep things competitive. I don’t mind loosing so long as I felt I had a chance or could maybe win if I had a 2nd chance. Most people would agree that playing isn’t fun if you’re completely and constantly annihilated by the competition. Even good players don’t always like winning so easily that it wasn’t challenging.

As with all Xbox 360 games there are a number of achievements you can earn. Most of Full Auto’s Achievements are based in Career Mode but there are a handful for you to earn through Arcade mode as well as though Online play. Career mode dishes out achievements for completing each of the series and there are additional achievements for completing all of them at Semi-Auto or Full-Auto award levels. Other achievements that can be earned through any of the offline modes are given out for achieving a certain amount of total property damage, a certain number of enemy kills, or a certain number of 1st place wins. Arcade mode has some specific achievements requiring you to defeat the computer at the highest AI setting in a number of different game types. Finally the Achievements for Xbox Live are given out for achieving various “ranks”. They’re not Leaderboard ranks so much as they’re pre-determined levels you much reach by racing so many times, killing so many opponents or achieving so many 1st place wins. I earned “Rank 1″ after my first online race and I earned the highest rank, “Rank 10″, after about 35 races. Your mileage may vary as there are a number of factors that contribute to this, I’ve seen others with over 60 races under their belt who haven’t even reached rank 8 yet. On a whole I felt the game had a good spread of achievements across the different game modes, not too easy to earn, not too hard either.

Overall Full Auto is a good fun and SOLID arcade style game. The graphics aren’t spectacular but they’re above average. The single player modes are entertaining but short lived and the Xbox Live online mode is incredible fun even with it’s short comings. I would have been nice to see 4 player splitsceen play available as well as some arena track options. Despite all this I think Full Auto is a promising start to what could be a fantastic franchise. If nothing else it’s nice to see some new franchises these days with so many re-makes an one-offs. While there are some things borrowed from other titles in here the game is certainly unique, and it’s simple enough to play that while some might find it repetitive almost anyone could pick it up and have a good time with it (especially on Xbox Live).

I give Full Auto a 7.5 out of 10