So i've been kinda hyped about this game since e3 last year. it seemed to havde alot going for it. Fast forward almost a year later and we have a demo on XBL marketplace that runs like a dog in HD and Reviews and outcrys that the game is crap. My desire to drop $60 on a game that may just well suck wasnt helping either but lo and behold I decided that PDzero wasnt my cup o' tea so it got traded 
I went in expecting the absolute worse with reviews being all over the place and the demo sucking so bad but the game is actually pretty damn solid. Not A+ material but some good mayhem and destruction.
If the gameplay were a soup it would be a cross between burnout 3s takedown mode, bunkasha's wreckless, the pace of the old DC classic speed devils and the mayhem of GTA 3s "oh i'm not gonna follow missions just drive around and cause trouble" style of play. Stir all of those together and throw them on huge san francisco rush style course layouts and that pretty much what you have here. A racer with machine guns and I like it.
Back to the levels and destruction...theres much fun to be had. I liked being able to just see a whirlwind of destruction at all times. It really never stops. Some were worried about what happens when you're in first place and theres nothing left to do well for that there are destruction points. You get scored on how much crap you blow up and wreck. from careening through buildings to plowing through oncoming traffic with machine guns blazing, it all has a point value. Kinda like burnouts crash mode.
The levels themselves are pretty big. One thing that we'll see alot of with this new hardware is just flat out huge levels. Not so much the course layout being too big but the surroundings are just nice. Along with all the jumps and hidden paths and alleys and drive thru buildings the courses sport a pretty decent draw distance. Expected yes but seeing a world so big that can all be blown up pretty much is cool.
Something else borrowed from burnout or maybe even ridge racers would be your boost meter which fills by drifting and catching good air. Believe me you'll need boost. sometimes when you're up fighting to get to first the only way to see through thr chaos is to make your way out of it. Hell even in first you feel like you are being pursued ala GTA 4 star mode. boosting helps with evasion.
Graphically Full auto again ain't too shabby. Definately a step up from the demo. The cars vary from classic dick tracy style low riders to SUVs to luxury style limos and lexus look alikes all with reflective surfaces and chrome trim. Very nice looking. Even most of the drone cars look pretty nice. The textures around the city are also a step above the last gen and again theres just so much on the screen. from buildings that can be smashed thru to smoke and glass just flying all over the place its all good. As far as slowdown goes again, its nowhere as bad as the demo. pretty stable 60fps. When it does get bad it seems level specific. I dont believe the canyon level runs all that stable but it may be because of the HDR lighting beaming all over the place but thats no excuse.
The only time the framerate has gotten really bad so far is when I happened to pick off a rival waaaaaaaaaaay far ahead and the camera zoomed through the destruction to show off the kill but that replay feature CAN be turned off to minimize the chop. The game looks and runs well both in SD and HD with its quirks here and there but its nowhere near unplayable or as bad as the demo.
The sound is great. shattering glass, explosions, machine guns all good. The music is your standard detruction techno/rock. nothing to write home about but does its job.
Overall I'd say if you enjoy mindless destruction i'd pick it up. Worth $60? Eh. No 360 game has been worth 60 yet IMO but frys will have it for $44 tomorrow and if you have a game you arent doing anything with lying around then do yourself a favor and pick up full auto. Funny thing is i havent even touched live yet and i already know it'll be a blast with LIVE. Just imagine a cross between rush and burnout over live and that has to be something good. I sound have LIVE impressions within the next day or so and will update. Solid title. high 7, low 8 before hitting LIVE.
I went in expecting the absolute worse with reviews being all over the place and the demo sucking so bad but the game is actually pretty damn solid. Not A+ material but some good mayhem and destruction.
If the gameplay were a soup it would be a cross between burnout 3s takedown mode, bunkasha's wreckless, the pace of the old DC classic speed devils and the mayhem of GTA 3s "oh i'm not gonna follow missions just drive around and cause trouble" style of play. Stir all of those together and throw them on huge san francisco rush style course layouts and that pretty much what you have here. A racer with machine guns and I like it.
Back to the levels and destruction...theres much fun to be had. I liked being able to just see a whirlwind of destruction at all times. It really never stops. Some were worried about what happens when you're in first place and theres nothing left to do well for that there are destruction points. You get scored on how much crap you blow up and wreck. from careening through buildings to plowing through oncoming traffic with machine guns blazing, it all has a point value. Kinda like burnouts crash mode.
The levels themselves are pretty big. One thing that we'll see alot of with this new hardware is just flat out huge levels. Not so much the course layout being too big but the surroundings are just nice. Along with all the jumps and hidden paths and alleys and drive thru buildings the courses sport a pretty decent draw distance. Expected yes but seeing a world so big that can all be blown up pretty much is cool.
Something else borrowed from burnout or maybe even ridge racers would be your boost meter which fills by drifting and catching good air. Believe me you'll need boost. sometimes when you're up fighting to get to first the only way to see through thr chaos is to make your way out of it. Hell even in first you feel like you are being pursued ala GTA 4 star mode. boosting helps with evasion.
Graphically Full auto again ain't too shabby. Definately a step up from the demo. The cars vary from classic dick tracy style low riders to SUVs to luxury style limos and lexus look alikes all with reflective surfaces and chrome trim. Very nice looking. Even most of the drone cars look pretty nice. The textures around the city are also a step above the last gen and again theres just so much on the screen. from buildings that can be smashed thru to smoke and glass just flying all over the place its all good. As far as slowdown goes again, its nowhere as bad as the demo. pretty stable 60fps. When it does get bad it seems level specific. I dont believe the canyon level runs all that stable but it may be because of the HDR lighting beaming all over the place but thats no excuse.
The only time the framerate has gotten really bad so far is when I happened to pick off a rival waaaaaaaaaaay far ahead and the camera zoomed through the destruction to show off the kill but that replay feature CAN be turned off to minimize the chop. The game looks and runs well both in SD and HD with its quirks here and there but its nowhere near unplayable or as bad as the demo.
The sound is great. shattering glass, explosions, machine guns all good. The music is your standard detruction techno/rock. nothing to write home about but does its job.
Overall I'd say if you enjoy mindless destruction i'd pick it up. Worth $60? Eh. No 360 game has been worth 60 yet IMO but frys will have it for $44 tomorrow and if you have a game you arent doing anything with lying around then do yourself a favor and pick up full auto. Funny thing is i havent even touched live yet and i already know it'll be a blast with LIVE. Just imagine a cross between rush and burnout over live and that has to be something good. I sound have LIVE impressions within the next day or so and will update. Solid title. high 7, low 8 before hitting LIVE.
