Full Auto 2: Battlelines for the PlayStation 3

This game follows the basic racing game format where you compete in races and must win in first, second, or third place to move on. As you go through the races, you will unlock weapons, vehicles, and maps that let you go further into the game. Before each race, you will have primary and secondary goals clearly stated for you. The primary ones are mandatory, but the secondary ones are not. I highly recommend that you complete in as many of the secondary ones as possible before you move on too far, because those secondary goals unlock a lot of the really good weapons that you'll need.

The goals are basically the same for each set of tracks in that you either need to win a race, take out a certain opponent, or beat some kind of time limit. I found many of them to be crazy difficult, and I had to go through the same races over and over before I could beat them. However, I will admit that I've never been all that great at racing games, so maybe it's just me.

I was impressed by how well the vehicles handled in the racing part of the game. I hate it in racing games when your car always wants to spin out of control and go in the opposite direction, which was a constant problem for me in the Gran Turismo series. In this game, I found the controls to be just the right combination of realism and arcade fun.

The combat portion of the game is fun, but also pretty difficult since it plays out like a WWII plane dog fight. You have to be pretty close to your target to hit them, and it takes a lot of damage to put out an enemy racer. It helps to combine weapon damage with vehicle damage if you need to take them out quickly. It can be tough to try and fight opponents while also trying to beat them in a race.

This game supports 1080p HDTV graphics, which is an added plus. I played it on a 47" Philips HDTV in 1080p using an HDMI cable, and it did look good. The racing tracks are all filled with debris and other obstructions that you can smash through, plus you'll find a few little hidden areas which often contains bonuses. All that added stuff on the track helps to make this game stand out beyond your run of the mill racing games where you just drive around boring tracks. The sound is also well done with a metal type soundtrack and lots of roaring engines and weapon sound effects.

Although I did enjoy playing Full Auto 2: Battlelines, I have to say it is an overly difficult game that frustrated me just as much as it challenged me. Even so, it's still better than your average racing game, and worth checking out.