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Rumor: Full Auto dev Pseudo Interactive closes doors
Shuttering development operations is quickly becoming a fad in 2008, like jelly bracelets or POGs, with yet another studio, Full Auto dev Pseudo Interactive, closing its doors for the last time according to a report by 1UP. In addition to Sega's car combat racing series, the company was also responsible for EA's Cel Damage for the PS2, Xbox, and GameCube.The site reports that the closure, which has yet to be confirmed by the studio, comes following considerable layoffs suffered in the wake of multiple project cancellations by Eidos and parent company SCi, including an unnamed project the Toronto-based company had been developing. We have attempted to reach Pseudo Interactive for comment.
Full Auto 2 downloadable demo
Car combat game Full Auto 2 didn't get the best of reviews from critics. But hey, maybe they were wrong. You can decide for yourself by downloading this newest PSP demo from Sega.1. Download the demo zip file.2. Extract the contents of the zip file.3. Connect your PSP to your computer using a USB cable. 4. Go to the PSP/GAME folder.5. Copy NPUH90001 folder into the GAME directory. Check out our new demos site:demos.pspfanboy.com [Via PSP Demo Center; Thanks, Szs315]
Metareview: Full Auto 2
Regular PSP Fanboy reader Hashbrown Hunter commented, "It looks like Sega doesn't love the PSP enough to make a good game." At GDC, I played Full Auto 2 and noted that "Weapons don't feel damaging enough, and it simply doesn't feel like your car is taking damage." Well, looks like fears were warranted--Full Auto 2 sucks. Too bad it couldn't break away from the curse of its console counterpart. IGN (61/100) thinks the game lacks depth: "An extremely shallow career mode, unbalanced vehicles and weaponry and simplistic tasks makes this a game that only the hardest of the hardcore racing fans would want to play." GameSpy (60/100) notes that poor design choices litter the game: "All would not be lost if the level design and mission objectives worked to the game's strengths. Only, they don't." Gamespot (41/100) thinks the game fails on almost every level: "One of the things that Full Auto got right on consoles was its explosions, and this version has none of that, either." Looks like this franchise has crashed and burned. Let's hope that future PSP games from Sega actually show us some real love.
GDC 07: Full Auto 2 impressions
Full Auto 2 was available for play on the PSP, and it gave me some mixed feelings. The graphics are decent at times, featuring an incredible sense of speed and an incredible amount of destruction. However, collisions can feel awkward, as nothing seems to have any weight: the lack of physics is disappointing to say the least. The car models look decent, but there is no apparent damage model, which is surprising in a game all about destroying other cars. Even PS1's Destruction Derby had better ways of showing off damage.The controls were also a mixed bag: turning was sharp, but the feeling of impact feels suspiciously absent. Weapons don't feel damaging enough, and it simply doesn't feel like your car is taking damage (even though it is!). The races are fast, and thanks to the amount of things being destroyed on screen, the game may be fun in short bursts, even if the game doesn't have the polish to make it an excellent game.One of the most puzzling aspects of the game has to be the story of the single player mode (pictured). As you can see, there was a robot named Sage. That's why you're racing. You'll read pages upon pages of this incredibly unnecessary story. At least it's (unintentionally) funny.
Sega launches a new Full Auto trailer
What's better than cars? Cars with guns. So, does this new trailer of Full Auto 2 get you psyched? Or, will the upcoming Burnout Dominator provide you with the automotive destruction that you've been craving?
PSP version of Full Auto much better than next-gen counterparts
It looks like Sega's support of PSP is just starting. Their upcoming After Burner looks like it'll translate really well on the handheld. Interestingly, the upcoming PSP version of Full Auto 2 also looks good. Actually, it looks to be more fun than either its Xbox 360 or PLAYSTATION 3 brethren.Gamespot focuses on the new content featured on the handheld. With ten new weapons and ten new cars, and more customization options, it appears the PSP version of the game will feature the most functionality.IGN focuses on the destructible environments. Apparently, you can easily lock-on to destructible targets in the level. This simplified approach fares much better than the console original, and will most likely create far more explosive, and interesting, races.Finally, 1UP takes note of one very peculiar advantage the PSP Full Auto seems to have: better graphics, or at the very least, better art direction. The next-gen versions take place in one city, and seem to made up of various shades of brown. The PSP version features tons more color and environmental variety, as the game spans locales all over the world, from Europe, Asia and North America.It's clear that the development team behind the PSP version of the game simply cares more about gamers. The original Full Auto didn't get the best reviews, but looking at all the new content in the PSP version, it looks like the franchise's best will appear on the handheld.
Black Friday megadeals for Xbox 360
Sister site Xbox 360 Fanboy got the goods on some upcoming Black Friday deals yesterday. For those of you who may not know, Black Friday (so very appropriately named) is the Friday immediately after Thanksgiving, when stores feature gargantuan sales in an effort to suck shoppers in and kick-start the Christmas shopping season.Best Buy is having an $18.99 sale featuring: Amped 3 Condemned NBA Live '06 Rockstar Games Presents: Table Tennis The Outfit (apparently you can score this one for only $9.99 if you buy it in-store before noon) Circuit City offers a different set at $16.99: Full Auto Gun Perfect Dark Zero Quake 4 Tony Hawk's American Wasteland Our advice is to call the stores to find out if these deals will be available online and stay inside. Black Friday is normally a hellish experience with a lot of pushing, shoving and greed. In fact, we're surprised Rockstar hasn't made a video game version yet. Your mission: take out other shoppers before they can get your sale items.
Full Auto 2 heads to PSP, avoids Xbox 360
Full Auto 2 for PLAYSTATION 3 is supposed to be a remarkable improvement over the Xbox 360's original Full Auto. The vehicular combat game features tons of new content on Sony's next-gen machine: new levels, new cars and new modes. But, it appears that SEGA is making an even better version... and no, it's not coming out on Xbox 360.It's coming to PlayStation Portable. The PSP version of Full Auto 2 will feature an additional 56 single-player missions, new weapons and 15 new vehicles designed exclusively for the PSP version. The port is being handled by Deep Friend Entertainment, a team dedicated solely on PSP development.[Via 1UP]
Full Auto 2 not PS3 exclusive...um, good?
Waaaaay back before the last E3 ever, SEGA let everyone know that Full Auto 2 was coming to PS3 exclusively. Xbox 360 fanboys rejoiced, as they wouldn't have to play the sequel to "the game that proved there is a way to add automatic weapons and fast cars and make it not fun." Well, folks, those carefree days are over. It looks like the 360 may be subjected to even more mediocre car combat. Club Skill was apparently trolling around the European press site for the game when they noticed that 360 was listed as a platform, along with some updated images. This isn't exactly an official announcement, so there's still a chance we might all be spared.In all seriousness, the first Full Auto did have a lot of promise. Hopefully, SEGA can make Full Auto 2 the game that it should have been the first time.(Fanboy trivia: I was the guy who submitted the Full Auto 2 tip to Joystiq way back in May. Follow your dreams, kids, and you can shirk your daily work responsibilities, too!)[Via Evil Avatar]
Sega announces PS3 exclusive Full Auto 2
The latest in Sega's uninterrupted stream of announcements leading up to E3 is this: Full Auto -- the super-mega-smash hit for Xbox 360 that people just can't get enough of -- is finally going to get a sequel. Xbox 360 Fanboys need not apply, however...this round it's PS3 only. Yup, the game that proved there is a way to add automatic weapons and fast cars and make it not fun is gearing up for a second outing. Perhaps because 360 gamers didn't buy what they were selling before, Sega went all third-grader on them saying, "the tremendous power of Sony's PLAYSTATION 3 console makes this sequel truly the next generation of combat racing." Uh, okay. Sure? What was Full Auto one then, pray tell? Less than three months after it came out and Sega's already calling their next-gen attempt last-gen. Pssst. Guys! If you're convinced that the world needs another combat racing game so soon, and that you're the ones to deliver it, and that the PS3 will allow you to realize your real next-gen development dreams, that's cool. Just don't expect us to care.[Via 8-bit Ninja]
MetaReview - Full Auto
Last week saw the release of Full Auto, one of the only Xbox 360 games to get released post-launch. We even got our hands on a free XBLM demo last month. So, did the full version expand on the demo's action-packed, albeit repetitive, gameplay? Let's check in with the reviews, including Joystiq's own: Joystiq (55%) - "In many regards, Full Auto feels like this, a big clump of dough that never made it to the oven. The ingredients are there, but the final product is raw and never rises to the level achieved by great racing titles." 1UP (80%) - "At first glance, it may appear to be a considerably slower Burnout clone, but upon further inspection, the game is an entirely different beast, breathing new life to a genre that is growing ever stagnant." Gamespot (65%) - "Overall, Full Auto doesn't have enough variety to remain entertaining for very long. You might want to rent it and mess around with it for a few days, but the career mode gets repetitive well before it ends and the online doesn't bring much to the overall package." The bad news is that the consensus seems to be that Full Auto is a one trick pony. The good news is you ought to know if that one trick is enough to get your wallet out. Check out the demo, play it a handful of times.
HDTV Game of the Week
Now that the high definition gaming era is upon us (or not, depending on who you believe), we'd hope to see a lot more of these posts, but there has been a bit of a post-Christmas drought in the videogame lineup. That's coming to an end as the Xbox 360 gets a new game this week, Full Auto, not to mention lots of HD resolution trailers and screens from upcoming games.Unfortunately despite all the Playstation 3 news as of late, we have no new trailers or images for you.
Full Auto demo explodes onto XBLM
As expected, the demo for Sega's ballet of guns and cars (what else) is up on the Xbox Live Marketplace for your enjoyment. Weighing in at roughly 650MB, it'll take awhile to download. To all the snickering OXM readers out there who've been happily playing the demo for weeks now, just let us losers have our fun! You can download the Marble Blast demo.[Thanks to everyone that tipped us off]
Full Auto demo gonna drop this Wednesday
GameSHOUT is reporting that Sega's gun-infused racing game, Full Auto, will be exploding onto the Xbox Live Marketplace this Wednesday, January 25th. This will be the second title following Fight Night Round 3 to hit the Marketplace before retail stores; the full version of Full Auto is scheduled to hit retailers on February 14th. [Thanks, Nick]
