Full Auto X360 [Archive] - Quarter To Three Forums

Ephraim

01-25-2006, 10:58 PM

If you haven't spotted it yet, the Full Auto demo is now available for download in the Xbox Live Marketplace. It's a grand total of 646.47 MB.

Gentlemen, start your modems. My download is moving along fairly well, already 20% complete and I just started it going a minute or two ago.

Impressions to follow.

Jason Cross

01-25-2006, 11:04 PM

Mine is going hella slow - the first demo I've downloaded that didn't move along at a reasonable clip. It's looking like maybe an hour to download at this rate, while everything else took about 10 minutes.

I'm guessing their servers are getting slammed right now, but that's no real excuse. They should have the capacity to deal with this kind of thing. They had better get it in gear before the Halo 3 demo comes out and 5 million (by then) 360 owners try to download it in the same 5-minute span. :P

MyNameIsWill

01-25-2006, 11:08 PM

I think Microsoft will have to devise a "If you're gamertag starts with A-F..." system.

Ephraim

01-25-2006, 11:14 PM

And mine is done! That wasn't too bad, under 20 minutes.

Rorschach

01-25-2006, 11:19 PM

About the same for me, 15-20 minutes or so.

The game itself is.. interesting. Burnout with guns, except the driving is a little more slide-y and there's a prince of persia rewind feature. Getting out in front of the race makes you a target and it's tough to tell which things you can/should crash into to get wreck points and what you should avoid.

Ephraim

01-25-2006, 11:27 PM

Just played a quick match before hitting the sack.

Very nice looking game, though I don't find it as sharp as PGR3 in terms of graphics. I've been playing PGR3 for the last couple of nights, so it's really fresh in my mind.

The gameplay is definitely different. I can see what it's trying to achieve, but my first impression is that it's not quite getting it. Basically, it's trying to give you a high speed, sloppy driving sim while still alllowing you to spend a lot of your time focusing on shooting explosive things at your opponents. Maybe I've just been playing too much PGR3 lately, but the driving part leaves me a bit cold, and the shooting part isn't as "BIG GUNS!!!!!!11111111112111111111!!!!!!!!" fun as I thought it would be. It could just be the limited car/weapon selection, though.

It really reminds me a lot of Twisted Metal, but with more emphasis on driving. The fact that the demo doesn't seem to have any multiplayer to sample is also a bit of a letdown. That's surely where most of the mayhem will come in.

I should add that things go smash and/or boom very nicely. I barreled my way through a casino completely by accident!

fuzzyslug

01-26-2006, 06:14 AM

Does anyone know if the Live demo is different from the one in the OXM magazine a month ago (which I've already played)?

Rob_Merritt

01-26-2006, 06:16 AM

I tried to download it last night. After about 90 minutes and only 57% done, i gave up. Maybe it will finish tonight.

Jason McMaster

01-26-2006, 06:19 AM

I played the OXM demo as well. If it's the same thing then I'll gladly skip it.

fuzzyslug

01-26-2006, 06:22 AM

I played the OXM demo as well. If it's the same thing then I'll gladly skip it.

Yeah, I thought it was decent. I was very excited about the game but the demo was pretty standard stuff. I wasn't sure if it was my high expectations but I was just a little dissappointed.

Jason McMaster

01-26-2006, 06:38 AM

I was pretty disappointed as well. Graphically it was kind of subpar and the gameplay just didn't grab me.

Jason Cross

01-26-2006, 12:16 PM

The demo definitely doesn't impress. It's fun to break everything (even walls), but just racing two laps with a couple of cars isn't much fun.

This is the kind of game that could be fun if the meta-game is there: if you can earn money or points or something and purchase new cars, buy new weapons, and choose your loadout just the way you like. And if you're having trouble with a race, you can race easier parts until you save up enough money to make your ride more badass and crush the competition.

I don't know if that's what Full Auto is, though. I get the impression it's a fairly straightforward series of races, quarter-muncher style. I hope not, but that's kinda what I'm expecting. Based purely on this demo, I'm not going to buy the game unless the reviews convince me otherwise.

awdougherty

01-29-2006, 12:36 PM

I wish there was something out there to bring (sort of) Car Wars to the modern computer age the way Flashpoint (sort of) gave me Twilight 2000. Unfortunately Full Auto doesn't fit the bill I was hoping for.

Backov

01-29-2006, 01:56 PM

I was thinking about a car wars game design, not done like Full Auto mind you, but something similar.

My only problem was that I couldn't find much depth in it. For a decent indie Car Wars-like, try Mexican Motor Mafia.

Jasper

01-29-2006, 02:00 PM

Mexican Motor Mafia was alot of fun, but rather short. I'd love to something like that a bit more fleshed out.

Aszurom

01-29-2006, 02:58 PM

650 megs, eh? Sweet, I told you guys that damn 20 gig drive was entirely too small. Can you hook up a USB 2 external drive? I'd do that in a minute.

Dave Long

01-29-2006, 05:20 PM

You play the demo. You delete it. What's the big deal?

Marcus

01-29-2006, 05:34 PM

I dunno I guess people like to keep the demos forever or something.

Aszurom

01-29-2006, 05:38 PM

Ben Sones

01-29-2006, 05:53 PM

How long until you can purchase games for download over Live? I'm betting you'll see it this gen. Not popcap or retrocade stuff either. HL2 steam style. Get a couple of MMO games on there each sucking down 3-4 gig and tell me how it is then.

If that happens, I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft started offering larger drives. Maybe they should have to start, but at least they had the forethought to make the drive removeable.

Dave Long

01-29-2006, 09:17 PM

I guess it's a problem down the road. I've got FFXI installed right now but I really haven't done the demo thing. "Life's too short for demos." -Xemu

Even so, a half a gig that I grab one day and delete in a couple days isn't going to break me. I can't see why I'd keep a demo around longer than that. Too many full games and Live Arcade things to play to spend time mucking around with demos. There are Achievements to earn, high scores to be set! Demos only get in the way of that. :)

But yeah, as Ben says, the drive is removeable. I'm guessing you can get a bigger one later. As long as your Live account is on there, it should be good to go. That's a good question for MS actually... if I buy a second HDD, and I put my Live account on there, will it still be tracking all my games and no hiccups? Someone ought to try that. I wish I had a second HDD so I could see for myself. I'm pretty sure everything is server side with regard to unlocked Achievements and Gamerscore and whatnot. Your saves might be split across two devices, but your overall persona should remain the same.

RickH

01-29-2006, 10:44 PM

Not because of this one demo - I'm saying "Here we go with the half gig downloads already." Think it's going to be all demos? Nothing you want to keep?

How long until you can purchase games for download over Live? I'm betting you'll see it this gen. Not popcap or retrocade stuff either. HL2 steam style. Get a couple of MMO games on there each sucking down 3-4 gig and tell me how it is then.

Has there been a retail game demo of LESS than .5 gig? I haven't seen one, but I'm nott looking into the sports games. Seems like the HD assets are going to make every demo much bigger for this system.

And would you really want to buy a $50 game over Live? MS has already made it clear that any "premium content" is limited to the hard drive it was originally downloaded onto and that's it. Lost it? Bought a 360? Want it on your other Xbox? Want it later after deleting? Re-buy it. Steam it ain't.

EDIT: Oh, and what an uninspiring demo. Saved me $60. I have to admit I was a little tempted by the faceplate offer, but I wouldn't use it, so why bother.

RickH

02-23-2006, 09:24 AM

Boy did Sega blow it by releasing that demo. Now that I have the actual game (rental) I'm being entertained. The weapons are more effective, the control is tighter (but not exactly tight for a racing game), and the tutorial does a great job of introducing the game elements.

It may not be saying a whole lot, but it's the most engaging game I've played on the 360 so far.

Gary Whitta

02-23-2006, 09:31 AM

Can you download demos with a Silver sub? My Gold trial expired and I'm not planning on renewing it until Burnout Revenge comes out.

Wholly Schmidt

02-23-2006, 10:04 AM

Can you download demos with a Silver sub? My Gold trial expired and I'm not planning on renewing it until Burnout Revenge comes out.
So I guess we can delete you from our friends list, huh?

Jim Preston

02-23-2006, 10:06 AM

Can you download demos with a Silver sub? My Gold trial expired and I'm not planning on renewing it until Burnout Revenge comes out.
Yes. Silver users have full access to XBL Marketplace.

RobotPants

02-23-2006, 10:11 AM

So the full game is much better than the demo? That's good to hear since this is one of the games I had been wanting a 360 for when I first heard about it. I'll have to go rent it, assuming stupid Blockbuster has it. I'm sure they don't. They still don't even have all the launch titles that have been out since November.

02-23-2006, 10:23 AM

No, the demo is representative of the full game. On Live the game doesn't get boring quite as quick as it does in single player but that's not saying much. It's just barely worth the rental.

BobJustBob

02-23-2006, 12:40 PM

I noticed that Dave Long's been playing this a lot.

I was considering getting it, but Burnout Revenge comes out in just two short weeks and will assuredly be better.

quatoria

02-23-2006, 12:43 PM

The game is fun, and full of carnage, but shallow and short. If you plan to play it online, I'd say it's worth buying. The game is gorgeous, and the incredible detail on the cars and environments makes blowing them to pieces so much more enjoyable. If you never want to play it online - rent. You can probably unlock everything in a weekend, or slightly longer. There's only something like ten career race circuits, and they're all on the same three or four tracks, although some of them mirror the tracks, or re-organize things. All of that said, though, the game hasn't bored me yet.

RobotPants

02-23-2006, 03:27 PM

Well, my expectation of Full Auto was that it would be "Burnout with guns". That doesn't sound like the case at all. Even if the new 360 Burnout is just Takedown with better graphics, it'll be fucking rad, so I think I'll save the $60 for that.

Dave Long

02-23-2006, 03:41 PM

Can't really say anything since I'm reviewing it, other than something like there will be people that enjoy this game and people that won't.

RobotPants

02-23-2006, 04:22 PM

That's some cutting-edge reporting, Dave. :)

Misguided

02-23-2006, 04:46 PM

Full Auto is a decent game that could have been great with a little more fermenting. This is almost a beer and pretzels type of arcade racer. It's kind of a shame only 2 people can play on one machine because it would be a blast of a party game.

Plusses:
Amazing explosions and great stunts.
Unwreck feature (1p only) is fun
Amount of objects on screen at one time is staggering
Pause feature is cool (try spinning the camera around and look at the individual bullets and shell casings from your machine guns).

Con:
Horrid sound design, IMO (very muddy and buzzy overall. I had really hoped this would be improved from the demo, but it wasn't).

Inconsistent framerate (on occasion it has become a near slideshow, especially when playing head to head...I haven't tried online but have heard tales of lag/teleporting cars).

This may not be a con for some, but the driving physics leave something to be desired, even for an arcade racer. The cars have decent weight to them in most cases, but the biggest issue here is lack of 4-point physics/spinning your car around a center axis.

My biggest beef is that there are holes in the geometry where the Inviso-Walls (TM) that constrain individual tracks meet buildings. This can result in you passing through them and not being able to re-enter the track without blowing yourself up. I've had this happen 3-4 times now (at least 3 different spots I believe) and find it to be inexcusable.

Having one car that is an order of magnitude better than every other car in the game seems like lazy design (or is there something else that can compete wiith the Warlord?)

I really believe there is a great game here, but I can't help but feel that this is something of a half-baked effort. A patch for the walls and a framerate tweak would help a lot.

RickH

02-23-2006, 08:35 PM

Dave Long

02-23-2006, 10:41 PM

I haven't tried online but have heard tales of lag/teleporting cars).

This is untrue. If people are having problems, it's probably their connection. It's been perfect for me.

Misguided

02-23-2006, 11:00 PM

This is untrue. If people are having problems, it's probably their connection. It's been perfect for me.

I did play with one other earlier and the only oddity I noticed is that at times one car would get a large headstart on a race. That is my screen popped up and the other car is already flying away from me.

RickH

02-26-2006, 11:55 PM

Back to GameFly it goes . . . after 74% completion. I was never able to get into a Live game, my 360 locked up hard both times I got to the loading screen. WTF. Great intensity in the SP game though.

Also, can't agree that the demo isn't different. I went back and played it and both the shotgun and machine guns felt weaker. Controle felt a bit tighter in the retail game as well. Interface was different, too, but that was just cosmetic, obviously.