2006-02-13 22:43:38 Full Auto

I don't feel the need to write something truly reviewy very often these days. I used to a lot in the past when my passion for letting other people know about what I considered great experience was a lot stronger. These days I really just sit quietly and enjoy what I enjoy and dislike what I dislike.

I'm going to make an exception.

At the end of the day, if you ask me, Perfect Dark Zero was an amazing shooter buried under a number of unfortunate circumstances. For one it was made by Rare who just never really finish things these days, and no matter how much time they spend with something it just doesn't quite feel like it's all it could've been. PDZ I enjoy greatly because I can look past its minor - but many - flaws, and so it'll be a personal gem of mine but never a classic in the eye of the masses. Or in mine, for that matter.

Bugs, glitches, the feel of something unfinished can sometimes not even with its greatest effort disguise what's a remarkably enjoyable game. It may put people off that fail to look past them and it might even cause dismay among the ones that SO hoped that particular game would be a 100% solid classic to go down in video game history.

Full Auto will not go down in video game history. It will put some people off that fail to look past the shaky framerate and it will cause dismay among the ones that SO hoped that it would be a 100% solid classic. But that shaky framerate and the slight feeling that it's unfinished can't - despite its greatest effort - disguise what's a remarkably enjoyable game.

If you like the demo, know that the framerate issues are still there but to a lesser extent, and more importantly - sometimes the game is pure unadulterated sodding bliss.

Thank you.

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An Elegant Tapestry of Aphorisms - The musings of a brilliant self proclaimed gaming philosopher.
http://aetoa.blogspot.com

2006-02-13 23:53:51

It's still an amazingly fun game, that blends racing with destruction beautifully. Controlls are also good, using the left stick for steering and the right stick for aiming. I'm basing this on the oxm demo, so don't know if the actual game is any different.

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Dirty South UK

2006-02-14 00:00:47

I'm going to give it a rent on gamefly because I played the demo and had a lot of fun with it. If the frame drops bother me too much, back it goes. the best news is that Fight Night drops next week so it's not like I'll be looking for it anyway.

2006-02-14 00:07:15

Another thing worthy of consideration is that it works FLAWLESSLY on Xbox Live and is an absolute blast.

Even splitscreen works amazingly well. Thing is, they really tried to push 60fps with this, and that's why framerate drops - that are actually quite small - are more noticable. When a 30fps game drops a bit it doesn't feel quite as intrusive. That said, framerate issues with this game are purely cosmetic and don't affect the game one single bit. If you like what the game is doing from a gameplay standpoint, the framerate will not ruin that for you at all.

Definitely rent it and give it an honest shot. I can't stress enough how much I think people will like this if they try it proper.

Also, if it sells, the sequel will adress the minor issues that plague its first entry. Framerate issues shouldn't stop this game from getting a shot at becoming an utterly awesome franchise.

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An Elegant Tapestry of Aphorisms - The musings of a brilliant self proclaimed gaming philosopher.
http://aetoa.blogspot.com

2006-02-14 00:08:57

Yeah i would suggest anyone to rent it first, just incase its not your cup of tea.. :P

Its true that some people won't be able to see past the frame rate problems i would be one of them.

2006-02-14 00:14:25

So Simon, how low does the frame rate drop, really?
Does it still remain above 30fps during the drops?

2006-02-14 00:17:19

Oh god yes. Seriously, the only time the framerate REALLY goes nuts is during some unfortunate "kill cam" closeups when you see an enemy car flying in slow mo - burnout style - after taking him out.

There are slight fluctuations now and then besides that, but nothing as major as say Crazy Taxi for Dreamcast and about on par with San Francisco Rush 2049 on that same console.

I know different people have different tolerance levels for this type of thing, but I'm sort of sensitive when it comes to racing games, and quite frankly, now when I play it it's not even a big deal.

edit: Oh and since Blim mentioned that the type of TV and aspect ratio affects the framerate I should add that I play this on a widescreen HDTV, 32" in 720p, which should be the "worst conditions" according to what Blim said.

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An Elegant Tapestry of Aphorisms - The musings of a brilliant self proclaimed gaming philosopher.
http://aetoa.blogspot.com

2006-02-15 11:43:38

I'm gonna arrange a full 8 player Full Auto game (Full Eighto?) on friday, so if anyone's interested in playing some online then, I'd be glad to add you to my list.

I've got 3 places taken already, but there's still room for five more.

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An Elegant Tapestry of Aphorisms - The musings of a brilliant self proclaimed gaming philosopher.
http://aetoa.blogspot.com