Full Auto Online

Racing games have always been right at home with multiplayer gamers, but action racers just about beg to be played against friends and competitors. That's just what Full Auto™ offers with a robust online component that takes full advantage of Full Auto's unparalleled destruction-filled experience. For more details on basic gameplay, feel free to peruse our preview, but for details on the multiplayer options, stick right here and read on.

Gotta love those rear-mounted grenades.

Game Modes
Whether Player Match (unranked) or Ranked, you have three basic parameters affecting the sort of match you want to play:

• Car class: Much like Project Gotham Racing® 3, each car belongs to a different class. In Full Auto's case, you have classes A, B, C, and S, with the cars within each class boasting stats of relative equality. Online, you can choose to specify a certain class for each race, or even open it up for any car class.
• Event type:This determines the style of race you play. Choose from the following options:
  • Circuit: This is your basic around-the-track race base on a set number of laps.
  • Point to Point: In racing terms, this type of event is often referred to as a "rally race." The track doesn't bend back around to the starting point; instead, you race from point A to point B.
  • Down-and-Back: A variation of the Point to Point race, this event tasks you with navigating the track down to one end and then turning around to race back to the starting point.
• Track: If you specify an event type, you get to also search for a specific track to race on. Each event type offers a specific set of tracks.

Just a taste of the destruction.

Hosting
When hosting a match, you have the previous three parameters to set, but you're also able to specify a few more options. They are:

• Number of laps: This only applies to races with laps (circuit races), but you can choose from one to six laps. Whether you're looking for a quick-hitting affair or a marathon experience, it's your choice.
• Players: From two to eight, you choose how many players can join the race.
• Public/friend slots: In Player Match (unranked), you choose to make the race exclusive to friends, open to the public, or a combination of both.
• Start direction: You can change the start locations on each track to add a bit of variety. You can choose Forward (default location), Reverse (travel the track in reverse), or, most interestingly, Head On, which puts half the field in the Forward start location and the other half in the Reverse, creating even more opportunity for mayhem.

Fully loaded.

Unwreck
While Unwreck is a unique feature that offers incredible tactical opportunities in the offline single-player experience, the ability to rewind online provides too much of a balance issue to be used. You can still fill up and use your Boost meter to your heart's content, but don't forget the appropriate absence of the Unwreck feature online.

Leaderboards
Wondering who the best of the best is? Just like every other Xbox Live® game, you're able to check out the Full Auto leaderboard and see who's dominating the pack. By default, you access the all-time leaderboard, although with the click of a button you can check out the monthly leaderboard as well.

Chances are, you won't find yourself on the first page (if you do, congratulations), but by hitting Y, you can filter the scores to show the leaderboard status for you and everyone on your friends list.

Marketplace
This small addition makes content download much easier. From the Xbox Live menu in Full Auto, you can select Xbox Live Marketplace, and, instead of sending you back to the Dashboard, it immediately brings up any available content for Full Auto.

Full Autois the answer for all action-racer fans on Xbox 360™, and, while its offline experience is a handful of its own, the multiplayer gaming online is what gives the game legs and extensive replay value. Enjoy.

Article by Alex McLain