Full Auto 2: Battlelines - updated hands-on

The original Full Auto arrived on Xbox 360 just six months ago, but the sequel is already being prepped in time for PlayStation 3's November launch. On 360, the game was kind of a mess - yes, it looked great and controlled well, but the fact that you were blowing the hell out of buildings didn't seem to have much, if anything, to do with the actual racing.

Well, that's the big fix for Full Auto 2. Now, when you bust up buildings, the debris can block the track, changing the landscape in seconds and hopefully either crushing - or at least confusing - your opponents. The developers are so focused on the change that they've given the whole idea a name: "Destruction Matters" - which says that they're well aware that in the last game, it sure as hell didn't.

"Anything you see, you can shoot" is the mantra they repeated - but in our playtest, it was obvious what would provide a payoff. Yes, you can shatter windows, but the shards don't do a thing to alter play. It's the big shipping container swinging from a crane directly over the track that practically screams "shoot me!" We'll see how it plays out in the final version, but even if it's as simple as that, it'll still add a twist to the Burnout-inspired high-speed racing.