November 24, 2006 - If there's one thing that old Westerns, Charlton Heston, and a few troublemaking Halloween revelers have in common, it's their observance of their state-issued right to keep and bear arms. Now while some people may enjoy the idea of getting shot (you can count us out of that group), we know that most gamers would feel safer popping their caps in someone's virtual buttcheeks. Yes, we're totally rockin' our cred with the slang.

We're thankful then that SEGA's provided a venue where gentlemen and women can meet and challenge one another to jolly old duels, even if these duels do usually result in brief sessions of shoulder-punching and reliving the previous night's make-out session you had with your buddy's mom. Just like its predecessor, Full Auto 2: Battlelines allows players to duke it out with armored cars while racing through highly-destructible environments. However, the sequel promises not just more wanton property damage, but more weapons to deal out even more destruction within any of the game's numerous deathmatch arenas.

Nine new weapons join the fray this time around. Here's a peek at some that you'll get to use:



Twin Rifle
Also known as the Recoilless Rifle, this medium-sized front-mounted weapon gives smaller, lighter vehicles the ability to handle previously unequippable large anti-tank guns. The Twin Rifle improves on the original Full Auto's Cannon via its higher rate of fire, although it does lose some of its forebear's damage rating and aiming.

Double the carnage, double the fun.

Laser
This laser-emitting, high energy weapon is similar in rating to the traditional machine gun in that it projects a continuous stream of significant damage upon the target. Coupled with precise aim, the medium-rated Laser can inflict major destruction on whatever it's pointed at, although its much lower rate of heat dissipation makes this a better weapon for light-fingered players.

New and Improved! The Laser, now with Point and Shoot ease.

Ram Plate
While some might consider this a passive add-on, the Ram Plate's array of spikes allows this front-mounted weapon to inflict a larger amount of damage on competitors while providing the user increased protection from injury. Full Auto 2's improved collision and physics system sets the right stage for the inclusion of this device and gives combatants more reason to take their foes to the floor in the simplest way possible: by smashing them good. In addition, the Ram Plate's added armor augments the game's vehicles: lighter cars can mete out ramming damage like heavier cars, and heavier cars become more unstoppable.

Sometimes you just wish these came as options for real vehicles.

20mm Cannon
More a heavy machine gun than an actual cannon, the 20mm Cannon fires large, explosive-tipped bullets like a standard machine gun does, albeit at a slower rate of fire. While tracking targets may prove more difficult due to the decreased rate of fire, the weapon's higher damage rating means each hit deals out more hurt on the poor sap caught in your sights.

One round in the clip means two seconds before you're toast.

Mortar
The Mortar's effectiveness as a weapon can't necessarily be summed up as simply as its cohorts, mostly because its abilities are defined primarily by the ammo you pick up for it. Three types of mortar ammunition will be available in the game: Earthshaker, Napalm, and Flechette. The Earthshaker Ammo is a fairly self-descriptive bomb that does damage over a wide area; Napalm Ammo is also an area of effect weapon that engulfs the detonation zone in fire; and Flechette Ammo is similar to the standard flechette cannon in that it shoots highly-damaging shrapel on its target. Each type of ammo will have three rounds each, after which they can be accessed again through pick-ups strewn around each level.

That's what you get for not wearing your seatbelt.

Two other weapons, the Flamethrower and Tank Cannon, are still under wraps but are also slated to cause some heavy damage in Full Auto 2: Battlelines. Stay tuned as we receive more information on this exclusive PS3 title.