I never played the original Flatout game, so I came to Flatout 2 "cold". I'd seen the hype and reviews and thought I'd give it a try.
First impressions are quite good. It's a very easy game to pick up and play, with easy to learn controls. I got my copy used so it had no manual, and it took me all of 30 seconds to get to grips with the control system.
So what's it all about? Well, essentially it's a racing game with the emphasis on aggressive driving. Slam into other cars, destroy scenery, flip your opponents over - the more aggressive you are, the more points you get.
Graphically, the game is pretty slick, with a seemingly endless number of destructible items to run into. The cars come to pieces easily, shedding body panels first, then engine parts, and eventually wheels and suspension components. A nice feature here is the persistence. If something gets dropped on to the track on one lap, it's still there the next lap as a hazard. This is something that the XBox 360 has only just achieved with Forza 2, but it's been kicking around in Flatout 2 for a couple of years now.
The deformable, destroyable racetracks are fun and frustrating at the same time, because you never quite know what actually is destructible. That is to say, some buildings and items are not, and if you slam into them at full tilt, you'll come to a grinding halt and your driver will fly out of the windshield with all the rag-doll physics this game is known for. There's nothing to tell you which items can and can't be destroyed.
And that's essentially the tone of the whole game - it's both fun and frustrating at the same time throughout.
For example the car handling. All the cars are rear-wheel drive and massively overpowered, which is fun for out-and-out racing, but frustrating because the slightest slip up and you'll find yourself spinning around and around with zero control.
For example the car types. There are absolute wrecks - the cars you start out with - up to full-on tuner cars, all of which are equally destroyable, and equally fun to drive. The frustration is that they all drive identically, so the only thing to choose between them is the visuals. It's not like you can pick a vehicle with a little more control to get better handling.
The cars themselves are all upgradeable in generic form with items such as "engine retune" and "sports exhaust" etc, which makes this essentially a race-win-buy-upgrade-race-again type game. That's the career mode. Progress up the tree, get more cars, with supposedly more features and work your way to the top.
There are two basic events that you compete in during career mode. Flat out racing, which is what you'd expect, and derby mode, which are destruction derbys set in unique environments. Remember the original Destruction Derby on the PS1 back in the 90's? That's what it is. Slam into other cars, destroy them and last to the end to win the round. In both racing and derby modes, you get more points for driving aggressively - slamming into other cars, flipping them over, spinning them out etc. The worse you drive, the more you're rewarded, but you've got to still take account of the fact that you're essentially trying to win the races.
On the way you'll come across the bonus mini games which is where the brutal fun factor in this game comes in. The mini games are all based around the wholesale injury of your driver. You get to choose from a series of jet-powered vehicles (again, all of which perform identically) which you then careen down a straight track before coming to a grinding halt, ejecting your rag-doll driver through the windshield. These events include things like high jump (how high can you get your driver's limbs entangled in a net?) and bowling (how many pins can you knock down with your tumbling driver). I personally like the mini games. They add a bizarre dimension to the game that adds to the "fun" side of the equation. But again, on the "frustrating" side of the equation, you have no real choice of vehicles - they all look different but they all perform identically.
Graphically, the game looks good with all the requisite effects, sun bloom, particles, dust and so on and so forth. There are two or three camera views for racing, including the always useless above-and-behind view. The best view for racing is the in-car cam although when your hood slams up and obstructs your view for the first time, it'll take you by surprise. Just gun the throttle and it soon flips off completely.
Sound-wise, the game is not so good. The car engines all sound the same, the crunching and grinding effects get lame very quickly, and the music. Well. If you're into thrash metal, you'll love it. All the tracks consist of people screaming themselves hoarse over the sound of musical instruments being largely destroyed by their players. It's just awful. There is no variation at all. No pop. No rock. No trance. No techno. Just balls-to-the-wall, mosh-pit, head-nodding thrash metal. Thank God you can turn it off.
Overall this is a good game though. Work through the quirks and you'll find a fun-to-play, good-looking game. The rag-doll drivers are always a laugh to watch tumbling along the track and getting stuck in the stunt events, and it all adds to the atmosphere of the game.
EXPERIENCE THE DRIVE OF YOUR LIFE AS YOU THROW YOURSELF AROUND ON AND OFF THE TRACK, CAUSING FENCES TO SHATTER, TIRE WALLS TO EXPLODE, AND WATER TANKS...More at HotMovieSale.com
Featuring an enhanced version of the original s physics engine with even faster driving track designs, FlatOut 2 also boasts numerous improvements, en...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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