Summary

This game is great and fun.I like that it has the people falling out of the car.I also like the mini games including my favorite game, darts. One day you should rent it.

Strength

Very fun mini games.

Sound

2-5 years

Summary

There just aren’t enough destruction derby games being made nowadays. I’ll admit, they’re a guilty pleasure of mine and I’ll stop at nothing to jump on a new one as soon as it comes out. The same amount of excitement was present as soon as I heard about Flatout and was anxious to get back into the world of overly aggressive and destructive racing. After all, it’s a genre that has done me no wrong or so I thought. While Flatout offers some elements that make destruction derby/racing games so great, it ultimately falls a little flat and becoming plain frustrating in the end.

Sound

The game boasts a soundtrack of licensed music from relative unknown bands which range from alternative to rap rock. While some tunes are catchy, you’ll end up concentrating on the race at hand more than the music. Each car model sounds different with heavy muscle cars having more of a growl than the speedier types. Crashes have just the right amount of crunch to them and sound great. Skids across pavement sound a bit too soft though. You’ll also get some screams from your driver when they’re ejected. While they differ from male to female, you’ll get the exact same screams every time. In essence, Flatout has all the makings of a really fun game, but ends up being pulled down thanks in part to some all-out tomfoolery from the physics engine and the fact that even the most minor of accidents are as unforgiving as the most brutal. Or maybe it’s just the fact that I may suck at the game. Either way, it’s hard for me to recommend this game as anything more than a rental, even to the most devout destruction derby fans. Games like this should be fast paced and chaotic. Flatout only manages to get half of it right.

Gameplay

Flatout is purely an arcade destruction derby racer, so don’t look for any type of a storyline here. Staying true to the theme is the fact that you’ll be racing broken down looking hoopties as opposed to the sleek and shiny street racers of Burnout 3. The main part of the game lies in the career mode where you buy a car, race it through three race classes (bronze, silver, and gold) and earn money for purchasing upgrades which, in essence, are supposed to add more horsepower, traction, and stability to your vehicle. Once new race classes are unlocked, you can buy new and faster cars to attempt to give you an increased edge in future races. Races take place in a number of environments such as wooded areas, construction sites, and paved race tracks. Making contact with rival cars and things piled on the side of the track will fill your nitrous meter, which you can use for some added boost as well as some bonus cash at the end of the race. In order to complete each class, you’re only required to place in the top three places for each race in order to advance to the next round. It’s the matter of getting into the top three places where the frustration factor kicks in. Flatout relies heavily on its over-the-top physics engine which in turn can cause your car to handle like a wild pig no matter how much money you’ve invested into its upgrades. You’ll constantly find yourself careening around corners and fishtailing along straight-aways. Since this is a destruction derby racer, crashes come often. While you’re somewhat encouraged to smash into the piles of tires, cones, barrels, fences, and other destructible goodies on the side of the road to gain boost and a smash bonus, you’ll quickly find yourself involved in a number of accidents for the most obscene things. While you can oftentimes drive right over cones, once in a while a lone cone will send your car into a violent multiple end-over-end accident. The same story goes for tires and other debris left on the track from yourself and your rivals smashing things up. Your car is a veritable tire magnet. If you make any kind of contact with a pile of tires with your back end, your front end will swing around right into the middle of them. Once an accident occurs, instead of the game automatically placing your vehicle back on the track, you’ll have to wait for a message encouraging you to hit the triangle button to get put back on the track. In the meantime, you’ll lose anywhere from three to six places while you wait for the reset message to pop up, causing one slip up to almost cost you an entire race, especially if your rivals end up hitting you, which you’ll have to wait for every passing rival to hit you and your vehicle to come to a complete stop before getting placed back on the track and most likely into last place. If the debris doesn’t cause you any Hollywood caliber accidents, you’ll most likely just get stuck on them and start spinning your wheels for a few seconds until the game will offer to put your car back onto the track. You’ll also be in big trouble if your car spins out, since turning around is nearly impossible and will often times cause you to start spinning in donuts instead of straightening out, even in the more expensive cars. Luckily, the same sorts of things will happen to your opponents which evens out the ground a bit. In addition to battling your car for control, the camera will occasionally work against you as well. Driving down any kind of hill will result in moments of confusion since your car model will be in the way and without any way to manually adjust your view; you’re left in fate’s hands until you reach the bottom. One element the game boasts is the ability for the driver to be launched through the windshield. While this is a great addition, it can really ruin a race for you, as if the frequent and unforgiving accidents aren’t bad enough. If your driver is ejected, you’ll have to wait for the body to come to a stop before being reset onto the track. While this makes sense and can happen in reality, drivers really shouldn’t be ejected if they’re side-swiped or spun.