FlatOut Review

Platform: PC
Development Company: BugBear Entertainment
Publisher: Empire Interactive
Release (UK): 5th November 2004
URL: http://www.flatoutgame.com/
Minimum requirements: 1.5GHz P4 or AMD Equivalent, 256MB RAM, 64MB Graphics card, DirectX compatible sound card, 1.1GB of free hard drive space, Win 98/ME/2000/XP
Reviewer machine: XP, P4 3.06Mhz, 1024MB RAM, Radeon 9800 Pro with DX9.0C.

Does everyone remember back to the mid-late 1990s when Reflections teamed up with Psygnosis to create the mighty Destruction Derby? Recall what a breath of fresh air it was to instead of trying to miss your opponents, to go after them and cause utter mayhem, especially in DD bowl? Miss those days, and wish a game developer would step away from the stereotypical racing game and bring those days back? If so then boy you’re in for a treat, may I introduce Flat Out!

This game retraces the steps once walked by Reflections and Psygnosis to give you DD 2004. Ok, so it isn’t called Destruction Derby it’s called Flat Out (I’ll explain why later) but for now this game gets as close to DD genre since the self titled games did of the PlayStation era.

So what is the theory of this game, just smash and crash your way through, win races and advance onto the next race? Partly yes, but there is much more to this game like the mini games, online mode and the career (Shall go into more detail later). The game does require you to take out your opponents at any given opportunity or risk being taken out yourself. So you do have to fight your way though and by doing so you get nitro (Now I suspect you’ve all just groaned, shaken your head and thought ‘Destruction derby meets Need For Speed: Underground – Won’t be buying this then’ ) and you earn money for causing damage.

Returning to the nitro, this isn’t like NFS or Burnout in the sense of underground, motion blur action, you use the nitro to cause more damage and force your opponents into any number of dangers lining the track. As you hit another car, wipe out a tyre wall or hit anything else basically, your nitro bar increases allowing you to reach “Flat Out” (Hence the name ‘Flat Out’) speed for longer. In my opinion it is a good feature but I would prefer not to have it and just rely on the speed of the cars in natural state, however, it is so much fun to go flat out into slow cars and create lots of damage

The Career mode starts with entering you into the bronze class and sets you with a limited amount of money to purchase a car. These cars range from small hatchbacks up to muscle cars. Until you advanced from bronze mode you can only purchase cars allowed in this class. When you win the bronze class you advance to silver then gold. With each progression more cars are available to buy that are larger and more powerful.

So you’ve bought a car and are ready to hit the track. Before you do there is the option of entering the garage and buying new parts (Engine, drive train, exhaust, suspension, tyres and body) or looking at the statistics of your vehicle. Once you’re happy with your car you can choose to enter a race or have a go at the bonus (mini) games. When you enter the races, a top 3 position is needed to advance to the next stage, which opens up more tracks to race from and more mini games.

What are these mini games you covered earlier? Well, to lighten the mood BugBear has implemented mini games that require you to throw your driver though the window and perform certain tasks. These games range from:

Long Jump: Launch your driver as far down the long jump pit as possible.
High Jump: Propel your driver as high over the bar as you can
Darts: Throw your driver at the giant dartboard to obtain the highest score.
10-Pin Bowling: Launch your driver down the ally to hit as many pins
Clown’s Face: Propel your driver into the Clown’s face trying to get them into the target holes
Bulls-eye: Throw your driver towards the bulls-eye and get them as close to the centre as possible.

All scores are accumulated after 3 attempts. You win money for the highest score that can be saved up to use in the garage or buy another vehicle.

So is that it, only career and these mini games? Fortunately no, there is a time trial mode that allows you to drive against the clock on any track you’ve unlocked. Quick race where you can race against other competitors on the tracks you’ve unlocked including the demolition arenas and online mode. I can imagine your ears opening a little wider to the sound of multiplayer. Online mode allows you to compete against 7 other mayhem-causing drivers over a LAN. Finally, hotseat mode where 2, 3 or 4 players can participate in the “Bonus Rag-Doll Sports Mode”

Rag-Doll, what is that doing in a racing game? You may have witnessed this feature in Max Payne 2 or trailers of Half-Life 2 but BugBear have implemented it into Flat Out. When your driver has a collision with another car or object around the track they will fly through the front window on impact and result in them rolling on the ground to a halt or hit into anything near by. This could be deemed as a little morbid in a game and could be a reason for the 12+ age limit. For a while this feature is entertaining but when it happens every time your vehicle crashes (which can be a lot!) it does get very repetitive and there is sadly no option to turn it off, however you can in online mode.

What about all the other features of the game, physics, graphics etc?

Physics: This game is aimed at the arcade audience, no two ways about it and as long as you accept this when playing you won’t be disappointed as the arcade physics can be a great deal of fun. On the minus, the cars do have some unnatural tendencies, for example when you try to powerslide the engine cuts out and can result in you spinning but I don’t think it takes too much away from the game. You’re too busy planning your retaliation on the driver that forced you off the road.

Graphics: Simply beautiful. The scenery is magnificent and the cars are modelled and textured to a high degree. This is one of the selling points of this game and another is the damage. When you do execute your retaliation and drive full speed into the car you vehicle will suffer damage, both cosmetically and mechanically. The body panels will get dented and usually fall off, the suspension will take a pounding and the car will sway and not go in forward direction as well and then the engine will get so damage black smoke will emit and then flames until it dies. I think Bugbear have balanced this well, in a race your car won’t get that damage that it’ll stop, whereas in Destruction arenas the name of the game is to kill the other cars.

Sounds: Nothing too special to mention here, the cars either sound like beefy muscle cars or whinny hatchbacks. The crash and bang from collisions sound realistic enough and the in game music is actually quite good.

Options:

All the usual options are here, Graphics: Imperial units on/off, overly gauges on/off, race map on/off, view distance, track detail and texture quality. Audio: Race music volume, menu music volume, SFX volume and Doppler effects. Controller: Force feedback, force level, sensitivity, dead zone, controllers and configure controls.

Replays: The game is a little let down here because you cannot control the camera, which car to view or even save them. You are however allowed fast forward, restart, pause or seeing the replay in slow motion. Watching the replay is very satisfying when your car takes damage or forces an opponent into the tyre wall.

Tracks: Range from circuit tracks that are quite long, bonus (figure of eight, oval etc) & demolition bowls.

Overall: There are some small features missing that could have been added to make the already entertaining experience slightly more pleasing but the concept of the game, causing mayhem has been executed almost perfectly. The impression this game gives me is that it doesn’t want to be taken too seriously. Whether you’re completing the slightly short career mode or inviting a few mates over for a LAN race you will have a great time. The concept of the game, coupled with the graphics makes Flat Out a very pleasant surprise and one that should not be missed.

+ Concept of the game – ‘Demolition Derby’
+ Graphics
+ Damage
+ Fun factor
+ Mini Games
+ Multiplayer mayhem
+/- Rag-Doll
– Short career mode
– Repetition
– Replays

90%

Press Quotes:

“FlatOut could be this years sleeper hit” – XBM
“It looks slick, handles well and has a violent streak that will have you grinning from ear to ear” – XBM
“This could be the biggest racing surprise of 2004” – PSM2
“Burnout should be rather concerned” – Edge