14 DAY TRIAL // 
Driving cars will never be as fun as ramming into them! That being said, I'd rather play mindless car-destruction games than any real driving simulator; that doesn't even feature a damage concept. Before playing FlatOut 2 I expected it to be some sort of Burnout ripoff, but it's a totally different game, both in graphics and gameplay. The feeling is almost the same that you got when you first played Destruction Derby. Back in 1995, the first Playstation console had just surfaced and Destruction Derby was a real blockbuster.
FlatOut's not all about ramming into vehicles or racing around trying to destroy as many competitors as possible, so you'll get to play a couple of fun minigames too. The game's flaw? Well, it might be the graphics, it might be the AI, but all in all we're dealing with a pretty addictive title, with an original presentation and a soundtrack that would make any Guitar Hero game jealous.
Concept You'll have to create a profile right from the get-go and save it on your memory card if you want to keep track of your progress through the game. Name your profile and set on a maniacal driving experience. In the main menu you'll be able to choose between a single mode and a multiplayer mode, each with various sub-modes of their own. If you selected the single player mode, you can choose to play the Career sub-mode, let's say the "Story" mode of FlatOut 2. You'll start with 5000 credits that can be used to purchase a ride and since you're not very rich, there are only scrap metal cars waiting for you. In order to get a cool ride, or a least a car that's powerful enough to survive a race, you'll have to earn credits. The Career Menu shows the cars that you currently have in your garage, giving you the option to upgrade them in the Upgrade Shop.
Although this game is no Need for Speed or Gran Turismo, it offers a pretty decent list of customizable parts for your vehicle, ranging from engine upgrades to gearbox, exhaust, suspension, tires, brakes and car body upgrades. Tuning your car will increase the engine's power as well as the vehicle's strength, while decreasing its weight.
The car shop allows you to buy three categories of rides: derby cars (cheap and tough vehicles that are not so fast), race cars (powerful cars, with a decent price) and street cars ( tuned up sports cars that are less tough). Choosing one of these will set your strategy throughout the game, so if you're more of a racer, you'll try to avoid getting rammed into a wall and collect points by winning races or... just waiting for the drivers to destroy each other. If you've just completed the Career mode or you're not the kind of gamer that likes to unlock hidden content, you can play a Single Race or a Single Stunt.
The second is probably the most entertaining minigames collection to be featured in a racing/car crashing game. It will eat up lots of hours of your life, as it's addictive, especially when played in the multiplayer Party Mode. Single Stunt Mode allows you to play through 12 wacky stunt events that will have you killing your pilot in a gruesome way. The man behind the wheel will fly through the windshield and he will be "shot" towards a football net, a basketball hoop or a dartboard.
Don't worry as there's no blood and gore involved, because you'll only use ragdolls instead of humans, or at least I'd like to think so. Otherwise we're talking about major injuries, broken bones and internal organs and that may be the reason why the ragdoll keeps wining. The 12 challenges you'll be taking part in are: high jump, bowling ball, ski jump, curling, stone skipping, ring of fire, field goal, royal flush, basketball, darts, baseball and soccer. Imagine speeding on a straight line track and braking just in time to shoot the driver through the windshield, then follow him with the aid of a neat camera angle to see him get smashed. In the challenge called Royal Flush, you'll have five tries and your main goal is to hit five cards on a giant panel, in order to get a flush or another pair of cards that usually gets you points in a poker game. While the other names may be self-explanatory, you'll surely wonder what the stone-skipping challenge is all about.
It's as simple as it gets: you have the usual straight line track, the braking, the flying pilot part, but this time you get to push the R1 button at the exact time the ragdoll hits the water. Do that a couple of times to get an effect similar to the stone skipping game we loved to play at the seaside back when we were non-gamer kids. Getting tired and maybe a bit frustrated by the tough stunt events you'll surely want to check out the single event mode that allows you to race (and crash) on figure of eight tracks, tri oval arenas or other freaky circuits, designed for car destruction. Do you remember Destruction Derby? It was a pretty short-lasting franchise, but it delivered exactly what the fans wanted: tons of car destruction and that little bit of racing that we liked in the nineties. Well, in FlatOut 2 there's a mode called single derby, that's exactly the destruction derby we were looking for in the past years. There's even that round arena that will have your car smashed to pieces in just seconds. The main goal in Single Derby mode is to earn wrecking points and deal lots of damage to the other drivers and their rides. You'll race and destroy on a couple of freaky tracks like the Gas Station Derby, the Parking Lot Derby or the Skyscraper Derby.
I keep mentioning cool rides, hot wheels, scrap metal cars, monster 4-wheelers, in fact they're all the typical US cars we see in Monster Truck televised shows. Before purchasing one of those, you should check out their top speed, the acceleration, the handling, the car's strength, the weight and finally the nitro. Never buy before you try! You should always test a car, by pressing the square button while selecting your killer ride from the shopping list. FlatOut 2 features a new physics engine that will include 5000 destructible objects on each track and 40 deformable parts on each car. Don't worry; you'll test those parts and objects by taking on the races where you have to trash the scenery in order to get points. Unlike most of the racing games nowadays, FlatOut 2 really shows the damage you've done to your car and that can only push it to the top of the genre.
Gameplay There's no wonder why the subtitle of this review is "Symphony of Destruction", as it's the name of Megadeth's song that was included in the game's soundtrack. FlatOut 2 relies heavily on the damage one can do to his and the other racers' cars. The AI isn't there just for kicks and especially in the derbies you'll be dead in no time if you're a sitting duck. I tried to use the good old "drive in reverse and spin" tactics that worked 10 years ago in the Destruction Derby titles, but the opponents sure know how to dodge a hit. Instead, you'll see various vehicles pilling and hitting a target, rolling some unfortunate car around till it catches fire. Once you destroy another dude's car you get the Wrecked bonus, but considering that the game's pretty tough you'll see your car get wrecked the first couple of plays.
FlatOut 2 is a fast-paced game that is not focused on racing, but rather on collisions and what an expert would call "car cruelty". The controls are pretty basic: X for the acceleration, square for the brake and the triangle to get reset onto the track. To set the direction you can either use the D-pad or the analog stick. Since NFS and Burnout use a lot of Nitro, FlatOut couldn't leave the concept out, so with a single press (and hold) of the R1 button, you'll use a nitro boost that generates a neat video effect and gives you that little bit of an edge needed to win a race. If there's one thing that the game has it must be the feeling. Nothing compares to ramming into a wall at full speed, then hitting a couple of cars, catching fire and watching your car explode, while some wooden logs pass through your windshield. The Ragdoll minigames are better and more entertaining than those in the previous installment, being the trademark of the series. It was the ring of fire stunt that kept me busy for a couple of hours and I wasn't alone, as a couple of friends joined my torment. All we had to do was accelerate, race in a straight line, brake, press R1 and throw the pilot of the car through the windshield so that he could pass through 9 rings of fire.
It may seem impossible, but it's rather simple, as, once you brake, the time slows down and while holding the R1 button, you can see an angle increasing on the bottom left of the screen. Once you got the right angle, release R1 and throw the ragdoll pilot through the rings, but be wary, because your control doesn't end here. You can use the D-pad buttons to move the ragdoll around a bit, twisting his body in the air in an attempt to reach your goal. Also an additional push of the R1 button gives the ragdoll that necessary nudge to get him past the last three rings of fire. The system described above appears in all the 12 stunts, so you'll be going for the perfect angle and the perfect throw all the time. Aside from that, there are lots of things to do, including furious races where you'll have to survive in order to get more credits and buy more cars.
Video That's probably the worst flaw of the game: the graphics. Pardon me for saying this, but there are moments in FlatOut 2 when the game's visuals look like they were taken from a Playstation 1 title. Otherwise, the crashes, deformations and car destructions look great, specially because of those objects you can smash and car parts you can bend. During the Stunts minigame, you'll see a real time replay on a screen next to the track and that may not be much, but it adds to the whole experience. Also, in the same ragdoll-based games, you can see the other challenges waiting for you in the background. The dummy pilots fly through the windshield interacting with the environment in a pretty realistic way, although there's a tendency for exaggeration. I mean, it's pretty weird to see a ragdoll destroy a metallic tower, don't you think? The cars look great and the way they get deformed is class A, especially when you'll be driving a car that lacks its front hood and has wooden sticks passing through its windows.
Sound This has got to be the best soundtrack in a racing game, except for the already famous Need for Speed songs. Listen to Megadeth, Audioslave, Motley Crue, Papa Roach or Nickleback while you're wrecking cars and destroying the scenery. If you were not the violent kind of driver, just listen to those songs and you'll immediately feel the urge to start crashing cars. Just don't do this in real life? In the Stunts minigame collection all the sounds, the cheers of the crowd and the announcements will be heard with an echo, just like in a giant arena, or stadium. Also, the sounds of crashes and the engines are perfect for a game pertaining to the racing-destruction genre.
Multiplayer FlatOut 2 offers you the chance to take part in an online game, either in the Stunt mode or those destruction derbies. It's all lag-free and there's always someone to crash in those online player lists. The game also features a party mode that lets you choose a selection of 6 stunt challenges, 12 grand stunts challenges or create a custom list of stunt challenges. Just add a bunch of new players, by creating their profiles and pass the joystick around. There's also a split screen mode that will allow you to take part in a single race for a one-on-one duel. The first one to destroy the most scenery or wreck the other driver wins. It's too bad that there are no AI cars involved in those split-screen races. A two-player destruction derby can get really boring after a couple of minutes.
Conclusion The middle name of this title must be "quality" since it delivers an experience that should be considered an example for all the games pertaining to the racing genre. Exquisite car crashing, lots of deformations, many hilarious ragdoll stunts and many hours of pure flaming entertainment. Spice that all up with a rockin' soundtrack and you've got a real "Symphony of Destruction" designed to please gamers. FlatOut 2 is a must for those who played the first installment and a good option for those that want to take a great car-crashing title for a spin.
