Thankfully we gave it a shot and came out of the experience pleasantly surprised. There is a lot more to Flat Out than we were expecting and this makes Flat Out one of the best arcade racers of the year, which is surprising for a title we’d heard little about. Some games are just a pure blast to play and Flat Out is a prime example of this. However, it would be wrong to assume that just because the game is fun, it is lacking depth as this is far from the case.
Flat Out contains sixteen cars which are all fully upgradeable, the upgrades aren’t nearly as comprehensive as say, Gran Turismo but they are an appreciated inclusions. Some of these tuning options include changing the tires, the body of the car, enhancing the suspension and upgrading the exhaust. The game’s career mode also let’s the player purchase cars from the car dealer with the cash they have earnt from the races.
As mentioned above, the career mode is the main mode of Flat Out, allowing the player to take their newly tuned car out and take on over twenty challenges. These challenges vary from demolition derby’s to normal races and even challenges to throw your driver the furthest way out of the car, if you haven’t guessed by now it is the fact that Flat Out doesn’t take itself too seriously that is its main asset.
Aside from the career mode there is also Xbox Live support included in the package. This allows online play for up to eight players and is a great inclusion and something we really weren’t expecting. There is also a time trial mode for those who like to complete the tracks in the fastest time possible.
Flat Out also features over 45 tracks that are set out over five different environments. Some of these environments include Snow and Forest and both of these environments change the way your car handles. Speaking of handling, the cars handle very different to each other and the upgrades do actually appear to make a difference to the way the car reacts.
The damage model in Flat Out is only surpassed by Burnout 3. Hitting a obstacle (developer Bugbear claims there are 3000 individual objects to hit in every track) at a fast pace will slow down time and your driver will fly out into the race arena. It is hard not to laugh the first time you see your racer fly out of the car windscreen. The damage model is really intricate and it is possible to damage just about everything on your car and on other cars.
The game play in Flat Out is just pure, arcade fun. From what we could tell their was no slowdown when all eight cars were on track in a detailed area. One of the problems we had a few times with Flat Out was that after hitting some obstacles it took an extremely long time to get back on track, this normally placed you in last position which is very frustrating, although catching up to your opponents never seemed like much of a problem and there is always the Nitro to speed up your vehicle.
Developer Bug Bear really weren’t lying when they stated that just about everything is destructible. Your car can go through fences, houses, cones, barriers and just about anything on the track. Sometimes it is challenging enough just avoiding the obstacles and there is nothing more satisfying than slamming an opponent into a pile of logs.
Flat Out’s challenges shouldn’t take to long to get through but it is the online play that will keep players entertained. This is not to mention the fact that Flat Out should keep the player coming back for the mini games and the car modification options.
The graphics in Flat Out aren’t anything memorable. This is not to say that they are bad, it’s just that they are sometimes a little dull. A lot of the time the cars are covered in dirt and mud so the colours aren’t exactly vibrant. Still, while playing a game like this, the visuals don’t really matter that much and they don’t detract from the overall enjoyability of Flat Out.
The audio in Flat Out also isn’t very memorable. Unfortunately there is no custom soundtrack option which is a sore omission and one we would have loved to have seen. We question why more developers don’t utilize the custom soundtrack option of the Xbox, especially when the music in the game isn’t exactly good.
Some of you may be surprised by the score we have given Flat Out. It retails at a cheaper price ($79.95) than normal games and we think this is a good idea. Flat Out is a surprisingly enjoyable game, and after all that is all that matters. All of the game modes are just fun to play but we especially love the high jump and long jump options. If you were a fan of Destruction Derby but were a little disappointed by the latest incarnation then do not hesitate to pick this title up, you will not regret it.
However, even if you are not normally a fan of these types of games we recommend you try Flat Out. Sure, the graphics aren’t that great, the soundtrack isn’t exactly memorable but most important of all is the game play, and that is spot on.
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