FlatOut (PlayStation 2)

FlatOut is a driving game where crashing your car can be more fun than racing it. You drive muscle cars around dirt tracks, battle them on destruction derby arenas, and take part in Ragdoll Olympics. That last one may need some explanation. When you crash in FlatOut, your driver (the Ragdoll) is flung through the windscreen, very much like in Rekkaturvat. This feature is used in the Ragdoll sports where the task is to propel the hapless driver as far, as high, or as accurately as possible. On the demolition arena the goal is to wreck other cars before yours is. Simple as that.

The bulk of the game is racing though and it can be performed in typical quick race and time trial modes in addition to the proverbial career mode. There are also two different handling modes for the cars. Normal mode gives arcade type handling, suitable for gamepads. Professional mode seems to be designed for steering wheel owners and provides very challenging simulator-type handling. Not surprisingly since Bugbear’s previous racing title Rally Trophy was considered to be very challenging, even demanding, simulation.

Bugbear’s experience with simulation dynamics shows in FlatOut. Almost everything on the track can be run into and it behaves as it should in real life. Or at least as in a car-chase movie. Stuff that cars scatter around are there on the next lap too and cars are gradually dismantled when hit to other cars or solid objects around the track.

Multiplayer modes are of course great party hits. Depending on platform, FlatOut has hotseat, split screen, LAN, and/or online multiplay modes.