Customer Reviews

FlatOut

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

A great racing game.

Background:

I initially saw this game offered as a demo, which I downloaded; I was quickly addicted and ordered the game from England before Xmas 2004.

The Game Basics:

Playable as a single player or on-line (I was unable to play on-line as I was the only one with the game). Your view of the action is from either 1st person( in the driver's seat)(recommended) or 3rd person (from above and behind your car)

There are 2 skills to play, 1.) Normal and 2.) Professional (where the physics of cornering, braking, spinning out and the effects of car damage are more accurate).

There are 3 levels of racing; 1.) Bronze (9 races), silver (12 races) and gold (15 races). You must finish a race in the top 3 positions in order to open up new race courses to you. Similarily, you must complete all bronze before silver becomes available, and all silver to advance to gold. Money earned for good finishes allows you to upgrade you vehicle and also buy new and better cars.

There are 5 different types of race tracts; 1.)Asphalt 2.) Gravel pit 3.) country dirt road 4.) town and country and 5.) Winter (with icy roads and frozen lakes). All these tracts require different driving techniques and skills.

The Game Play:

This game is simply an adrenalin rush from beginning to end. It is a contact sport with cars. Strategies requires you to drive clean when your in front but to bump and grind it out when your trying to come from behind (and what great fun this is).
In the single player version you are pitted against 7 other opponents who are hell bent on winning at all costs.
As good as any A.I. racing competitor as I have ever played against! The physics of this game are simply hard to believe; sliding around corners, turning, braking and collisions are as real as you can ask for in a racing sim. Also the scenery is stunning; especially the winter tracts.

Extras:

In addition to the main game there is a series of target practice games with a "rag doll" driver that explodes through the windshield after collisions. Also there are 3 short demolition tracts to try. These are fun to try but not as adrenalin pumping as the actual game itself.


Suggestions:

1.) You really need a steering wheel with gas and brake features to be competitive on the silver and gold levels.
2.) There is a downloadable patch that allows you to turn off the "rag doll" effect that sends the driver through the windshield with every collision. This is a neat effect at first but becomes tiresome and time consuming during an actual race.

Conclusion:
It took me 6-7 weeks of solid play to win all 36 races on the professional level. At times it was very frustrating (especially on the gold level), but I was NEVER bored with this game.
If you love racing sims, this one should not be missed. Highly recommend!

Addendum Jan 08
Having had time to compare 'Flatout' vs "Flatout 2', I have to state that the original 'Flatout' is a much superior game. They seemed to cut some corners in producing 'Flatout 2'; fewer 'rural' areas, more downtown city scenarios, no winter driving, etc. The original 'Flatout' was, and still is, the best racing sim I've ever been privileged to play.

Pros: physics-- 9
graphics--10
gameplay-- 8
sound 9
AI 9

Cons: Gets a little repetative
Car tweaking could be more involved
Needs a stearing wheel with force feedback (adds realism)

This game is so much fun. If you enjoy all-out mayhem, with superb sounds and graphics, this game is for you. More "crash-em-up" than pure racing simulation. (Check out GTR for an excellent racing sim).
Racing other cars around tracks of gravel, asphalt, ice, dirt, and mud is thrilling; a pure adrenalin rush. AI cars are excellent, as they try to send you flying off the track. You can actually see the drivers steering, and watching them fly out of their cars is hysterical. As you drive around the course, you gain extra points wrecking fences, tire walls, etc. And, all these wrecked pieces stay on the track and interfere with cars as the race goes on. There are 6 "destruction bowls" added in for some unique madness, where the idea is to destroy the AI cars before they send you flying through your windshield. The sounds, physics, and graphics are unmatched as 6 or more cars, all going 70+ mph converge on one spot. Have fun!!

This game is great fun. Great graphics, cool sound tracks are just the beginning. If your looking for a new racing title, this maybe the one. Realistic damage to cars and a destructable enviroment can add up to hours of pure racing mayhem fun.
FlatOut is flat out fun.

So, you loved the original Driver game for PC? Sad that Driver2 didn't get to PC and still haven't mastered Driv3r or left it sitting in the box to figure out later? Then FlatOut is the game for you. This game may not be a realistic racing simulator, may not have the best GUI for menus (can be managed with wheel and keyboard use. But for fun, this game has what you need. This game is great after those long commutes, just load it up, start a race, turn around and crash headlong into everything in sight, thinking it was that guy that was tailgating you, or that dead ass that wouldn't get out of the way. SMASH, CRASH, or get the cheat for the ejector seat and have fun throwing the dummy for distance or altitude records. Then you can mess around with different cars getting a reasonable idea about tight, loose, and all those other NASCAR like descriptions that the cars all get at times. There all there in one form or another. In all, great fun, and certainly worth the money.

I found the game easy to play in fact my 6 yr old loves the game. Graphics are great. Have had no lags or crashes. Only wish there would be a larger choice of vehicles.

Very good driving game, good graphics and physics, although FlatOut2 is of course better. I only got this cause I went thru all of flatout2 and needed more! Only complaint: too much "dirt" driving, I prefer cities and concrete. Also, it seems a bit harder than FlatOut2, but I am getting thru it in time.

I love the realistic damage and the crazy ways you can race in this game. The only downside is it's difficult to race multiple opponents without getting knocked off the track, as is most race games, where the AI is pretty aggressive. The best thing about this game is watching the driver fly out of the car in certain crashes, as well as the bonus games. I've even run over my driver with my own car, which I've never done in any racing game before.

"Flat Out" is the most fun I have had on my PC in years. It is low cost and and has easy to use high end features on XP - It does more that most of the fancier games. It is a riot to bang up your car and continue to race while on fire. Be careful there are some other games with similar names this one is simply called "Flat Out" with no prefixes or suffixes or numbers or letters. It is hard to get. JR had it and I got it!!!

if you ever wanted to take beater cars, supe them up to muscle cars and then race out in the back-country on dirt roads rally style, this is your game. the graphics are bright, detailed, and vibrant. the collisions are insane, losing doors, hoods, side-panels... your driver will even go through the windshield in a horrendous wreck! the action is somewhere between arcade and simulation style which blends nicely together with a great soundtrack added to the mix. definitly a classic and should belong in every race car drivers game library. now with the current marketplace price, it's a steal.

I do not understand why anyone would really dislike this game, maybe not there favorite, but theres nothin bad about this game. Great attention to detail when it comes to crashes and getting dinged up by other cars. All the game modes are fun(race,derby,stunt)
Online play is really fun too, especially if you have a mic.
Only bad part is some tracks are the same tracks, just in opposite directions and the cars slide around too much as if you have absoluty no tred.
Best racing game I've ever played though. The need for speeds are fun, but generally have little or no damage and the tracks all look a little too similiar. They also don't offer as many jumps and the crashes are not nearly as spectacular. You'll be wanting to see some of your best crashes over again in slow motion in Flatout 2. I can't wait for the 360 version!