FlatOut

Racing games have become almost synonymous with how the gaming industry has grown.  Simple games that provided fun and interesting experiences used to be what dominated the gaming market.  Over the last several years it seems that gamers have demanded more from their games.  It’s not uncommon now to have a game that tries to do everything instead of focusing on one area or aspect.  Racing games have followed this same pattern of growth.  Early racing games didn’t include licensed cars or authentic tracks.  But now it seems the biggest racing games released are the ones that are driving simulators instead of games.  Sometimes we tend to forget the golden rule of gaming: games are supposed to be fun. 

Flatout is a racing game that comes close to bridging the gap between modern games and the fun aspect.  At its core Flatout is a racing game where you race against other drivers to see who will win the race.  The modern aspect of the game is the technology included in the game, notably the way the game handles real life physics during a race.  But also included in the game are some humorous, amusing and fun to play mini games where you have to launch the driver out of the car in order to score points.  This might sound morbid and ghastly but it’s an incredibly fun and addictive part of the game.  Who knew having the driver fly 100 feet in the air from a car wreck could be so much fun?

The game is broken down into two different areas for games to test their driving abilities: the race and the rag doll competitions.  The racing section of the game is similar to other racing games in concept: you race against the competition in order to win the race.  There are no licensed cars or real life race drivers included in the game.  In fact there are only 5 different types of cars to choose from in the game, three skill levels and nine different races.  But trust me you won’t miss being limited to just 9 different races.  The rag doll competition is the real gem of the game.  This is where you compete in several different mini games that are based on ejecting the driver from your vehicle.

The reason for the name “rag doll” is because the game includes a comprehensive physics engine that is design to create accurate damage to your car, the track, items on the track and reactions to your driver.  Let’s say that you hit a sign on a track as you take a corner too tight.  In Flatout the game is designed to have the sign react naturally as it would in real life instead of just breaking based on a computer program.  So if you hit a guardrail in the game your car will react almost as it would in real life (but up to a point since this is a game anyway).  During the race your car will take damage, the track will take damage and the entire time the cars and debris on the track will react almost naturally. 

However it’s not just the cars that react naturally, it’s also your driver.  If you hit a tree or another vehicle head on during a race your driver will eject from the vehicle and then fly through the air.  His/her motion and responses will depend on how fast you were driving, how hard you hit and almost every other reaction that is possible in real life.  If I hit a tree, my driver would eject, but if he hit another tree while flying from the car then the driver would react accordingly.  It creates a sense of realism but at the same time it creates a sense of overwhelming humor and fun during the rag doll competitions.  The rag doll competitions vary from the Long Jump (propel your driver as far as you can) to 10-Pin bowling (where you knock down as many pins as you can by ejecting the driver).  I found myself playing the rag doll competitions over and over again because I had a blast playing them.  There are a total of 6 rag doll competitions in the game.  Only parts of the competitions are available at the start of the game.  The rest have to be unlocked by playing the regular racing portion of the game. 

The graphics for this type of game were almost fantastic.  In fact the game looked just as good as some of the other top shelf racing games released.  The car models are nicely detailed with a ton of stickers to replicate real life racecars.  All of the cars have the look of being road weary vehicles that any one of us would drive everyday.   The damage taken during a race had a huge impact on the look of the cars by the time the race is over.  I had several races were I finished the race missing a bumper, the hood of the car and had huge dents all over the body of the car.  The graphics reacted wonderfully to the physics engine with the cars showing damage to a specific area that was just hit. 

The graphics for the different stages were also well done with each track having their own unique look. There was always a ton of different items scattered across the tracks for you to run into during the race.  Probably the biggest issue with the graphics was the slow down of the choppyness that would occur during a race.   When more than one vehicle was on the screen at the same time the frame rate would tend to stutter and slow down.  This happened on almost every track and stage but it was more prominent on the forest areas.  I never noticed a problem with any slow down during the rag doll competitions, only during the races.

The game controlled well, considering it is a racing game for the PC.  Just a word of caution, I hate controlling a racing game using the keyboard.  I would rather have a steering wheel or a controller.  But for the sake of this review I tried the game with the keyboard and a controller.  The cars during the game responded accurately and appropriately, either using the keyboard or a controller.  You will probably have a difficult time during the race section of the game due to the frame rate issue.  When the frame rate would slow down it would make it difficult to see my car, which resulted in a few wrecks.  The physics engine is also the other deterrent to the controls, simply because the car would react to everything on the track.  Sometimes the reactions would be natural and my car would stop because I hit a tree or a stack of wood.  But other times I would hit maybe a small rock that would cause my driver to eject.  Luckily during the races the “rubber band” effect was in place so I was never out of a race no matter how many wrecks I had.  I was always able to catch up with the other drivers during the race whether I had one wreck or 10 wrecks.

Flatout is one of those rare games that come along every couple of years.  It’s a racing game at its core but there is so much fun to be had with the game.  The regular racing game included is a nice game because of the graphics and the physics engine.  However hardcore racing nuts will probably find the lack of licensed cars and the small number of tracks to be a negative.  But the rag doll competitions is where the fun really kicks in for Flatout.  I never knew trying to score a strike in bowling was so much fun, but I’ve never bowled by ejecting someone out of a car.  Flatout is a fun and entertaining game that should bring a smile on many a gamer’ face.

Gameplay 8.0 

The cars during the game controlled well during the races and the rag doll competition.  There was the occasional problem controlling the car during a race but this was due to the graphics, not the controls.  The controls are simple and easy for anyone to get adjusted with.  The directional buttons control the car and the control button ignites the nitro for the car and is the ejection button during the rag doll competition.  The limited amount of cars and tracks during the racing part of the game will be a hindrance for some.  The rag doll competitions were all fantastic, fun and addictive. 

Graphics 8.0 

During the majority of the game the graphics were top notch and the frame rate was steady.  In fact if you only play the rag doll competitions you probably will never have a problem with the graphics.  When there was more than two or three cars on the screen at one time the frame rate would start to stutter and there was some slow down.  All of the car models looked great and the graphics reacted perfectly to the physics engine.  Every car during a race would show their damage from the race.  No car would ever look the same once a race was finished.

Sound 7.8 

The sound effects for the different cars and wrecks were lacking a little.  There was a minimal amount of difference between the sound effects for the different cars.  Also most of the wrecks sounded the same during the race regardless of the severity of the wreck.  The music in the game is licensed rock music from (what I can only assume are) British artists.  I enjoyed most of the songs in the game but during a long race you would hear the same song several times.

Difficulty Medium 

The difficulty for Flatout will depend on your persistence and patience.  In order to master the rag doll competitions you will need to upgrade your car.  The fastest and easiest way to do this is to either win a race or have the high score in a competition.  This will result in you repeating the same races and competitions over again.  If you find this too complicated then the difficulty will be too much for you.  As I mentioned earlier the “rubber band” effect is in full force in the game.  The rubber band effects happens during a racing game where the computer always keeps you close to the other cars during the race.  There were a few times when I would have a spectacular crash that I thought would take me out of the race.  But within a few seconds I had already caught up with the rest of the cars.  This happens even when you are in first place; the rest of the pack is always right behind you.

Concept 8.3 

To be honest when I first played this game at E3 2004 I was amazed at the physics engine.  Seeing the cars, the track and debris react to everything happening during a race was a sight to see.  Some of the popular racing games don’t include the option to show car damage during a race, but Flatout doesn’t hide this from the gamer.  In fact the damage to the cars is a great part of the game because it’s so much fun to see the damage you take during a race.  But the best part of this game has to be the rag doll competitions, because this is something that really hasn’t been done before.  Using the driver as a target for the games is a blast that I’m sure will cause a smile for everyone that plays this game.  I found myself playing the rag doll games repeatedly because I just knew I could do better.  This is still a racing game and the limited number of cars and tracks is a short coming compared to other racing games. 

Multiplayer 

I was unable to test the multiplayer parts of Flatout.  The game includes a multiplayer mode but it is only playable over a LAN and not over the internet.  Up to 8 computers can be connected to play the game at the same time. 

Overall 8.0 

I haven’t had this much fun with a driving game since the first Driver game was released for Playstation 1.  Now I should mention that I only played the free mode in Driver, which allowed me to drive around the city being chased by the cops.  I enjoyed trying to come up with the most intense and crazy crashes that were possible when I played Driver.  I get the same happy feeling when I play the rag doll games in Flatout.  The game reminds me of why we play games: to have fun!  While there are some problems with the graphics and amount of depth to the game, I should beg everyone to at least try this game at least once.  You probably won’t be disappointed.