Flatout 2 (PS2)
Sean W. Gibson / Sep 20th, 2006 No Comments
* Race and collide with your friends online (up to 6 on PS2, up to 8 on Xbox)
- Hurl your driver in 12 wild mini-games that you can now play online
* City, country and racing tracks test your driving prowess
* Thousands and thousands of destructible items on every track
* Gain nitro boost and a clear advantage by crashing with control
* Take your destructive habits to the demolition arena and compete online
* Join the racing circuit and learn how to make your way through the competition
One great thing about original Flatout was if you collided 'hard' enough, your driver would smash through the windshield. Now, Flatout 2 turned that popular feature into an actual mini-game! One of the many mini-games integrated into the career mode is the 'high jump' where the object is to launch your driver out of the vehicle and hit the target at the highest possible point. It’s absolutely hilarious and the career mode in Flatout 2 is fun and challenging, letting gamers race through various circuits while gaining credits for cars and setting records to thrash other drivers. Strictly speaking gameplay, Flatout 2 is a definite winner and will make you feel like Ricky Bobby in Talladega Nights.
SYNOPSIS:
For those of you that love racing games where collisions and wild wrecks are rewarded – you've found your nirvana. Flatout 2 not only allows you to, but also rewards you for driving like a maniac and causing wonton destruction. In these high-speed races and mini-games, the more damage you inflict, the better – more money for newer cars and upgrades. The ultimate in turbo-charged cars and the craziest of tracks waits for your best in destructiveness.
FEATURE LIST
The list of features as supplied by the manufacturer:
* Race and collide with your friends online (up to 6 on PS2, up to 8 on Xbox)
- Hurl your driver in 12 wild mini-games that you can now play online
* City, country and racing tracks test your driving prowess
* Thousands and thousands of destructible items on every track
* Gain nitro boost and a clear advantage by crashing with control
* Take your destructive habits to the demolition arena and compete online
* Join the racing circuit and learn how to make your way through the competition
GRAPHICS
All versions of this title, be it PS2, Xbox or PC, all boast great graphics for their respective platform. Playing the title extensively for the 'lesser' of the platforms (PS2), yielded great results graphically. The terrain and environment textures are fairly crisp, detailed and offer a wide variety of amazing tracks to do damage while driving. What really cool is when you collide with multiple cars and then go headfirst into something 'exciting' like an airplane, which actually explodes when you hit it. With a variety of tracks and weird elements to collide into, coupled with the great collision animations and graphics, Flatout 2 is a polished game that performs well.
SOUND
It’s one thing to drive around and cause mayhem; it’s another to have the audio deliver the same performance for a satisfying experience. Fortunately, this game definitely brings the goods with various slams, bashes, crashes and even 'squishes' for when your driver…well… gets squished after flying out of a car wreck. The soundtrack is pretty solid, headlined by Rob Zombie, providing a fantastic audio experience with the gameplay.
GAME PLAY
The point of Flatout 2 is simple: win the race while causing as much destruction as possible. You’re not only allowed to run into things, but you’re actually rewarded for such behavior. Gain credits for causing the most destruction during the race and redeem for new and upgrades on vehicles. Every smash hit into an opponent equals more points, but be careful not to go overboard since your placement in the races is what unlocks the subsequent levels.
One great thing about original Flatout was if you collided 'hard' enough, your driver would smash through the windshield. Now, Flatout 2 turned that popular feature into an actual mini-game! One of the many mini-games integrated into the career mode is the 'high jump' where the object is to launch your driver out of the vehicle and hit the target at the highest possible point. It’s absolutely hilarious and the career mode in Flatout 2 is fun and challenging, letting gamers race through various circuits while gaining credits for cars and setting records to thrash other drivers. Strictly speaking gameplay, Flatout 2 is a definite winner and will make you feel like Ricky Bobby in Talladega Nights.
ONLINE / MULTIPLAYER
Flatout 2 is not your super-realistic car simulator. It’s a fun game that allows you to destroy everything on the screen, gives some fairly realistic damage on the cars during the course of the race and has a robust career mode that’s challenging and fun to play. The uniqueness of the mini-games is the big reason why the originality score is so high … they’re hilarious and extremely addicting.
OVERALL IMPRESSION
Flatout 2 is a winner and should totally be checked out by gamers. It’s amusing, crazy, wild and highly perpetual. The graphics and audio couple together really well for a kick-ass experience, and the gameplay and driving controls are solid. Overall, this game comes highly recommended because it’s just plain FUN.
Sean W. Gibson
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