FlatOut smashes into factory

Buckle up, VU Games today announced that FlatOut has gone gold and will be available for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and PC July 12. The racer was previously released in Europe by Empire Interactive, the UK publisher that distributed Starsky & Hutch and Ford Racing 3 on the other side of the Atlantic.

Most racing games are old hat--drive in a circle, grab the checkered flag, and so forth. FlatOut, developed by Finnish studio Bugbear Entertainment, is not such a racer. Instead of tuning cars and earning respect for the driver, FlatOut would rather see the man behind the wheel gruesomely ejected from the car and launched at a giant dartboard.

The game appeals to the rubbernecking draw of twisted metal, promoting carnage with fully destructible cars and environments. Lose a fender scraping paint? It'll remain on the track for the remainder of the race. There are 36 tracks, 16 cars, and six "don't try this at home" driver-launching minigames.

The PS2 version will support up to six players online, and the Xbox version will support eight over Xbox Live.

FlatOut is rated T for Teen and will retail for $39.99 on the PC and $49.99 on the Xbox and PS2. For more information on the game, gas it over to GameSpot's previous coverage.