FlatOut crashing into US June 14

Empire Interactive today announced that FlatOut will be smashing onto North American PCs, Xboxes, and PlayStation 2s on June 14. The game was developed by Finnish studio Bugbear and was released in Europe late last year. The North American release of FlatOut will be distributed by VU Games.

FlatOut leaves pure racing simulation to other games, sporting an engine that focuses more on breaking than braking. Each car boasts 40 "deformable pieces" that allow for maximum wreckage during impacts. Twisted metal from wrecks will litter the destructible racing environments after a few laps and will remain on the course for the duration of the race.

Smashups between the game's 16 upgradable cars will occur on all of the 36 courses. Several minigames will also be featured, including the brutal Rag Doll Olympics, which uses ejected drivers as projectiles in events such as the high jump and bowling.

Unlike its European counterpart, the new Xbox version of FlatOut will feature Xbox Live support of up to eight racers. More exclusive North American features will be announced as GameSpot gets the details.

FlatOut for the Xbox and PS2 will retail for $49.99, and the PC version will retail for $39.99. The rating is pending. For more information, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.