With FlatOut 2, you finally got your chance to destroy everything & everyone!
I know we all wish,at least from time to time,to kill as many enamies or destroy as many objects as we can.FlatOut 2 is clearly the most enjoyable game that never loses intensity...let me explain.
After you create a profile you will see that there are 3 big cathegories of races: Derby, Street & Race.Derby involves cheap but durable cars,mostly dirt tracks & destruction derbies ;street has some cool cars that you see everyday on the streets ,& you'll get to race...well,on the streets. Finally,race gives you sportcars, racecars & prototypes which you'll race mainly on racing tracks.After all these come the finals,which I think you know what mean.
You'll start your career in derby,buy a truck & go racing.The cool thing is that you don't need to absurdly win every race on the 1st place to advance in the game...there are championships,each consisting in three or more races.In every race,1st place takes 10 points, 2nd takes 8 , 3rd takes 6 , 4th takes 5, etc ,until 8th takes 1.The driver with most points at the end of the championship wins.Of youre,you can finish a championship on 3rd place,no problem,but you'll less money.Money is also received from crashing the opponents (a simple crash brings you 100 $,but a huge crash that sends the pilots flying trough their windshields brings you no less than 800 $! Also,winning some titles as Best Wrecker, Bulldozer (destroy as many environmental objects as you can) or having the Best Lap Time are also rewarded with money.Why is money impotant? For buying new cars & tuning them.Yeah,they have the classic attributes like Top Speed, Acceleration, Handling ,Nitrous Oxide ,Strenght & Weight.The interesting thing about tuning is that you can never have the perfect car; if you want a strong car that will not blow up when hit a little bit harder,you'll need to increase the Strenght,by installing a variety of parts.Which parts are quite heavy & will increase the weight of the car,making it harder to handle,& this also negatively affects the Top Speed performance.Oh,you can sacrifice strenght & maximize top speed & acceleration but that can also prove bad if you are first place in the last turn of the last lap,but at that speed you could not see the water tower in front of you until you crashed in it & blew up. As a conclusion,either have two cars which you can always change,depending of what track comes next,or you can tune a really balanced car,which I'd say it's the best option.But do as you please.
Now to speak about the races themselves...they are basically tracks trrough farms,forests,desert,beaches,city cenrtes,abandoned airports... almost everything. Without you,there are 7 other drivers which you'll grow to know,anticipate, even like or dislike.Every one of them had their good or bad moments,as well as their specific tactics & their own skills. This is the game where if you see Jack Benton behind you,closing,you get scared,trying to avoid him at any cost,but if he's Frank Malcov,you'll just laugh,intoduce him to the nearest gas station & carry on the race.Because,yes,you can do "whatever it takes" to win...including slamming your adversaries into walls,trees,rocks,shops,...gas station (huge explosion FTW!!)...basically everything you see.& they could just do the same with you,so beware.Oh I forgot to tell you how nice the cars dismember,parts falling down from them one by one...artistic;you've really gotta watch some videos or pictures to trully understand what I'm talking about.The environments are COMPLETLY DESTROYABLE.Yes,that means you can destroy ANYTHING!!! Walls,fences,pipes,advertising boards,gas stations (again) ,shops, ...basically everything you see (except some objects earlier mentioned,which are used for crashing cars into). Yeah ,you can take shortcuts trough shops,malls,construction sites , destroying all the furniture,statues...every goddamn thing!!!It really is a symphony of destruction.However,the physics are somehow exagerated sometimes,because once I crashed into a fallen front bumper & I flew trough the air while countinuesly spinning,the car desintegrating,till it hit the gas station,creating a huge explosion & a chain crash,pilots flying in agony trough their windshields...from a damn front bumper!!!But I never said this wasn't fun,oh no.Once,at the end of a race there was only me & another guy left,the others being...scattered troughout the track!!!
OK,but FlatOut 2 still wouldn't be FlatOut 2 without the minigames.Football,soccer,baseball,bowling,basketball,darts,curling ,ring of fire ,stone skipping, royal flush,etc. They all start with you speeding up on a runway,than setting the angle of the launch & launching your driver,in order to use him as a dart,as football, basketball ,bowling ball ,to pass him trough the rings of fire, to make him hit the right card in order to make the royal flush,etc. These minigames are incredibly fun & relaxing & go greatly between two championshipsm,& also bring you money in the career mode.You MUST try them!!!
But what do we really need in order to really feel there,in middle of all that chaos & destruction?I'll tell you:music,the right soundtrack.And FlatOut 2 has...yes,has the best soundtrack EVER!!!At first,not all the bands seem too great,but the songs are perfectly chosen & not one gets boring.They all deliver the perfect atmosphere,blending perfectly with the carnage that's happnening on your screen.We have some heavy metal as Megadeth-Symphony of Destuction ,Rob Zombie-Demon Speeding & Feel so Numb ,some hard rock as Nickelback-Believe it or Not ,Flat on the Floor, Motley Clue-Dr. Feelgood, Papa Roach with Blood Brothers & Not Listening, The Vines-Don't Listen to the Radio, Alkaline Trio-Mercy Me & Fall Victim ,Pyramid & Dimension from Wolfmother, Audioslave-Man or Animal & Your Time has Come ,oh,& Supergrass with Road to Rouen & Richard III.Also,there is some nice metalcore from Underoath, with the best song in the game (I'd dare say),Reinviting your Exit.The punk part is also extraordinary,featuring Rough Landing Holly & Breathing from Yellowcard, Give it All from Rise Against (also seen in Need for Speed Underground 2), Zebrahead-Gimme Some More & Fall Out Boy- 7 Minutes in Heaven & Snitches & Takers get Stiches & Walkers (what a cool song name).So,I think you've got the point,both the lyrics & the instrumental parts of the songs suit the game at their best,like no other songs could ever do it.Heil Bugbear!
As a conclusion,FlatOut 2 is simply the best racing game ever created,possibly until FlatOut Ultimate Carnage (PC) this summer.With perfect ingredients perfectly blended together,FlatOut 2 is an unpredictible game,where you are on the last position & it's the last lap,but you could as well win the race on 1st place!But no more...try the game,& then we'll talk.You'll never get bord of it;I've passed it four times by now & I still play it.Go!