Playing FlatOut 2 much? Here's why
1. Crashes
2. Money
3. Car upgrades (plus a variety of cars to choose from)
4. Great graphics
5. Being able to win!
6. Extras FlatOut 2 includes all of these! The gameplay itself is rather addictive, the combination of great tracks, high speeds and destruction means that the chances of getting bored are quite slim, and if you do, you can always go backwards around the track crashing into every opponent that comes your way (allowing you to gain credits for "Power Hit"'s etc. and gaining the title of Top Wrecker). The advantage to crashing into other cars and (non-fixed objects) is Nitro! Whilst racing I tend to stalk the track like a blood-thirsty ware-wolf looking for my next kill. Generally speaking I'm not the best at racing, I either lose or crash my way to the front; FlatOut 2 provides great alternatives to the racing itself, including Bowling, Stone Skimming, High Jump etc. The general idea of these little extras is to flog your driver as high or as hard as you can by speeding and launching him at the appropriate target, the better the hit, the more points/credits you get. Similar to Destruction Derby, it includes events
in which you can wreck the (insert vulgar word) out of your opponents. Ultimately the graphics are great, with stunning crashes implementing the use of clever camera panning, you can see your car as it is wrapped around a tree, or your driver as he/she is hurtled through the air. It's also a good thing to know that the game isn't too demanding on your computers recourses, so if you don't like the (pretty good) soundtrack (featuring Rob Zomby and Alkaline Trio), you could always put WMP on in the background and race along to DJ Tiesto. Once you've learnt the simple ins and outs of the game winning isn't so much of an obstacle as getting a decent car. Unfortunately you can't just go straight to the fastest car and do it up, you have to win stages and unlock them, making a bit of a catch 22 if your not very good at racing. Luckily there are upgrades for the car, making it up to double the speed, but at a cost to handling and/or strength, adding a bit of strategy to how you play the game. It does cost a bit to do all this, but money isn't too hard to come by. I haven't yet played the multiplayer game, but from what I understand it's as good as playing single player, so if you fancy pitting it out with real people give it a bash! FlatOut 2 is flat-out great (sorry), if you get the chance, buy it!
Terry B.