FlatOut 2

aka: FlatOut 2 (Super Digital Deluxe Edition), FlatOut 2 GTR
Moby ID: 22983
Windows Specs
Buy on PlayStation 2
$11.42 used on eBay
Buy on Windows
$7.99 new on Steam
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Description official descriptions

As in FlatOut your goal is to drive as reckless as you can and still win the race. But contrary to its predecessor, FlatOut 2 is now a complete arcade-racing game.

The core of the game is the career mode which features 3 different racing-classes: Derby, Race and Street. Every class is also divided into 3 levels. You begin your career in the derby class level 1. Here you drive old, wrecked cars straight from the dump. As you progress to the race class and finally to the street class you can buy better and faster cars which you can then also tune to your needs, like installing a new engine.

Inside the classes you find different kinds of events: from normal races over Destruction Derbies to stunt events. All of the events feature a fully destructible environment. This is not only eye-candy but is also required to fill up your nitro and handicap your enemies.

If you get bored of that, you can play one of the 12 mini-games. Like in FlatOut your goal here is to do all kinds of crazy stuff with your driver. You can use him as a football, throw him through burning rings and more. These mini-games can also be played with up to 8 players on one PC in a hot-seat mode.

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Credits (Windows version)

83 People (77 developers, 6 thanks) · View all

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 79% (based on 53 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.9 out of 5 (based on 52 ratings with 4 reviews)

Symphony of Destruction

The Good
The idea behind the whole game. Nowadays almost every developer creates an action game, or a FPS. And since all the Burnout games are console-only, and since I liked FlatOut 1 a lot, I was really interested in the sequel to the original game. After all, you don't get to play a Destruction Derby-like game everyday :)

The game features LOTS of improvements. Not only that a more accessible and good looking interface is now present, but several cars, tracks, modes and characters were added. And FlatOut 2 can be considered a worthy sequel to the original game since it takes everything that made FlatOut 1 a good game and improves each of those elements. Long story short: FlatOut2 = Improved FlatOut1.

But don't think of the game as a new FlatOut1 clone. Even if every element from FO1 (I'll use this abbreviation from now on) is present in FO2, each one is changed in a manner that makes the game look like a completely new one, and not just another clone (points at FlatOut Ultimate Carnage).

First of all the graphics are stunning. Perfect. Impressive. Immaculate. Whatever term you want to use. I simply love the landscapes (especially the sunset scenery) and the cars are insanely well modeled. The physics of the game are OK, though there are a few minor bugs... The car damage is impressive for the eye but, alas, it has a really LOW impact on the car's performance. But what the hell? Who cares? This isn't a simulator or anything like that! This is an insanely fun game that features massive...

... WRECKAGE! If you hear the name FlatOut, you immediately think of massive car destruction, impressive and dangerous stunts, landed planes and flying cars! Every single scratch is visible on your car and every contact with the solid objects in the landscapes will leave serious "scars" on the car's body. You can't call a crash a failure since you get nitro points for every impressive crash so... aside from winning the race, your main aim in this game is to wreck everything you can see. Reminded me of Carmageddon somehow... and that's not a bad thing!

There are lots of cars to choose from. Split into 3 different categories, varying from Derby Cars to Street Racing cars. While the derby cars look more... destroyed, the street cars are the perfect picture of luxury. So, all you have to do, is earn enough money, buy an expensive and good looking car that would make any Maybach go pale, then take it out on the streets... to wreck it! Don't worry, the car will be automatically repaired after the race :P As I said, the scenery is perfect, thus making the driver look away from the road to admire the view. That isn't a good thing at all. Really. The tracks are great but it is difficult to master them. At every turn you can crash into something and get slowed down. Or you could go through a fence and end up with nothing more to do other than clicking on the Reset button. This is a bad and a good thing at the same time.

The music is simply great. I love most of the tracks and those that I don't love I don't get annoyed with. They're all ok. Even if I don't fancy metal or alternative music, the soundtrack goes well with the game atmosphere so I don't mind it at all.

The game controls are great, the car is rather easy to handle, and if you have a gamepad, then you're in luck. I played the game using a gamepad and believe me, you control the car much better than with the keyboard.

The Bad
The game is insanely difficult. You need to crash some opponents in order to get pass them without using nitro, because they are just TOO fast. Or should I say faster than you? Maybe It's just me but...

And most of the tracks repeat. You race on the same track in different events 3 or 4 times.

Also it's really frustrating to crash while racing the last lap and lose everything you gained before crashing... That happens quite often in this game.

The Bottom Line
Even if the game was quite difficult and frustrating, it always made me go back to play!

Windows · by Hypercake (1310) · 2008

This follow-up to FlatOut still sucks.

The Good
You can now play the ragdoll mini-games without having to play the races first.

The Bad
Unfortunately, FlatOut 2 still suffers from the same problems that plagued the original FlatOut. These problems are so bad, in fact, that I placed last in every single race every single time. Sound bad? Well, get this: I place first in Burnout: Revenge about 60% of the time. Yes, I probably sound like I'm bragging here, but even then, Burnout Revenge is widely considered to be one of the best racing games of all time. I think it knows what it's doing.

You see, the problem is that FlatOut 2 feels totally unfair. Awful driving physics mean that you'll be spinning off the tracks by just mildly tapping the controller, and that's not good. But you must be The Man if you can put up with the ultra-frustrating AI opponents. These cheaters race twice as fast as you, can ram you off the track, and aren't sent spinning off the tracks like you constantly are. Where's PunkBuster when you need it?

Sure, like I mentioned above, the ragdoll mini-games (which were a highlight of the original FlatOut) can now be played without having to play the actual game first. While these mini-games are fun, there just isn't enough variety to make FlatOut 2 worth your $40. (At least I rented the game first!) I mean, if Bugbear actually fixed the original game's problems and made a racing game that was fun to play, FlatOut 2 would have been great. Instead, it does little more than prove the laziness of the developers.

The Bottom Line
Life is too short to waste on FlatOut 2. Stick with Burnout Revenge and stay the heck away from this.

Xbox · by Spartan_234 (424) · 2006

Questionably One of My Favorite Racers.

The Good
FlatOut 2, like it's predecessor, is a racing game that encourages you to go ballistic with other drivers on the raceways. This includes trying to wreck opposing vehicles, send other drivers flying through their windshield, and destroying as much of the environment as you can. This is quite a campy game as it hardly takes itself seriously. There really isn't any sort of story. You play as a nameless driver who competes in competitions with unlicensed vehicles. There are other characters, who have mini-biographies to read during the load times, but you never really learn a whole lot else about them. As with any racing game, you've got a few game modes to choose from: a career/story mode which ultimately just has players doing races (and stunts) in an assigned order, a stunt mode which lets the player toss their rag-doll driver around in absurd courses, an event mode which offers alternative versions of race tracks, and lastly a demolition derby mode. This game really shines in the demolition derby/stunt department, as not a lot of other racing games offered up this kind of gameplay. I don't think even Burn Out came this close to accurate car damage. That's another thing: the exceptionally destructible environments and highly detailed, realistic car damage really gave FlatOut 2 a genuine simulation of real-life indie races and all that. Lastly, I found the soundtrack to be a mixed bag of good songs and straight out garbage. It consists of rock artists such as Zebrahead, The Vines, Papa Roach, and a lot more. While the soundtrack is subjective, I was generally satisfied with it.

The Bad
As I said earlier, FlatOut 2 definitely shines for it's outrageously entertaining gameplay and stunts. While it may be fun to crash around the course, trying to actually navigate through the courses effectively can be quite the hassle. The driving mechanics in FlatOut 2 feel very clunky, opponent vehicles often go faster than your car, regardless of upgrades, and trying to turn your vehicle can be one hell of a chore. There are three classes of cars in this game: derby, race, and street. The derby-class cars handle the best but have some of the lowest speeds, race-class cars have pretty good handling and moderately high speeds, and street-class cars have the worst handling but have the highest speeds. Naturally cars with high speeds don't handle that well, and I get that, but these street-class cars spin out at the mere touch of the analog stick. And it isn't just a few of the street-class cars, pretty much all of them have terrible handling -- even a handful of race-class cars can't seem to handle properly. I hate to penalize FlatOut 2 for this aspect, but I felt that there should have been some sort of storyline to it. The cast of characters seemed really neat and I'm sure the dialog could have been rather humorous because of the whole campy feeling of this game. But I suppose it doesn't make or break this title.

The Bottom Line
FlatOut 2 is definitely for those who are just looking to have some silly, non-competitive fun. The stunts and rag-doll physics alone will keep you and your friend(s) entertained for hours. However, I would definitely not recommend this game for fans of of more serious racing games like Need For Speed and Gran Turismo. As I said earlier, the cars are not licensed so there's really no sort of realism or realistic customization for your vehicles and the handling on these cars are definitely nothing like what more hardcore racing gamers are used to.

Though on a more personal note, I found FlatOut 2 to be a total joy -- a game that, for me, has stood the test of time since it's 2006 release on the PS2. I play this game quite often, perhaps even more than other, newer racing games like The Crew and Gran Turismo 6.

Definitely a PS2 game that shouldn't be overlooked.

PlayStation 2 · by blancmange (52) · 2015

[ View all 4 player reviews ]

Trivia

German version

In the German version all drivers were replaced with crash dummies.

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Sicarius.

OnLive added by firefang9212. Linux added by Sciere. Macintosh added by Kabushi.

Additional contributors: Sciere, Kabushi, Zeppin, Patrick Bregger, Plok, Victor Vance.

Game added July 4, 2006. Last modified March 24, 2024.