FlatOut

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FlatOut
Logo FlatOut.png
Studio FinlandFinland Bugbear Entertainment
Publisher United KingdomUnited Kingdom Empire Interactive
Senior Developer Janne Alanenpää
Tommi Hartikainen
Erstveröffent-
lichung		 All platforms: November 5, 2004 November 12, 2004 October 13, 2005
EuropeEurope
North AmericaNorth America
JapanJapan
platform Windows , PlayStation 2 , Xbox
genre Racing game
Game mode Single player , multiplayer
control Keyboard , gamepad
system advantages
preconditions
medium CD-ROM , download
language German , English
Age rating
USK released from 12
PEGI recommended for ages 12+
information uncut version unchecked in Germany

FlatOut (from English colloquially flatout 'full throttle') is a racing game by the Finnish developer studio Bugbear . It was published in late 2004 by British publisher Empire Interactive for Windows , PlayStation 2 and Xbox platforms .

FlatOut is a stock car game. In addition to driving on given routes as quickly as possible, which is usual for racing games, damaging the surroundings and the opposing vehicles is a central component of the game. A large number of destructible objects are located on and next to the routes, which are mostly located in rural areas.

In 2006 the successor FlatOut 2 appeared .

Gameplay

General

The player takes on the role of a racing driver. The game can be played in all game modes commonly used in racing games . Sixteen different vehicles can be selected, all of which have rear-wheel drive . You will only drive on fictitious courses, which include a racing track that is under renovation, a small town with farms all around and a disused gravel pit. The driving experience of the vehicles themselves is quite realistic.

FlatOut stands out from other racing games in that - similar to Destruction Derby - it assigns a special role to accidents in races. A special physics engine realistically simulates damage for all vehicles and roadside objects.

The comprehensively simulated damage model can destroy vehicles and the environment. At the same time, this increases the so-called flatout display. If this is full, you can activate a nitro boost, which has a speed advantage. The driver's figure is also subject to physical laws, which are determined by a ragdoll simulation. This enables mini-games with the aim, among other things, of hurling the driver out of the vehicle a certain distance or up, or at targets.

In the German version, a crash test dummy is sitting in the car instead of the driver. The uncut version, which still includes human drivers, is only available from the age of 18.

Racing modes

The player has the option of starting the career mode , a fast race or a time trial in single player . A hot seat mode is also integrated , with which you can alternate between playing the various mini-games on a computer. It is also possible to start a multiplayer game in the local network .

In time trials , it is important to complete the specified number of laps in the fastest possible time. All sixteen vehicles and only the first three routes as well as all routes that have already been activated in career mode can also be selected.

The stunts are a novelty in the racing game genre. The player starts in a stadium, accelerates his vehicle and finally throws the playing figure out of the car in order to hit a corresponding target or to reach a certain distance or height.

In the fast races mode you compete against seven computer opponents and can choose from all sixteen vehicles, but only the first three routes of the bronze class and all routes already activated in career mode are available.

Career mode

First the player has to choose one of five available vehicle models, which differ in weight and performance. It starts in the bronze class with three activated routes. If you place in the top three, the following routes can be activated. If you finished at least third in all races in the class, you move up to the silver class and later to the gold class, in which better vehicles and upgrade classes are available. Each successfully completed race can later be repeated as often as required in order to achieve better placements and additional prize money. Depending on the placement, the player receives prize money and a ramming bonus for destroying track objects after the race. With this money he can buy more powerful cars and exchange different parts of the car in several stages in order to improve the driving behavior and the performance of the vehicle.

In the career mode, the mini-games and bonus courses are also available, the successful completion of which earn the player additional prize money.

stretch

There are 36 different race tracks, divided into five different track types:

  • Race (6 tracks)
  • Forest (9 routes)
  • Construction site (9 routes)
  • Ice (6 routes)
  • City (6 routes)

In addition, there are three demolition arenas in the bonus area, in which the goal is to destroy all other vehicles, similar to Destruction Derby. There are also three bonus tracks included. It is an 8-shaped course, a circular course and a so-called "Crash Alley" (a straight line with two left-hand curves at the end).

Soundtrack

The soundtrack of the game mainly contained songs from the rock, metal and indie area. Before the game was released, the publisher Empire Interactive organized a competition together with the music website overplay.com to search for songs by groups without a record deal. The winner of the competition, whose songs have been included in the soundtrack, were the bands No Connection , Central Supply Chain , Sixer , Adrenaline and Circa: .

The full soundtrack included the following songs:

reception

Rating in game magazines

reviews
publication Rating
PS2 Windows Xbox
1UP k. A. B + k. A.
GameSpot 7.9 / 10 7.9 / 10 7.9 / 10
IGN 7.5 / 10 7.0 / 10 7.5 / 10
Meta-ratings
GameRankings 74.05% 74.20% 72.32%
Metacritic 70/100 72/100 70/100

Due to the novel topic and the technically good implementation, FlatOut received numerous excellent reviews.

Ivan Sulic from UK online magazine IGN Entertainment praises the graphics. The wealth of detail in the racing environments in particular stands out from other racing games. However, the visual presentation in the area of ​​menu navigation is only mediocre and shows lack of imagination. Further criticism is made of the sound. While the engine sounds are reasonably good, the soundtrack is only moderately composed. Sulic rates the new game principle as varied and challenging, but describes the level of difficulty as very high.

Alex Navarro from GameSpot magazine praises the creative game concept and the numerous game modes. He rates the graphics as exceptionally good, as do the damage models. He criticizes the artificial intelligence, which is very powerful but also drives very aggressively and thus scares off inexperienced players. He also criticizes the game's soundtrack, which is only mediocre.

Sales figures

Like Rally Trophy , the developers' previous game, FlatOut was a huge commercial success. The developer's homepage reports that over 600,000 copies of the game have been sold worldwide.

Trivia

After successfully completing the gold class, instead of the crash test dummies that were specially integrated into the game, the end video of the German version shows the originally intended human driver, one of whom is also thrown out of his vehicle.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Publication dates at MobyGames
  2. ↑ a b c d Ivan Sulic: Test "FlatOut". In: IGN Entertainment . Ziff Davis , July 15, 2005, accessed February 14, 2014 .
  3. ↑ GameDaily: Unsigned bands will highlight the OST to this demolition derby game ... July 28, 2004. Retrieved May 17, 2008.
  4. ↑ Alex Navarro: Test "FlatOut". In: GameSpot . CBS Corporation , July 18, 2005, accessed February 14, 2014 .
  5. ↑ 1UP editorial team: Test "FlatOut". (No longer available online.) In: 1UP . Ziff Davis , January 8, 2005; archived from the original on March 5, 2016 ; accessed on February 14, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / gfw.1up.com
  6. ↑ a b Alex Navarro: Test "FlatOut". In: GameSpot . CBS Corporation , July 18, 2005, accessed February 14, 2014 .
  7. ↑ ign.com
  8. ↑ Alex Navarro: Test "FlatOut". In: GameSpot . CBS Corporation , July 18, 2005, accessed February 14, 2014 .
  9. ↑ Ivan Sulic: Test "FlatOut". In: IGN Entertainment . Ziff Davis , July 15, 2005, accessed February 14, 2014 .
  10. ↑ Various: Average rating for "FlatOut" (PS2 version). In: Metacritic . CBS Corporation , accessed February 14, 2014 .
  11. ↑ Various: Average rating for "FlatOut" (Windows version). In: Metacritic . CBS Corporation , accessed February 14, 2014 .
  12. ↑ Various: Average rating for FlatOut (Xbox version). In: Metacritic . CBS Corporation , accessed February 14, 2014 .
  13. ↑ Various: Average rating for "FlatOut" (PS2 version). In: GameRankings . CBS Corporation , accessed February 14, 2014 .
  14. ↑ Various: Average rating for "FlatOut" (Windows version). In: GameRankings . CBS Corporation , accessed February 14, 2014 .
  15. ↑ Various: Average rating for "FlatOut" (Xbox version). In: GameRankings . CBS Corporation , accessed February 14, 2014 .