FlatOut 2

"FlatOut 2: The best Destruction Derby "RACER" in this Current Generation"

There is only a handful of Destruction Derby games for the PS2. Destruction Derby Arenas, FlatOut, Crash N Burn, and Test Drive Eve of Destruction. And now Flatout 2 has arrived.

FlatOut 2 of all the mentioned Destruction Derby Games has the best destruction derby racing of all the current generation consoles.

GAMEPLAY (Racing and Derby events): The racing physics and progressive damaging modelling combined with 3 class (derby class, race class, and street class) tournament like series of races against 7 cpu racers with their own unique individual racing abilities creates for some very exciting racing. To add to this mix of excitement, is the numerous amount of objects that can be crashed into and scattered all over the track. There is three times more stuff to plow into and leave scattered all over the track then there was in the original FlatOut. The best description of FlatOut 2 racing is that it is very chaotic at best.

The racing physics feels semi-realistic. The cars (especially when they are still stock) can easily slide out of control on the country road dirt tracks. When we upgrade the handling on the cars they get easier to control. Yes, we can upgrade the performance part of the cars.

The progressive damage modelling in Flatout 2 is far more detailed then any other racer I have ever seen. The cars actually crumple up bit by bit depending how hard we actually hit other vehicles, movable or stationary objects. The drivers fly outside the front windshield when they hit objects really hard.

Also, the cars can be wiped out during racing this time around. If we get carried away with destroying the cars and surroundings, our cars start to crumple up so badly, that the handling of the car gets worse (especially when we lose a wheel).

The overall racing experience deserves a 9/10. The only thing I wish for would be a camera to zoom around our car to view the extreme damage we took during the race or derby event.

MULTI-PLAYER GAMEPLAY: We can have two player split screen racing, but there is no derby events for splitscreen. That should never be in a destruction derby game (that is where Test Drive: Eve of Destruction shines). Online allows for 6 players to race against each other. There are no CPU racers in Multi-player racing.

The biggest Multi-player experience for Flatout 2 is the Mini ragdoll toss Olympics. There are 12 events in all including bowling, curling, dart board and others where we can drive down a long ramp, and eject our ragdoll driver as far and accurate as possible at certain targets. We can have up to 8 players take turns and there is a leader board to keep track.

Multi-player gets a 7/10 because the ragdoll games are good, but there should have been splitscreen destruction derbies.

SOUND: The Rumble of the cars sound great. The collisions sound great. The music is a matter of taste. 8/10

THE GRAPHICS: The graphics is really good due to the amount of detail added to it. The backgrounds are very detailed, but a little grainy for the PS2. The cars look shiny and very detailed when they first start out, and look great all smashed up by the end of the race.

The cars crumple in beautiful fashion. The damage modelling graphics looks very very good.

The graphics get an 8/10.

REPLAYIBILTY: There is a ton of replayability in FlatOut 2 for me because I love Tournaments set up in a series of races. The 3 of the CPU Racers always provide a challenge and the racing never gets boring between hitting so many things and keeping our vehicle under control.

If you liked Destruction Derby 1 and 2 and liked Demolition Racer for the PS1, then you should like FlatOut 2. If you are a fan of Ragdoll tossing mini games especially for multiplayer fun, then you will love Flatout 2.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/24/06