FlatOut: Head On

"Prepare for the racing experience of your life!"

INTRODUCTION:
The FlatOut series has always interested me. I read reviews, watched videos online and found out that it was a really cool series. However, at the time, I had no system that currently supported any FlatOut titles. When FlatOut: Head On was announced for the PSP, I was really excited. I checked the release date and pretty much put away $30 right then and there. When the demo came out, I downloaded it immediately and played it for hours, I knew I was going to love the full version. The day finally came, the game was released and I finally got my hands on it. Was I disappointed? Read on to find out!

STORY: NA/10
There is no story to this game, however, the game is programmed with AI opponents who have there own mini-bios telling about their driving skill and personality. However, that is as close as this game comes to having a story. On another hand, a story for a racing game is not common, so it does not detract from the gameplay at all.

GAMEPLAY: 9/10
FlatOut is not a normal racing game. It is in a racing league of it's own. The closest it comes to any other style of racing, is the Burnout (Series) style of racing. The object of FlatOut? Race your heart out, destroy the competition and make it in first place. The objective is simple, but FlatOut Head On provides more than just the normal racing experience. In addition to racing to the finish, you'll be racing against seven other AI players who are out to bash you up just as much as you're going to smash them. During the races, cars will be crashing into each other, flipping end over end, flying through the air at incredible heights, drivers will be thrown out of windshields and cars will be used as barriers. Races are so intense, they suck you in and make the time fly. I have never been so addicted to a racing game before. I find myself playing the same track over and over again, never getting bored. The reason for that is because the races are so varied every time. You never know what might happen.

In addition to the other vehicles, you'll be encountering jumps, falling rocks, lots of debris from lots of different things and tons and tons of other objects. Every race is literally filled to the top with things to crash into and to destroy. Planes, parked vehicles, advertisement signs, tires, barrels, logs, wood in all shapes and sizes, poles, shopping carts, pipes, fences, you name it, you can pretty much crash it. This is a great addition to the game, having all the debris flying everywhere adds a really cool atmosphere to the already intense racing. Hitting this 'junk', will gain you nitros. Crashing other cars and jumping will also gain you nitros, which can come in really handy when you need it most. Unlike some racing games where nitros is really underpowered, FlatOut Head On does a great job of making it pack a punch. When you use it and expect results, your car will lurch forward usually getting you out of the situation you were in.

The AI racers will give you no mercy, however, they aren't perfect. They race along at a good pace, especially in the later races and they usually provide a pretty tough challenge. The challenge can be a minor annoyance sometimes. Who wants to re-try a race twenty times just trying to beat the racer who, if they win, would beat your overall score and win the cup? Luckily, the challenge isn't high throughout the whole game, so you can still beat most of it with little trouble. Another good point about the races is that they are so unpredictable. One second you could be fifth, trailing to the end of the last lap. You hope for a miracle and suddenly, you see four opponents up ahead in a massive multi-car collision. You dodge the flying vehicles and speed on ahead to win the race. Ahhh. Sweet, sweet victory.

Now, some may be thinking, "With all that you've already described, there's got to be a catch right?". That's where you would be wrong. BugBear Entertainment and Empire Interactive did a great job cramming tons of content into the UMD. There are over 25 tracks and yes, they are all unique, not just mirrored. Some of the tracks connect with others, however, making some seem very familiar. The tracks range from a lot of unique places and every track has pros and cons. The Country tracks, for example, are extremely fun because you can get a lot of speed going to blow through the races and there are also many great opportunities to ram opponents at full speed. The Canal tracks force vehicles to drive next to each other, which provides tons of collisions, but very little freedom. There are also tracks in places such as the City, the Forest and the Desert. Each track, as I mentioned before, gives the player many opportunities to crash other players, is full of stuff to crash and many of them house some big air ramps.

Now that you've got your racing formula, plenty of tracks and things to crash, what are you going to drive? There are plenty of cars to choose from in this game. Maxxing out at thirty-four cars available for racing, there are more than enough choices for you to find your favorite vehicle. The vehicles are divided up into class groups. There is the Derby Class, the Race Class and the Street Class. The Derby Class is for, obviously, derby vehicles. The derby vehicles are already beat up and bashed with missing and replaced parts, however, they are reinforced and therefore the strongest of the three classes. The Race Class vehicles have a great speed increase, much better vehicle bodies and they are also much lighter than the Derby Class. However, due to the increase in performance, the Race Class vehicles can be destroyed easier. The final class, the Street Class, is a class for cars with sleek bodies. They all have top-notch paint jobs, don't have a scratch on them and provide the highest amount of speed output of any vehicle class. These racers are the weakest of the bunch and can sometimes barely survive the three laps in some races. When racing on tracks with more than three laps, you'll be lucky to finish with all four tires.

With all those car choices available, it's no wonder the game lasts so long. Every car is destructible with real-time damage, doors, hoods, lights, bumpers, when you've sustained enough damage, even tires fall off, severely restricting the handling. That's right, as your vehicles become more damaged, they become harder and harder to control, which adds a sense of realism. However, another difference in the classes that I feel I should mention; The higher the class, the less damage you can cause to the vehicles. For example, you can race through a track and sustain a moderate amount of damage with your Derby Class vehicle and parts will have fallen off and many parts of your vehicle will be bashed and broken. Now you can race the same track with a Street Class car, sustain the same amount of damage, but the Street Class cars will not fall apart like the Derby Class cars will. You can sometimes finish a race with a Street Class vehicle with barely any noticeable damage. This is kind of a disappointment, seeing how it is more fun to trash a brand new car than it is to trash an already-trashed one.

Speaking once more of the vehicles, there is a wide variety of makes and models to choose from. None of them are licensed, but they all have unique names and some are obviously models of real world cars. You get your normal cars, which make up a great deal of vehicles in this game, but there are also classic trucks, a rally-style truck and even a Ford Bronco for you to drive. The bigger, truck vehicles do more damage and can take quite a beating, while the cars have more speed and better handling. It doesn't make a big difference though, especially seeing you can upgrade many aspects of your vehicles. The exhaust output (Cleaner means faster), tires, brakes, engine. You can even make your vehicle lighter or heavier and reinforce it with roll cages and other protective parts. Different paint jobs are also available, but you can't customize it to your liking, they're all pre-made.

Now you've got your cars, your tracks and everything in between, what else is there? Lets talk game modes. There is a FlatOut mode, which is basically your career mode. Race, win some money and advance through the car classes until you're the best of the best. Then there is a Single Event mode. This mode allows you to race through any track, play any Derby, and Event and any Stunt. Then there is a Multiplayer mode, which supports up to eight players over an ad-hoc connection only. And last but not least, you find your Carnage mode. Carnage mode gives you a series of challenges. It might be winning a race in a certain amount of time, crashing a certain player, or even driving a totally maxxed out vehicle in a demolition derby. You get points for completing the events and you can gain a Bronze, Silver or Gold medal. Earning enough points unlocks even more events for you to complete. Many of the challenges are tough and may be played several times to beat, while others are a walk in the park and need to be played several times simply because they are fun. Carnage show you tons of what the game has to offer through a wide variety of events and challenges.

There are two things I haven't yet explained. You may have noticed that I mentioned Derby and Stunts were in the Carnage mode. Demolition Derbies and Stunts are fully-playable in the single-player mode and both provide tons of fun. Demolition Derbies consist of eight vehicles in a battle to the death. They actually require quite a bit of strategy to win, especially when up against more powerful opponents. Demo Derbies also have some unique features, besides six demolition stages, derbies also include power-ups not found in any other mode. Power-ups include armor, a full vehicle repair, infinite nitros and a Power Ram. To win a derby is not to survive, you could be the first the one to blow up, but if you caused enough damage and got enough points for it, you could still win. Stunts, on the other hand, are the most disappointing part of this game. There are twelve different stunts, all requiring you to launch your driver through the windshield and try to accomplish goals. For example, there is a high jump, a unique card game, baseball, and a long jump as well. Stunts are made for trying to achieve high-scores and you do so by attempting each stunt three times. Your scores are then totalled together. The stunts are fun the first couple tries, but they quickly lose their appeal and then doing them in Carnage mode feels more like a chore. One advantage of Stunts though, four cars exclusive to the mode!

GRAPHICS: 9/10
The graphics, what's not to love about them? Graphics can sometimes make or break a game, especially for players who are greatly concerned with them. Let me say, they do not disappoint. Everything in this game looks awesome. The vehicles are all greatly detailed, which makes watching them fall apart all the better. The Street Class cars look especially good, with their snazzy paint jobs and reflective paints. The tracks appear to be around par of most other racing games. Nothing especially stands out, except for the water effects, which are done very nicely.
A small flaw in everything looking great, is that some of the objects that get smashed around have very blocky textures. This is a big problem for some, but it really doesn't make a big difference. With everything going on, who has time to glance at a barrel flying by and complain about blocky textures? Even with all the vehicles on-screen and objects flying everywhere, the game remains at a solid framerate. It often dips with explosions, but nothing else seems to set it off. Overall, the graphics couldn't look better for a game like this. From the cars to the scenery, to the car parts and everything between, everything looks as it should and runs very smooth.

CONTROLS: 9/10
What can I say? For a racing game, the controls are pretty standard. You've got your gas, your brake, your handbrake and your nitros. The buttons they are assigned to work very well and are, as expected, easy to reach. You won't find yourself scrambling halfway across the system to hit a button here. Your in-game controls are also spot-on. The cars can be a bit touchy, so it understandably take some time to get used to. However, it only took me about twenty minutes before I was in full control of my car and racing ahead of the AI. Overall, I really have no problems with the controls, maybe make the cars a bit less touchy, but that's about it.

MUSIC/SOUND: 8/10
The soundtrack in FlatOut head On is nothing special, but it's nothing to frown at either. It is full of tracks from artists you've probably never heard of and it keeps a heavy rock theme throughout. Most of the songs are surprisingly catchy, but there is the occasional song that will make you want to turn the music volume down. Overall, not a bad selection, but it could have been better.
The sound effects for this, are awesome. Everything sounds as it should. Barrel against concrete? Check. Bumper against chain-link fence? Check. Even with Derby Class cars, you can hear the uneven nature of the car as it rumbles along. Misaligned tires, parts dragging on the road and even rocks kicking up to the underside of your car. A surprising amount of detail has been put into the sound effects and it has turned out very well. No car sounds the same and you are always hearing new sounds as stuff crashes into other stuff. Very, very impressive.

OVERALL: 9/10 (Not an average)
Overall, FlatOut: Head On is an amazing game that should not be missed. It is very rare for a racing game this addictive to come along. Head On combines a truly fun racing formula with spot-on sound effects, catchy tunes, impressive graphics and an amazing amount of content. In addition to that, when I saved $30 for the game, it was actually released as a budget title. That's right everyone, $20. I could not recommend this game more. It will provide you with a wonderfully entertaining experience that everyone should enjoy. Rent or Buy? Buy. For $20, you can't go wrong. Unless you aren't sure you would like it, it is totally worth a rental.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 09/11/08

Game Release: FlatOut: Head On (US, 04/04/08)