First Impressions:

After a long dry summer with very few games that were actually fun to review, FlatOut 2 was like a tall, chilled glass of Crystal to a hollywood actress fresh out of rehab. Despite the mediocre reviews that this update to the franchise has received, I found it to be exciting and lots of laughs.

FlatOut 2 handily does away with any pretense of reality. It defiantly sports it's own version of funny physics. The environments are destructible for the most part. But if you hit an object that normally would not move if it was hit by a car, it will stop you in your tracks and force you to reset. That happens quickly and it puts you right back in the race - in last place. The scenic drives that abound in the vast number of tracks to drive on have a downside. Too many trees!

Unlike in Grand Theft Auto, those trees aren't going anywhere. For the most part you can cause mega damage as you drive through fences, and other roadside items become just so much debris when you plummet right through them. When you hit something like a bulldozer or a concrete building it stops the car. Hard.

The selection of cars was disappointing at first because your color choices were limited to red, white and blue. Ok I'm not saying I wanted pink cars boys. But some more choices would have made it even more desirable. Later in the game the cars become customizable and upgradable.

Graphics:

The graphics were pretty good on PS2 and even better on the Xbox. There are many race tracks to choose from. There are lakeside camp grounds, cityscapes and rural routes that you'd find while leaf peeping out here during fall in New England. (Watch out for that tree!) The crashes look pretty good. The car parts rip off and fly away causing collateral damage as they hit other things. The environments are detailed. There are water effects, fire and explosions that look good. It should be better, but it seems fine for what it is. This isn't about a polished gorgeous looking MMO, or a racer with licensed cars and tight physics.

Sound/Music:

Again in-spite of bad reviews of the music in FlatOut2 I thought it was fine for the game. You can't hook up your iPod to the game either which has put some people off. Personally that was one less thing to worry about, I didn't have to screw around with setting up a playlist and decide what I wanted to hear. It was all right there. The Rob Zombie and the Euro metal bands suited the crash and burn game play perfectly. It is all licensed music and it is certainly better than the faux rock no name tunes that you sometimes get in games. I cranked up my new sound system and put the subwoofer on Max. It was a terrific experience to sit down to this lush feast of sound and explosions after a long day. And blow s**t up. The explosions bellowed from the speakers with the woofer filling out the tubey sound.

Gameplay:

The gameplay in this game is utter chaos. You can choose the demolition derby mode where 8 cars are facing each other in a circle at the beginning. And at the end only one will be left. You if you are lucky and skillful. In the demolition games the environment and opponents cars can be wreaked, as well as your own. Cars and auto parts fly up into the air. One move I enjoyed was leading the AI driven cars into a gas station and then running over the gas tanks. Then backing out just as the whole thing explodes and takes out a couple enemies. The blasts were pretty sweet.

In addition to the demolitions and the rugged racing against other hell bent psychos, FlatOut has a demented party mode that is all it's own invention. You can drive up to carnival type scenarios and as you race down the track and stop short - your driver gets projected out of the car. This appealed to my twisted sense of humor immediately.

Your avatar sails through the air and will score points for flying through burning rings of fire, or landing splat up against a wall that is detailed with a poker hand. You score points from killing her in the highest and best possible bone crushing way. You advance in competition from points for these hilarious stunts. It sounds diabolical - but trust me you will laugh.

I enjoyed this on several levels. First of all this is clearly a developers defiant answer to those who would say that video game violence is detrimental. One look at the rag doll avatar cannon balling out of your vehicle assures you that this is anything but reality. There is a big difference between realistic and real. There isn't any blood which was a disappointment. I can understand why, that choice reinforces the theme that the game is for pure silly fun. It's not serious at all, it's just this crazy tongue in cheek poke at all the other racing games.

Hardcore racing gamers have mentioned that FlatOut 2's controls are dicey. The cars are front heavy and fishtail like mad. The steering is pretty outrageous. This is a game to enjoy for what it is - not for what it isn't. There isn't another game that allows you to blithely kill your character off just for fun. I don't think the aim of the game is to win or even survive. It's to die in as many mangled and messed up ways as possible.

Multiplayer:

Compared with Auto Assault which is another crash and burn online game that is far too complicated and dark, FlatOut 2 does the far better job. It may seem like comparing apples and oranges here. But the bottom line is the fun factor which this reviewer has had to complain about far too often lately. AA is an MMO with a steep learning curve and you need a bear of a system to run it with any decent sort of frame rate. Auto Assault took years to develop and it has a deep well thought out story line. You can crash into buildings and take them out with your tank vehicle. However Auto Assault is only marginally fun - some of the time.

With FlatOut 2 there is no learning curve and you can sit down to it and have a blast instantly. Friends can join in and leave if you are playing at home. You do have to check on which modes are available online for your PC or console. They are not the same from one platform to the next. You'll want to read the back of the box before you pick up the game and decide which setup is going to be more fun for you. Or you can hook up online.

Overall Impression:

I give FlatOut 2 a defiant 9 out of 10 for being a throughly entertaining diversion.

Marketing Efforts Towards Women:

A tip of the hat goes to Bugbear for making a female avatar available to choose. There isn't a way to customize her looks or her outfits, but at least she is there. The game also includes sound effects of her screaming which are very funny. There are several female AI that are in the game and they are every bit as bad a** as the male drivers.

When you don't have alot of time to read a manual, or study the controls, the game is easy enough to pick up and play. If you want a game to put in on girls night, then this one is perfect. If the stereotype holds true and we women like racing games then this one is worth it to check out.