FlatOut 2 - Hands On Preview

Empire Interactive and BugBear Entertainment return later in the year with a sequel to their popular 2004 racer, with a penchant for destruction, FlatOut. The second title in the series promises to expand upon its humble beginnings, with more tracks, game types and cars to choose from. TVG recently took the latest build for a spin, and despite the need for continued development and refinement, came away reasonably impressed.

Amidst the rock/folk tones of Nickelback and Supergrass (I knew they were up to something), FlatOut 2 presents the customary selection of Single-Player, Instant Action, Party and Multiplayer modes. The bulk of the single-layer game lies in the Career mode, which has been significantly expanded in terms of the number of competitions, cars and diversity on offer. Starting in the "Derby" classification, success will draw you up the ranks into "Racing" and "Street" categories, gaining the chance to move from banged out jalopies, to high-powered circuit and street racers along the way. The diversity of cars on offer has been significantly expanded for the sequel, with the inclusion of four-wheel, rear-wheel and front-wheel customisations. Players are also presented with an extensive range of tune-up options, covering all aspects such as Tires & Brakes to the design of the Body; though it should be noted that such options were hard to test, given the lack of presented information on the statistical benefits that different products offer in the current build.

Physics remain a fundamental core element of the game, which not only portrays authentic damage via the car models, but also the environment around it and the trajectory of your driver through the windscreen upon heavy collisions. Once again FlatOut2 is shaping up to be considerably different to other arcade racers on the market, coming across closer to Destruction Derby on a race circuit, with cars flipping into the air, planks of wood becoming makeshift missiles and traffic cones flying off in all different directions. Although there's no denying physics can be fun, the drag factor can also be detrimental element to a fun videogame experience, particularly when you're struggling to get away from a pile of crap that's landed around you; hopefully, BugBear can continue to work the balance between authentic physics and an enjoyable videogame mechanic, to ensure FlatOut 2 gets the best of both worlds. At this stage we'd also like to see continue development and refinement to the overall handling, which tends to feel a little light and unresponsive at this current stage.

What really put FlatOut on the gaming map the first time around returns with the sequel, with even more madcap stunt events to test out your skills and show off the ragdoll physics. Containing events as diverse as Curling to Darts, Stone Skipping to the Ring of Fire; the challenge remains fundamentally the same throughout each of them - drive the car down a ramp and launch the driver to the board/across the water/through the rings (delete as applicable), by holding onto a shoulder button for the desired trajectory. It may be simple respite and unlikely to sway your attention from the likes of Burnout; however, it does ensure FlatOut 2 will stand out from the heavily congested genre, at least, upon its release.

The build presented to TVG is still some months away from the final code, and as such, featured a number of glitches and bugs that will hopefully be addressed in the finished version. Additionally it's also possible to respawn on the track ahead of the competition, gaining the upper-hand rather then a punishment, whenever you've left the track - hopefully BugBear knows about this one, as it does spoil the challenge somewhat.

As the current-generation of consoles approach their final hours BugBear Entertainment seem certain to deliver a stunning title, even without the advanced physics engine that's on display. An abundance of post-processing effects such as blooming and motion-blur have been utilised to give the game a distinctive appearance, along with subsurface scattering and simulated per-pixel lighting to bring that aspect of the game's visuals to life.

Although yet another arcade racer may not tickle your anticipation, Empire Interactive and BugBear Entertainment show every sign of delivering the goods to fans of the original FlatOut, making subtle improvements and expanding upon the content significantly.

If you were a fan of the first keep an eye out for FlatOut 2...