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FlatOut - Hands On Preview
Derek dela Fuente
19/07/2004
We check out the latest build of the rough and ready racer from Empire...
Developed by Bugbear in Finland, Flatout is a mix of destruction derby meets rallying in a frantic race to the line. Experience driving without due care, around 45 challenging tracks, where there are a total of 16 fully upgradeable cars and competitors who have an attitude and loads of skill!
Bugbear, who have an impressive record in creating speed thrill games, certainly know a lot about high octane performances so much will be expected of this title.
The first impression we got on loading up, with the familiar quick charge and play options along with career modes, is that the cover may be different but itās playing the same old tune. When teams try to change the formula they still have to rely on too many defaults and you often get a mix of ideas but none going into any real new areas or direction and what you end up with is nothing particularly inventive.
Picture the scene. You are on the line with your large and rather American car, looking more like one of those cars from the late 80s, more metal and body than performance. You rev your engine up, as do all the other competitors, and 3,2,1 you are off. More than likely first time around you see the charge from the others create a dust storm in front and you struggle to get close to them, let alone overtake. The dirt tracks, the steep embankments, the forest of trees, the many woodland objects and obstacles. The settings donāt really get you that excited but itās alrightā¦
Stop, start, wheel spin, reverse slightly, forwards a few nudges, you are moving again, up to full speed, a massive slide ā“ wallop ā“ you hit a tree and are thrown out of the car and you begin again at the same spot and continue on. The fact that you are thrown from the car ā“ the same segment each time ā“ no variation and looking more like a rag doll but one of human size - is not the most impressive scene we have seen. Hey, you will even get run over by other cars but find yourself back in your car without a scratch!
We are you now getting a fuller picture, as you are! Itās the same old amalgam of rally speed gyrating but with more attention on being hasty than polite or so we can see.
With every experience, be it those big incidents where you really cause havoc, spin your car and see billowing smoke coming from more than a few orifices, you get that little voice in your head saying, seen it, been there, done it.
Granted this is hands on with a few months to go and we are sure that a fair bit will be tided up and worked on but the bottom line would be this isnāt going to change much in either the concept or execution.
Ok, enough of the negative, here are some positives.
Bugbearās expertise does offer up a really splendid cutting edge damage system with ultra realistic modelling which in laymanās terms equates to the car body and internal organs really gets bashed up and managed which look cool and creates a feel good factor. As the name implies, Flatout, allows the racer to turn their car into a road hog ā“ ala road rage - and you can cause some major grief with your finger on the accelerator. The point isnāt to be a stock car racer but for once merely shows the causes and effects of not driving with due care, although the object is to win!
The car deformation may not be a selling factor for the game but it is certainly well implemented. Seeing a door, bumper or side panels mashed up, which appears to have a direct effect on the carās performance, works well.
With this in mind you do take more care with your driving but canāt help wanting to see what it is like to try a few āhead onsā with competitors.
The actual racing challenge is also well balanced and the layout of the tracks is the pretty standard formula which is a slight disappointment but a road and track canāt really be extended that much any way can it?
The actual controls are perfectly response, but after all the positives we did find both the look and feel of the cars suspension and car models/frames very static. The cars and contact with the surfaces does not have the kind of synergy with each other to make you feel totally at ease. It felt somewhat wooden. Although we will not go as far as saying it looked like a big cut out stuck on a track moving around it, which is not the best way to describe it, but one to accentuate what we mean, this is certainly an area Bugbear needs to work on.
The standard views are on offer and you can cutaway and see yourself from in front of the car driving towards the screen but this is not one option you will take up.
We suspect you are getting a fuller picture of where we are going. Flatout looks like a good solid game in the making but nothing we have not seen 30 times before. Yes, there are of course a number in game specifications as you progress, things to do and loads of scenic locations but the fundamentals of driving are the core to the game.
The extensive championship mode will keep avid gamers playing for many long hours perusing through a variety of races, sub-games and extreme arenas of destruction.
There are also Online and multiplayer gaming options.
The longer we played the more undecided we became and the unprecedented levels of carnage you can undertake and the ways you can set up your car ā“ positional wise to meet your maker - was a sub game in itself. Seeing bits and pieces of the car flying every which way may not in itself be that riveting but there are loads of things going on that you may not take much notice of!
Then there is the tuning up of the car.
Another worthy mention is the open expanse you drive along, the option to take short cuts and the snow covered very challenging settings.
Although we have chopped around, and in some respects been slightly more negative than positive, we feel that Flatout falls between a number of racing genres and may not cut the mustard in eitherā¦.
