FlatOut

The cars are very hard to control, skidding all the time. On top of that the computer-controlled cars will not hesitate to crash into your car while you are already struggling to follow the road, making things worse. The ragdoll "feature" when you crash into a tree is infuriating. Get Flatout 2 instead, it’s much better!

I would have given this a five out of five, because it is a beautiful game, but there are a couple minor things that bother me. First off, the whole console control interface is annoying on a PC. I have a keyboard, I don't like having to cursor around to each letter in the alphabet to enter my name when i can type it out in a split second. This interface carries over to the entire game. All menu selections are cursor keys, enter, esc... that's about it. No mouse support. This is minor and if you play consoles a lot you probably won't mind as much. Controlling your car is a breeze. The second minor annoyance (more annoying than the interface for me) was the computer opponents. When you go flying around a sharp corner, if you don't slow down enough, you're probably going to wipe out, hit a tree stump, rock etc... and you're character is going flying out the window and you will be in last place. The computer on the other hand, rarely wipes out, when you slow for a corner you will see computer cars fly by you. If you happen to wipe out, you can get hit by computer cars which can be fun, but they won't slow down... I was once almost stuck because I wiped out and ended up facing the wrong way, a computer car hit me dead on and he kept pressing his gas peddle while we were grill to grill making it hard for me to get out of it. I don't like it when computer players have an advantage over you in the races like that. I want to see some flaws in them. I want to see some wipe out on the corners. Those are minor annoyances though in an otherwise excellent game. The graphics are really nice. Great locations and tracks. I once decided just to screw around and ended up driving through a building.... there's a few things strewn about for you to smash up, and you will most likely make money doing it! The game rewards you when you smash into certain things and destroy the environment, which I loved. I laughed on more than one occasion when my driver went flying out his front windshield screaming (yes, you can hear him or her scream!) and then proceeded to get run over by the other drivers. On a modern system you can max everything out on this for a really nice looking game. You car can be modified by a wide variety of parts you can buy as you make money racing, allowing you simple ways to improve areas you wish. Your car can get pretty wrecked up, parts fly off it as you race and you can even find yourself racing while flames are shooting out of your engine! No worries though, your car is back to 100% at the end of the race, so feel free to smash it up! :D You can't beat it for the price. If you like to race, you'll want this title.

It's a good game on it's own merits, and we wouldn't have its Flatout 2 without it, but this game can feel a bit lacking when compared to the sequel. If you're new to the series, then go with Flatout 2. If you want some extra maps and to see where the series started, then go with Flatout 1.

10|10

Quick description: You drive cars. You smash said cars into other cars (and objects on\off the track) and race to be #1 (or the last car standing). It has race tracks, demolition derby tracks, and some interesting mini-game tracks (for example, 1 track has you drive your car down a ramp and then launch your driver at gigantic bowling pins, attempting to knock them down). So don't get me wrong, this game isn't bad. The graphics are older but not bad for it's age (it is a 17 year old game after all!), the game play is fun, there are different tracks...by itself, it is an OK game. However, Flatout 2 is superior in just about every way, and when they are both on sale, Flatout 2 is a whopping 30 cents more (sorry, I can't speak to non-US Dollar prices). So, I would recommend purchasing this only for nostalgia or if you are a collector. If you only have a couple of bucks to spend on a new (to you!) game, go for Flatout 2 instead.