FlatOut 2

FlatOut 2 is a game that's showing it's age a bit but is nevertheless still good fun. It's primary gimmick now is not so much the destructibility of the environments or the damage model of the cars, both are done better elsewhere, but the way that the debris sticks around and can be collided with on subsequent laps. The destructible items are a little patchy, for example on one map you can take out a steel support column at the corner of a two story building while on another a small 10-20 ton truck is completely fixed in place and will bring your car to a dead halt. Overall it works well though. The game also benefits from the old but enjoyable idea that you can win by maneuvering your opponents so they run into a brick wall at high speed. In fact it positively encourages it as you get higher rewards for smashing everyone repeatedly than winning the race. Which does make it hard to understand the car selection. It's dominated by big US vehicles but the developers chose to include lightweight vehicles from the other side of the pond for some reason. So instead of Range Rovers, Rollers and big Jags you've got a 205 Turbo, Subaru Impreza and similar sporty models which tend to get tossed about. The tracks are well designed though and it's fun for a few days until you get to the end.

I used to play the game with a friend when I was little and I can say that the game lives up to my memories and expectations. The crash derbies are a ton of fun and a good option to spend a couple of minutes when you re not in the mood to invest yourself in a complex or story-driven game. Just get in, demolish some cars and enjoy yourself. The career is fun too. Don't expect a simulation-like handling tho, its much more arcade-y but still good enough and causing no problems when playing on a keyboard. In my opinion, Flatout 2 is better than the previous game in all relevant aspects: graphics, handling, progression & game modes.

My god I love this game. If you like Split Second, BurnOut Paradise - you MUST try this one too. It mostly encourages aggressive driving style, but totally fine with clean perfect driving. It has unique AI with their own in-game patterns, physics and incredible damage model that suits perfectly for a casual racing game (e.g. without Colin MacRay details). It also includes ragdoll-type minigames, where you shoot your driver to the purpose (and to the victory xD). The only problem - is that in the official game you have no multiplayer (with is ultimate fun), only LAN or hotseat for minigames (because gameSpy servers were shut down), BUT there are mods that can add this functionality too. IMO its a top5 of all racing games I ever played (25+ years, started from first NFS:Hot pursuit - e.g. before 1st Undergroud)

It just works. I run this at full 720p resolution on my AMD E350 laptop and there is no slowdown or lag or anything except my own inability to drive the various cars. I understand that others may have differing experiences with this game but my own is one of trouble free happy crashing and burning (the cars that is not the game). I find there are always more strategies to use and quite a few shortcuts that one must seek out as these let you cheat legally. I enjoy the extra ways of cashing in on a poor or outclassed vehicle by smashing into everything and crashing into the other cars. I also enjoy this game as simple stress relief. Definitely NOT a 'serious' racing game but the physics do seem to be quite consistent. Fun little thing lets you run a race in 5 minutes or less and doesn't take forever to boot. The game should run on almost anything, I suspect with a tweak or two maybe even a Raspberry PI. Seriously though any CPU in the past dozen years and any and I mean any graphics chip that will run Dx9. BGTW this goes on sale regularly for about $US 1 so go ahead waste a buck. You just might like it.

This is a great racing game of muscling your way past equally motivated car racers to win the race. The various race courses are well done with most of them wide and easy to navigate. the most noticable part of this game is the physics engine and car damage modelling which is excellent. Cars lose parts after smashing into roadside obstacles or other cars and in some scenes the entire road can be filled with shrapnel flying all over the place. I've even gasped at some stunning dynamic crashes where a car infront will go into a catastrophic cartwheel at high speed crossing over my path as I speed under it! Sometimes you even hear the driver screaming as well! You as the driver can also find yourself flying through the windscreen (or rather the model representing you as I always drive 1st person), which for some reason always makes me laugh, despite the fact that I've probably lost the race. It's funny, yet with a serious message,-don't do this for real, folks - or keep your seatbelt on! One or the other! The Ai does an excellent job of getting through the chaos, I must say, even taking several alternative routes, yet can easily make mistakes like you. On a critical point, there does seem to be some kind of catch-up on since I tend to get back into the race very easily when it feels like I should be well behind- Graphics and sound are VERY respectable for such and old game. While the physics follow reality sometimes, the cars don't and manage to carry on far longer than they should. But I found it immersive enough to actually wince when I or someone else smashes into a brick wall! Only real criticism is the typical American rock music which does very little for me and the strange fact that you cannot personify your vehicle aesthetically. It would've been nice to choose colours and car graphic designs. There`s a 2 player hotseat mode but no split screen from what I can see. I've been playing almost every quiet moment I can get. I would recommend this racer.