Flatout was so close to being the definite casual arcade racing game. First of all, the menu system is perhaps the worst of all times. One has to scroll left and right in the menu just to see the options even if there is ony five of them available. There is also a home/root menu in which you can still go 'back'. Uh oh. Driving in Flatout just feels like pushing a bar of soap around on a wet bathroom floor. With the trottle pressed the car oversteeds and on the other hand it instantly understeers if you brake. Oh boy, the flying rag doll trick. It was supposed to be cool back 2004... It was funny exactly two times and got super annoying after that. The worst thing, however, in this game is the rubberband mechanic. If you drive poorly, so will the AI opponents. If you really excel, the AI cars are still sniffing your rear bumper. Because of this, there is never a feeling of pursuit or challenge. I supposed Bugbear did this because they wanted the players to concentrate on destruction derby instead of honest racing. Maybe it is better in the multiplayer mode - I have not tested that. The music and graphics are top notch and they have not aged a bit. With a bit of luck you will get the contols working better than me and actually enjoy the game. Like I said, it was so close to being the definite casual arcade racing game.
This game is just a corridor shooter with a semi-decent story. If you like stories, read any book instead. If you like shooters you already know a few good titles - any of them is much better than this. Considering the original idea, this game could have been great. I waited this game for PC for years. My heart aches as I admit that Alan Wakes sucks. The production team took the easy route and this is what we have now. I do not recommend Alan Wake to anyone.
