FlatOut : Ultimate Carnage

[Dezm0nd]

Got this from the wonderful shopto.net people today at a bargain 27.99

I've not played FlatOut since the 1st one, totally ignoring the second one i decided to make this my 2nd racer on the 360. First being burnout revenge. ( i dont count PGR3 as I didnt like it)

This game looks great, first off (I'm playing in HD 720p). They really have taken care to ensure that next gen graphics are here, lovely. The car models are nice, the utterly destroyable enviroments are immense and the lighting is nice.

Just played a few single player cups and found the AI to give you right run for your money straight away, no messing. Coming first in the 1st cup and 3rd in the second cup i was pleasently surprised to see that I qualified. Nice sense of treating the player well.

After doing the first level 1 cups, I unlocked a time trial and destruction derby event. Now we're talking. After earning alot of credits, which are earned via winning and earning awards in game ie best wrecker of other cars.. boost master etc. A really nice touch, if you don't win, you're still rewarded with some credits and you don't feel it to be a chore if you do it again with a better tuned up car.

I tweaked my car using the upgrade shop and rolled into D Derby. I got served. It's not just all about Last Man Standing. It's about smashing people up for points. Don't smash anyone? your time runs out and you're eliminated. Great touch.

Gonna keep playing tonight, but so far a great purchase and i've not even touched Xbox Live or the crazy mini games which FlatOut is famous for.

Top stuff, 27.99 at shopto.net. Get it

[Matt KB]

It's class

Got a game going online but no one is joining Hope it's not a deader

[John Beaulieu]

does it work with the steering wheel?

[Dezm0nd]

All it says on the back is "force feedback wheel"

[tom-nook]

I agree with most of what Boggy's said.

At first I have to admit I was a bit underwhelmed. Whilst I haven't played the previous Flatout's to me it feels like an Xbox game with nicer graphics. Presentation is very bare bones and at first it felt a bit like a poor man's Burnout (the back of the box & loading screens are bordering on outright plagarism tbh!!).

However, after playing it a bit more I'm really starting to warm to it and it definitely has that 'one more go' appeal. The handling seemed p**s poor to start with but I think that's because the cars in their basic form deliberately handle like dogs. After adding a few upgrades the sense of speed and control really improves a lot and you can actually challenge for a decent finish.

The stunt mode is great fun esp. with a couple of other players. Shame there isn't any offline multiplayer racing mode though.

I can see this getting a fairly underwhelming critical response but it's good solid fun and I'd imagine, if done right, online will be a blast.

[Matt KB]

Steering wheel works but apparantly force feedback is just average (that's a friend's comment, I don't have a wheel)

[Dezm0nd]

I have been trying the "carnage" mode which is essentially arcade mode, preset challenges with preset cars. The challenges are insane, they're not as easy as I remember. The cars look great though, when doing the bowling your car has massive afterburners strapped to it

[melenko]

get hold of a heavy vehicle like a truck or suv, you can make more being destructive than winning the race

[mackemansj1]

Would love to know if this is region free chaps.

[rd365dav]

Its not region free,tried it in my asian 360 and no go.Cracking little game really intence racers when you try for all the top driver awards in one race,but it seems very hard to wreck another car during a normal race.

[museumsteve]

It works in my US machine

[Yoshimax]

Glad to see the positives

Picked it up yesterday from my local indie and had a right blast on it yesterday afternoon.

There's a lot of burnout in there in terms of packaging and the front end screen is extremely similar.

Graphically it's excellent - nice lighting, some fantastic water effects (especially when the car/s just in front are chucking it in your face) and despite the absolutely insane number of tyres, pieces of fence/car etc flying around the screen I saw nary a hint of slowdown - very impressive.

The AI seems great - one thing that I thought I'd get with this game (which I got with FO1) was the AI "pushing" you off the road, spinning you out and generally screwing your race - Relief then that it's not the case at all - The "Y" button resets you onto the track with a rolling start so you're straight back into it and the rubber banding (if there is any) is very well done as provided there was enough track left I always felt I had a chance.

Flatout mode involves winning money, upgrading and buying cars and the progression is nicely done - Sets of 3-5 races but you can retry a race after finishing if you're not happy with your final position so no getting to the end, coming 3rd and having to do all the races again.

Carnage mode is a load of challenges which unlock as you progress and the difficulty is extremely well pitched - they're no walkover to gold and I struggled for bronze on a good few.

Only had one game online (going by the leaderboards only about 120 people had/were playing yesterday) but it was rock solid and the collisions and everything were spot on - Additionally you can setup a "series" where you have a race, then a derby, then a minigame or two and so on - I think you can fully customise this as the host.

FF wheel works and I found it to be the exception to the rule - I find this game easier with the wheel than the pad I think because there's more range in the steering.

Top stuff - Cost me £11 as I traded in a couple of oldies - Well chuffed !! 360 has the racing genre well & truly sewn up now.

I haven't tried the sports cars yet but the speed difference between the derby & road ones tells me they must be like **** off a stick ><

This is one of them games that'll have a cult following I reckon - Sales won't reflect quality which would be a real shame......

Burnout beware.....

[in5ane]

Well that just outs Yoshimax as a plant in this forum... I gotta get it based on that post

[Yoshimax]

I felt me 1st play posts of late have been a bit brief so I thought I'd cover the bases as I put a bit of time in yesterday !

Just doing me bit

[Brats]

Been playing as well. Really enjoying it. I missed out on the two XBox games as I had a US machine and they didn't come out there until very late in the machine's cycle . I have played them enviously on friends machines so i knew what to expect. See, importing isn't always the best option .

Anyway, I'm really enjoying it. It's a challenge, but every race is doable. I like how you can retry any race in a cup, so if you fluff the last race in a five race championship, you can just race it again instead of having to play the whole lot again ala Burnout.

The wheel works much better than I thought it would, except I can't get on with it in follow cam, it just feels so unnatural. The bumper cam is brilliant though. The graphics look much better and there's a massive increase in the sensation of speed. The only problem is crashing through debris is a bit disorientating, but I prefer it tbh.

The only problem with the wheel is the boost and handbrake buttons default to the A and B buttons respectively, which are a pain to press when you're turning the wheel on full lock. It would have made more sense to allow the paddles to take on this function, but there isn't the option to switch (Boo-urns).

Tried it online with one other mate and we were slightly disappointed that you can't add AI opponents, so it was a bit lonely. The racing however is spot on. The big advantage over Flatout 2 is that you can play the stunt modes with all players taking part at the same time rather than waiting your turn. the other players show up as ghosts on your screen, which works really well.

I'm on a half day today and can't wait to get back to it. The amount of debris kicking around the tracks is insane and I have yet to see a drop in frame rate. It seems rock solid.