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Almost, but not quite , as good as the original FlatOut

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 6 / 9
Date: September 02, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Another great racing Sim from Bugbear/Empire games!

As with the original FlatOut this is another high quality racing game that pits you against 7 other, hell-bent on winning, computer drivers. The game is also playable on the Internet against real opponents.

The Pros:

1.)The races are over a variety of terrain; there are race tracks, country roads, desert wastelands and towns.

3.)The physics, as with the original game, are hard to believe! Sliding around corners, braking, crashes are very realistic.

4.)Initially you only get to a limited number of tracks (and cars) to chose from until you finish at least in the top 3 places in a race, at which point new areas to race are opened up for you to try. You can use your winnings to upgrade your existing car or even buy a better vehicle if you have the funds. This is a great feature as it gives you incentive to finish high in the standings.

5.)There are an assortment of bonus games and stunts that become available as you proceed through this game. These are fun but not the adrenalin pumping action of the real game.

6.)The rag doll effect (driver flying through the windshield after an accident) is stopped immediately (thankfully) once the reset button is pressed.

The Cons:

1.)Although there are lots of racing venues, there seemed to be a lot of repetition of the race tracks that are used; every new racing area opened up, seemed to use the same tracks (with some slight variations) you'd finish is the last competition.

2.)There as no info booklet or game sheet with the game (just the 5 discs); the manual is on the disc itself. Anyone playing FlatOut for the first time would be hard pressed to figure out the controls and especially to play in the first person perspective (and really the only way to play this race is from the drivers seat looking out the windshield) instead of 3rd person (from above and behind the car) which is the default.

3.)Finally, my most serious complaint with this addition to the Flatout series is the lack of car damage (that effects drivability). With the original Flatout there was a "Pro" mode that allowed car damage to really affect performance; this is not the case with Flatout 2. If I had to name one major distraction from this game it would have to be that the major emphasis is on destroying objects and wrecking other drivers,(which were prominent in the original but not to the same degree) instead of skillful driving. And it's a shame really, because the AI of the computer drivers in really good and when combined with tract difficulty, makes winning a race against them a real challenge. I just think they went the wrong direction in this game and as a result I didn't enjoy this game quiet as much as the original.

Suggestions:

1.) To be competitive you really need a steering wheel with a gas/brake pedal feature.

2.) Power and speed are important but so are handling and braking; so spend money on stabilizers, tires and shocks as well as the "power items".

3.) Take some time at the beginning to set up the game to make it work right; go to the "Options" menu, set it to your likings (especially the "camera" setting which will allow you to set up a key on the keyboard so you can toggle through the different views to get the first person perspective) and you'll be rewarded with great driving competition.

All in all, as good a racing Sim as I could ask for (with some minor reservations mentioned above). If you liked the original game, I'm sure you enjoy this one as well. 4-4 ½ Stars.

Excellent graphics and very fun !

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: August 22, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This game is a blast to play and looks great! It takes the first game and greatly improves it. Be warned , you'll need a pretty good video card to make this game really shine. ( I'm running a BFG 7800GS 256mg, game graphics set to max. I'm also using a Saitek Cyborg Gold joystick. ) Cars control very well. The physics is not so realistic as to diminish the fun factor. Smashing up your car does not greatly affect the drivability. Your car can be ready to fall apart and you are still able to control it. ( except for the demolition derbies, losing a wheel or 2 does make it harder to control ). There is a much better selection of tracks & cars compared to the first one. The cars & tracks are set up to allow for a much greater speed as well. The game plays more like a race with some demolition derby thrown in. AI is pretty good and the difficulty is not too bad. The mini games can be a little tough. On-line is fun & easy to set up, but dial-up won't work. You have to have DSL. And yes, it does have 5 disks, just like almost every other game released these days. ( like Half-life 2 , Quake 4 , Doom 3 , Call of Duty 2, Farcry ,etc.etc. ) Hopefully soon, DVD's will become the norm, rather that the exception.
If you liked the first one ( but wanted faster cars ), this is definitely worth a look. ! (Check Wal-Mart, they just lowered the price to under $20.00 ). This game is a great value at that price !

FlatOut 2 rocks!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: December 27, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I have played a lot of racing games and many have dissapointed because of the game physics. If they are too realistic, then it isn't fun. If it is too arcade like, then it isn't intense. FlatOut 2 has the perfect balance between the two. The game is loaded with action and requires you to learn the tracks and the feel of the cars to get better. I love the aspect of having to place well in the race but also having a secondary requirement of crashing up other cars and objects on the road. The harder you hit another driver, the more money you make at the end for upgrades. There are also a number of tracks that let you drive though interesting places like through shopping malls, under grandstands and over broken bridges.

Some of the other reviews say you need a good video card and others complain about it not being a good game on a 128MB card. What did you expect. You have to have a decent card. I have a GeForce 6600 with 256MB RAM. I don't play with on the highest resolutions but it still looks great and plays great. It even plays well on my laptop with an ATI X1400 256MB.

As far as the controls go, that is all user preference. Some say you have to have a wheel, others say keyboard is the best. How do you like to play? That is the important question. This game can be played with just about any method. I use a Logitech Gamepad myself and it is great.

This is probably the most fun racing game I have ever played. And the demolition derby is great at a LAN party. I highly recommend this game!

Flayout 2

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: November 03, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This is a fun game. You get to race and wreck cars. What a blast!!!

Disappointing!

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 1 / 6
Date: August 22, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I was SO looking forward to this title. It looks good but runs very badly even with a 128M card. The controls are really bad. I turned the sensitivity down to zero on the joystick and still can't keep from crashing into everything in sight. Forget about winning a race. I also had to turn the graphics way down to even make it playable. This was such a great title, what the heck happened? And what's with the 5 discs? Watch out, they've flat out taken the fun out of FLATOUT 2.
Too Bad....

WOW! (stars should be 4-5)

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 1 / 31
Date: August 09, 2006
Author: Amazon User

If you liked the first one, and thought it couldn't get any better, are you in for a surprise!

Photo-realistic, fast graphics...broad ranges of cars, races and tracks...great new stunt games..everything is souped up and more fun than the original.

Prepare to waste a bunch a of time if you order this.

MY INITIAL REVIEW:

Just received, haven't played yet. My first comment is to the manufacturer is one three letter acronym: "DVD"

Who the hell still sends out games for PCs packaged on FIVE CDS??!!??! Apparently Bugbear does.

Anybody with a PC with the horsepower to play this game is going to have a DVD drive...this is stupid.

Never shipped...

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: February 21, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Shipping date said 1/23-1/28, as of writing this the date is 2/21, and I still haven't got anything.

Excellent Buy for the price

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: December 21, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Great addicting game!!!! I have never really enjoyed racing style games until I purchased this title. I found no problems with the graphics or the fact that the title comes with 5 cd's. (This seems to bother most people... go make a cup of coffee and stop complaining already.) I currently have a Radeon X700 512 AGP graphics card, which works great and makes the game look great. Controls are very easy and keyboard controls are preferable. This game has difficult AI, which makes the game very challenging. I find myself spending more time on destroying the other cars on the track then focusing on the race. Something about sending your opponents out the car window after slamming them into a wall that brings a smile to my face. Altogether a great game and a great price. For all those complaining about the graphic requirements of the game, GO BUY A PS2 or XBOX.

Even I like crashing the car...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: January 29, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Not a 'sim' but just a nice game. Good graphics. Smart AI.
Good game-play (but not easy). My favorite is the 'derby'
mode (crash into your opponents on-line).

What a blast!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: February 06, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I cant believe there wasn't more hype around this game!
I heard about it by just kind of browsing around and checking some scattered reviews.

While it's pretty difficult at times, the game play is a lot of fun!
The graphics are pretty impressive as well, I wasn't expecting much and they look pretty good.
You wont be getting next-gen visulas with Shader4.0 and normal mapping or any of the fancy new poly-mapping but for Direct X 9 I'd say the team behind this game really pushed it hard and got a nice looking game.
the best part is that I can run it at 1920x1080 with all the graphics on high with 4X anti-aliasing and I get great frame rates.

I've got a pretty beefy laptop but that's still impressive.

Physics are a blast, the cars get dented and fall apart hoods come flying off, side doors get ripped off, glass and metal go flying every where. In a derby I even wound up minus a wheel and was sliding around on the axel.
Awesome.

You get nitro by slamming into other drivers and tearing up the landscape, as you progress the race tracks become more elaborate with jumps, shortcuts and plenty things to knock over for the driver behind you to run into.
Since almost everything is destructible that looks destructible it's a whole lot of chaos at high speed.

The game uses the blur effect during nitro boosts that is also used in Need For Speed Most Wanted, but to a much more subtle degree, it's actually cool in this game rather than annoying.

There's a party mode where you can set up a tourny with friends and take turns launching your driver(complete with rag doll physics) into giant dart boards, bowling pins, slam him into a baseball bat to be whacked across a field... it's sick, yes, but really funny.

I haven't tried the online modes, but I'll definitely buy another one and LAN with the other PC's in my house.

For the price, pssshhhh, why not!

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