With 8,000 destructible objects per track, there’s no shortage of hazards, hidden shortcuts, or flying debris. This is great for the most part, however one of the major frustrations of Flatout is that the arcade physics can be incredibly unforgiving, and are wildly inconsistent - occasionally, clipping a small piece of usually-harmless debris will completely spin you out. It’s incredibly frustrating to have this happen toward the end of a race, as the other cars are always just a split-second behind you, and it can easily blow your chances of a win.

Which brings me to the second flaw - this game is hard enough even without the dicky physics bugs. You might get through Derby class without too many issues, but by the time you reach Street class, you’ll be wishing they’d included a difficulty setting. If you’re the type of gamer that sees this as a good thing, more power to you…otherwise the second half of the game might be more appropriate. Dubbed Carnage Mode, it’s a collection of single events perfectly suited for those with a short attention span, or just needing a break from the furious racing.

There’s Carnage races and derbys, which require you to cause a certain amount of damage to the other cars (and the track) to pass, but the highlight of Carnage Mode is definitely the stunt levels. Stunt mode incorporates one interesting mechanic you don’t see in the rest of the game - by pressing A, you can eject your driver from the car…through the windshield, no less, and put your driver through a number of sadistic games including bowling, high jump, basketball, stone-skipping and the deadly Ring of Fire.

Sadly, Flatout lacks a split-screen mode - and it seems a pretty major oversight, considering this is exactly the kind of game you want to play with a friend. The consolation prize is that Bugbear have chosen to put the work into the Xbox Live functionality, which supports 8 player races, and simultaneous Carnage Mode games.

Flatout: Ultimate Carnage comes so close to being a must-buy, it’s disappointing to have to lay a meagre must-rent status on it. There’s an amazing game here that’s bound to click with many gamers, and an experience that will keep you coming back once you’re hooked…however the insane difficulty and buzz-killing physics bugs make it an inaccessible experience for some, and a frustrating one for the rest.

Given what’s been added to MotorStorm post-launch, I sincerely hope Bugbear have a crack at addressing these issues with a patch. Better late than never, right?

Score: 8/10

Rent, Buy or Miss? Rent

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This entry was posted by Tim Hanlon on Tuesday, July 24th, 2007 at 9:08 am and is filed under Reviews, Xbox 360. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.