Game Modes

• Career
• Compete in full contact races through a variety of tracks located in different environments.
• Woodland races are full of dirt trails through forests and nature.
• Country circuits are held on dirt roads that wind through farmland with tractors, barns, picket fences and other country items.
• Construction zones are another popular environment where there are pipes, bulldozers, and a lot of destructible catwalks.
• Some of the fastest races occur on the speedway courses, where blacktop provides more traction than any other environment.
• Conversely, winter tracks provide the least traction and plenty of tight turns.
• Race through three different levels (Bronze, Silver, and Gold).
• You’ll start at the bronze level with just a few races unlocked.
• Placing 3^rd or better in each race will unlock other races until they are all finally unlocked.
• Once all the races in a level are unlocked the next level will become available.
• As new levels are reached, more cars and bonus games will also get unlocked.
• Earn money based on finishing position and the amount of damage caused.
• Use the earnings to improve your car or to buy a new one.
• Car upgrades fall into several categories:
• Engine
• Drivetrain
• Exhaust
• Suspension
• Tires & Breaks
• Body
• Upgrades improve the performance of your car but do not allow for any adjustments.
• Enter Bonus Events to earn extra money.
• Demolition Derby.
• Figure Eight races.
• High Jump
• Darts
• Bowling
• And more.
• Quick Race
• Jump straight into some action, for no rewards.
• A useless mode that most will never play.
• Time Trial
• Practice for the best times on any unlocked track.
• Another useless mode, unless you really just want to practice a track.
• Multiplayer
• Compete in a Quick Race or a Bonus Event with your friends.
• Overall the modes in the game are a little lackluster and basic.
• A normal career mode that wasn’t very deep and a couple of fun and unique bonus events are all the game really has to offer.

Gameplay

• At the start of the game only a few weaker cars are available for use in all modes.
• In the career mode more cars will become available once you progress past certain levels.
• You can only have one car at a time in career mode, so choose your car wisely.
• Use any left over money to buy a few upgrades for your new car.
• Once out of money, it will be time to race and make some more.
• The racing in FlatOut is all out arcade style destruction.
• All races feature large classic style muscle cars.
• Bangin’ and rubbin’ is guaranteed as eight competitors set out on some narrow, impromptu looking tracks.
• A lenient physics engine causes for some spectacular wrecks.
• Damage is a given, but luckily performance won’t degrade too much even after your car is almost turned into scrap metal.
• Most cars handle very similarly with differences in weight and horsepower contributing to different speeds, acceleration, and control.
• Drifting around corners and using power slides will be the main focus to driving well.
• Short-cuts, jumps, and large obstacles will make the races fun.
• The arcade style controls are easy to handle and give a smooth feeling of the powerful rear wheel drive cars.
• After a few races driving will seem second nature.
• Buying upgrades for your car will make it even faster and easier to control.
• All the races are pretty short, lasting between 2 and 6 laps.
• Controlling the car with the keyboard is not recommended.
• This game is much better when played with a controller.
• Each different environment has an effect on the handling of the cars.
• Snow filled tracks are extremely slippery, and demand slower speeds and better control of cornering.
• Dirt and Sand make up the majority of the races where the handling involves normal amounts of sliding.
• Races on blacktop offer the most speed and grip, and really allow for some quick maneuvering.
• The main draw of the game though, comes from destructible environments and the use of rag-doll physics to torture your ejected driver after a hard wreck.
• Each track is littered with different hazards from traffic cones, to fences, and even heavy machinery.
• Most all of the hazards are in someway destructible or moveable.
• Wood signs will splinter when racers crash through them.
• Tire walls will cause a mess if someone hits one, sending tires all over the track, adding to the obstacles.
• Hitting a telephone pole will stop you in your tracks, but the pole will start to lean.
• If you hit one of the less moveable objects like a pole, a steel girder, tree or a stopped car, you’ll most likely watch as your driver gets violently thrown through the windshield.
• This is very amusing for the first few hours of the game.
• Eventually though, time lost from the wreck will become more important, and the animations will loose their appeal.
• Fortunately though, there are some Bonus Events where ejecting your driver is the main focus of the gameplay.
• In the High Jump, you purposefully launch your car off a vertical ramp, ejecting the driver to go for the highest altitude.
• In Darts, you eject your driver towards a giant dart board where you try to score the most points.
• In general these games are most fun when played in multiplayer, but they can earn you some quick cash in the career mode too.
• Overall the driving controls in FlatOut are good, and the over exaggerated physics engine allows for some memorable moments.