Games Thursday : Flatout Demo Impressions
Currently playing the demos for several of the games available for purchase at GOG.com and primarily settled on the racing games for a quick adrenaline fix – today’s all about the demo for Bugbear Entertainment’s Flatout.
Now Flatout isn’t a game that takes itself seriously – there’s the standard races both onroad and offroad but there’s also crazy stunt races which makes good use of the absurd and overexaggerated physics model and even demolition arenas (not in demo).
The demo allows you to belt up and tear up the Finchley Forest dirt track and a proper racetrack at Fairgrass Grounds (and half of the surroundings) in your muscle car. Actually, skip the part about belting up since your race driver alter-ego has an reckless disregard for safety regulations and a even more alarming tendency to crash thorough the windscreen when you collide into one of the many obstacles on track – why anyone would park a container trailer in the middle of the road is really beyond my comprehension 
Expect to see debris and car parts strewn across the tracks as less unfortunate (or less skilled) drivers run smack into the unmovable obstacles (others can be powered through with sufficient speed).
With over 40 deformable and destructable parts per car, it’ll take a good driver to keep his car unscathed thoroughout the entire race – I usually get my car half busted up during the scrape at the first curve jockeying for position with the rest of the AI drivers and end each race with a flaming engine. While I don’t drive in real life, the traction on gravel and tarmac surfaces feels sufficiently different to warrant different approaches on tackling the curves on each track.
There isn’t much to find fault with Flatout really – unless you’re a purist who demands realistic physics, licensed cars and simulator-like performance modelling – if you prefer fun over complete realism in your racing games, you’ll probably enjoy Flatout. My only grouse is that I would love to play the game with an incar camera view but Flatout doesn’t offer that.
Download the demo for Flatout (Fileshack mirror) or buy the full game as a DRM-free digital download at GOG.com for 5.99 USD.
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Compared to any Burnout after Legends?
aaahh Flat Out
it’s a fun game i tell u 
)
there’s a competition on how far u can throw the driver away by crashing
it’s fun for a couple of days and the realism particle is quite astonishing, but there’s something missing in the game, making the game feels hollow, i dont know what it is.
@Michael A: Sorry, I haven’t played the Burnout series since I don’t have a console and I don’t have Burnout : Paradise.
@Dian : No licensed cars? No car personalization with decals and stuff? No personality for your racer and the other drivers? I just got the full game recently from GOG.com and these are the most possible faults that I can find.
What kind of controler do you use? Cause using a keyboard kind of sucks. I’m to lazy/cheap to get a steering wheel for my pc so i tend to play my racing games on my PS2.
I’m using the keyboard at the moment – Flatout is still OK with the keyboard. I also bought TOCA 3 from GOG.com and haven’t been playing it much – the controls are a bit too sensitive using the keyboard – been nudging and tapping the cursor keys to avoid spinning out of control at the bends.
I much prefer rally games though – 4WD cars are much, much easier to control.