FlatOut 2 details revealed

By Ellie Gibson Published 17 February, 2006

Twice as many vehicles.

Empire Interactive has revealed new details of PC, PS2 and Xbox smasher FlatOut 2.

It'll feature twice as many vehicles as the previous game - 34, in total - including not just muscle cars, but sports cars, pickup trucks and compacts. Each will have 40 deformable parts, and you'll be able to keep multiple vehicles in your garage.

The game is set in the US and race environments include Big City, LA Storm Drains, Rocky Mountain Forest, Corn Fields and Desert. There are 60 track combinations in total, each featuring more than 5000 destructible objects, and you'll now find alternative track routes - but watch out, so will your opponents. Each AI drive has their own personality, biography and driving style, too.

Championship Mode has been enhanced and there's now a greater emphasis on causing mayhem and destruction, with bigger rewards on offer in the shape of maximum performance and cash bonuses. Unlockable items include bonus cars, Championship Cups and six Destruction Derby Arenas.

Up to four players can race against each other in splitscreen mode, and all three versions will feature an online option - for up to six players on the PS2, or eight players on Xbox and PC.

And finally, the Rag Doll mini-games are back. There are 12 this time, plus a Rag Doll Championship and online support.

FlatOut 2 is out in May.

Picture of Ellie.

About Ellie Gibson

Since joining Eurogamer in the mid 2000s, Ellie has written about subjects as diverse as the fall of Gizmondo, the rise of Hollyoaks actresses in Red Alert games and the noise a bear makes under NSFW circumstances.

Read more articles from Ellie by visiting the Ellie Gibson archive page.

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Comments (25) Latest comment 6 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • smoison #1 6 years ago

    The first was pretty good, but I can't remember why I stopped playing it...

  • symmetry #2 6 years ago

    Exactly the same smoison. I remember really liking it, then just... stopped... playing...

  • jlaakso #3 6 years ago

    I really liked the summer feel of the original. That and the distinctively Finnish feel to the forest stages.

    I do hope the ragdoll contests have been retuned. They were hilarious to begin with, but tedious to play at any length.

  • Kingsadist #4 6 years ago

    I had the same thing: liked it a lot, but abruptly stopped playing it alltogether.
    As I recall, it might have something to do with the fact that I suck at driving games, or that some things just really ticked me off, like only being able to have one car, some really, really annoying tracks, the awful music and the sheer humiliation of seeing your driver crash through the front windscreen time and again...

    Anyway, colour me interested.

  • smelly #5 6 years ago

    I stopped playing once i finished it

  • urban #6 6 years ago

    MAY!? W00T!

  • Chtulie #7 6 years ago

    Feels a bit like the prince of persia sequels, focussing and expending on the weak elements (the championship racing in this game) whilst neglecting the parts that made it a blast (the mini-events).

    As long as we're allowed to actually be able to steer the cars this time. I know american cars are underequipped when it comes to stopping or changing directions, but in the first flatout it was just ridiculous, only the tracks on actual pavement were playable.

  • stoopidgreg #8 6 years ago

    i loved the first flatout, so i get the feeling this one will rock hard.

  • grimboy #9 6 years ago

    I've got the first one and really liked it...the kids have nicked it,so it's been a while since I played it, but I do remember going on xboxlive with it and finding no players whatsoever, which I thought was a real shame...maybe we should arrange a meet?

  • Syrette #10 6 years ago

    Can't wait.

  • brainbird #11 6 years ago

    The first had serious potential but was too flawed to be a good game. Improve on the flawed bits and we have a winner.

  • Vin #12 6 years ago

    Really digged the original. Handling felt a wee bit 'light', though.

  • sir_tripod #13 6 years ago

    High jump was hilarious. The game on LAN is fabulous with the destruction derby patch that's about. I'll be looking forward to this!

  • JammyB #14 6 years ago

    Please get rid of the snow levels!

    Brilliant and underrated game otherwise though, exactly what a modern Destruction Derby should be.

  • space_ace #15 6 years ago

    i also loved the first one! it was a perfect antidote to the overblown burnout 3

  • SgtJericho #16 6 years ago

    Will it work on the 360 does anyone know?

  • Retroid #17 6 years ago

    !!!

    Must've sold well enough in the US to justify this - I thought it had sunk like a stone over here?

  • Bitkari #18 6 years ago

    High jump was hilarious. The game on LAN is fabulous with the destruction derby patch that's about. I'll be looking forward to this!

    Very true! Flatout is a very underrated LAN title - hopefully Flatout 2 will have even more LAN modes.

  • SgtJericho #19 6 years ago

    my over-riding memory of it was playing online listening to the near constant laughter of the other players... which for those of you who don't have Live is RARE in the extreme!


    FlatOut was a laugh a minute and I think games are missing that - the actual 'fun factor'. The first one was seriously underrated because it had little to no longevity in single player mode. I hope this one does well as I'd like to see a next-gen FlatOut!

  • Eraser #20 6 years ago

    FlatOut's still always a good laugh at our LAN parties :D
    I'm really looking forward to this one.

  • DodgyPast #21 6 years ago

    I loved it....

    It fit my natural style of play whith drive games ( having the back end hanging out ) so I didn't find it too difficult.

    Definitely looking forward to the next one.... and might be one to try out running my PC through an HD TV with.

  • Triggerhappytel #22 6 years ago

    Glad to see this underrated game will be getting a sequel, first read about this on the Bugbear website a couple of weeks ago. Hopefully they will include a more focused championship and tone down the difficulty - I never finished the first game because it just got silly in the later stages (don't talk to me about those snow levels). Glad to see the mini-games are back, got this out a few weeks ago for a crack when I had some friends over - it's still great fun.

    Retroid - according to the Bugbear website it has sold over 600 000 copies worldwide. Which, I suppose if you're a fairly small development house, is a pretty decent number.

  • MrChuckles #23 6 years ago

    I remember playing this a lot, then like others just stopped. I think the races on the tarmac racing circuits were way better than the other regions, with some of the others just annoying.

    Reminded me a lot of Powerslide (which we used to play to death in the office) with crashes.

    I think it needs to be more demolition derby (On the old ps1), the tracks should be simpler with surviving and causing damage to your enemies more important, i.e. steering the car around the track should be a lot more arcadey and less simulation!

    Also, they should have crossovers and nasty stuff like that.

  • glaeken #24 6 years ago

    I loved the first one but I think the tracks are what really let it down. The tarmac tracks were fine but the off road tracks just had way too many solid objects e.g. tree's etc. that if hit would bring you to a total halt. Plus of course a lot of the off road tracks were just very hard anyway with literally one mistake meaning you may as well restart the race.

    Still I did finish the single player and still break it out from time to time.

  • Triggerhappytel #25 6 years ago

    "This game wasn't hard!

    Although upgrading your car was a must."

    I upgraded my car to the nines (it was one of the higher-end middle cars. I didn't want to go for too much speed on the mud or snow tracks) but still found it too hard. It was mainly those snow courses; you had to know it fully off by heart and start turning for corners before you even reach them. Plus the AI was so good & agressive, you often had little control over what was happening when in a bunch. Also, the variable debris on the tracks could make it very unpredictable.

    Don't get me wrong, it's a bloody great game, but I still think the next should be a little more forgiving. The asphalt tracks were superb fun.
    Edited by 1 at 20/02/06 @ 13:53