''FlatOut 2'' is an action racing video game developed by Bugbear Entertainment and published by Empire Interactive in Europe and

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in North America. It is the sequel to the 2004 game ''

FlatOut Flat Out may refer to: * Flat Out (horse), a racehorse * ''Flat Out'' (Buck Dharma album), 1982 * ''Flat Out'' (John Scofield album), 1989 *Flatout, a brand of Flatbreads owned by T. Marzetti Company *Flat Out, a term coined in reference to the ...

''. This game is themed more on the street racing/import tuner scene than its predecessor. A notable change is the tire grip; players can take more control of their car, worrying less about skidding in tight turns. The game has three car classes: derby, race, and street. It was released in Russia on June 29, 2006, in Europe on June 30, and in North America on August 1. In 2008, an OS X version of the game was released by

Virtual Programming Virtual Programming is a video game publisher for OS X and Linux. Virtual Programming has worked with publishers such as Square Enix, 2K Games, Epic Games, Epic, Codemasters, Techland and CD Projekt Red. Virtual Programming sources games from t ...

. In 2014, a Linux version of the game was released on

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as part of the launch of Linux support. An enhanced port was released in 2007 for the

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and Windows as ''FlatOut: Ultimate Carnage''. A

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port of ''Ultimate Carnage'' was released as ''FlatOut: Head On''.

Gameplay

Ragdoll physics

The ragdoll physics in the sequel have been greatly updated. During the race, the driver may be thrown out of the car if slammed into a wall at a high speed. In the numerous

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minigames A minigame (also spelled mini game and mini-game, sometimes called a subgame or microgame) is a short game often contained within another video game. A minigame contains different gameplay elements, and is often smaller or more simplistic, than th ...

the goal is to shoot themselves out of the car and complete objectives like knocking down a set of

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pins, hitting the designated spots on a dartboard, score a

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or fly through flaming hoops. Players must use ' aerobatics' to control the driver in-flight, but overusing it will increase drag, which will slow the driver down and possibly prevent him/her from reaching the designated target. If the driver falls short of the target, players can use the "nudge". This gives the driver a small upward boost and slightly reduces drag. In the Stone Skipping Stunt minigame, the players must use nudge just as the driver hits the surface of the water to skip the most efficiently and reach the furthest.

Reception

Critical reception

The PC version of ''FlatOut 2'' received "generally favorable reviews", while the PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions received "average" reviews, according to the

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website

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. In Japan, ''

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'' gave the PS2 version a score of all four sevens for a total of 28 out of 40.

Awards

* Won

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's award for Best

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Racing Game of 2006. * Won '' X-Play''s award for Best Racing Game of 2006.

''FlatOut: Ultimate Carnage''

''FlatOut: Ultimate Carnage'' is an

enhanced port A video game remake is a video game closely adapted from an earlier title, usually for the purpose of modernizing a game with updated graphics for newer hardware and gameplay for contemporary audiences. Typically, a remake of such game software s ...

of ''FlatOut 2'' featuring new gameplay modes and graphics as well as at least two new cars. It was known earlier as ''FlatOut: Total Carnage''. ''FlatOut: Ultimate Carnage'' was released on July 22, 2007 in Europe, on August 1 in Australia, and on October 2 in North America for the

. The

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version was released through the

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network on August 26, 2008, and in stores on September 2. There is also a handheld version of the game for the

called ''FlatOut: Head On'', which was released in Australia on March 12, 2008, in Europe two days later, and in North America on April 4.

Gameplay

''Ultimate Carnage'' introduces a brand new series of tracks which are based anywhere from busy streets to storm water drains. The cars are more detailed than previous games in the series, employing the latest in dynamic lighting and shadow technology, and a greatly enhanced damage and physics engine where each car is made of up to 40 separate destructible parts. The single player game supports up to 11 other AI-controlled cars in each race. A new multiplayer format is also included; this runs on the

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system which requires the user to either sign into own Xbox LIVE or Games for Windows LIVE Gamertag, or sign up for one for free. The LAN function is not available in ''FlatOut: Ultimate Carnage'', unlike the previous two ''FlatOut'' games for Windows.

Reception

The Xbox 360 and PC versions received "favorable" reviews, while the ''Head On'' version received "average" reviews, according to the

website

. ''

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s Maurice Branscombe commended the Xbox 360 version for "looking and playing better than ever before", but did not like the soundtracks and stated that "the game's load times are too long". In Japan, ''

'' gave the same console version a score of three sevens and one six for a total of 27 out of 40.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Flatout 2 2006 video games Bugbear Entertainment games *02 Games for Windows certified games Linux games Lua (programming language)-scripted video games MacOS games Multiplayer and single-player video games PlayStation 2 games PlayStation Portable games Vehicular combat games Video game sequels Video games developed in Finland Video games featuring protagonists of selectable gender Windows games Xbox games Xbox 360 games Empire Interactive games