There is no shortage of driving games available to Xbox 360 owners, so publishers often need to offer something different to set their product apart from the pack. The Finnish developers of Flatout Ultimate Carnage, Bugbear, have found a niche for themselves by tossing fully destructible cars and environments into the mix. The end result is a very fun and entertaining game, that is more than just a polished port of the Xbox originals.
For those who missed Flatout or Flatout 2 on the old black box, the concept is straightforward; race your competitors while dealing out devastation along the way. Hitting opponent vehicles increases your Nitro gauge, giving the driver an on-demand speed boost. The harder the impact, the bigger the Nitro bonus. Demolishing environmental features such as road signs, buildings and fences also gains Nitro, as does hitting jumps and getting big air. There are also Demolition Derby style events, in which the winner is determined either by a points system, or the last driver standing takes home the prize.
Another game style feature of Ultimate Carnage is the “Stunt” mode, where the gamer presses and holds the A button to send the driver through the car’s windshield. Holding and releasing the button sets the trajectory, as you try to meet some predetermined goal, such as the High Jump, or a game of 10 Pin Bowling. While the ragdoll physics make for a good occasional change of pace, this game play feature is more of a novelty than anything else. Taking advantage of Ultimate Carnage’s “Party Mode” allows up to 8 people to take turns locally at Stunt mode. It can be just as much fun watching your friends have a go at it, as it is playing it yourself. Unfortunately, this is the only mode available for local multiplayer, and there are no splitscreen races or demo derbies to be had.
Flatout mode is the basic career mode, as the gamer is tasked to compete in series after series across three classes of vehicle. Oddly, the “Street” class is ranked above the “Race” class. It’s not detrimental to the game in anyway, but I found it to be a strange counterintuitive quirk. By finishing any series in the top 3, the gamer unlocks bonus challenges that can be played for additional fun and funds, but are not required to complete the career mode. These bonus events are usually Time Trials and Demolition Derbies. Individual races generally run 3 to 5 minutes, and there are usually 3 to 5 races within any series. Along with prize money tied to how the gamer finishes, bonuses are gained by being the driver that deals out the most damage, turns the fastest lap and wrecks the most scenery.
The money won by winning races and gaining bonuses can be spent on buying new cars and upgrading those already in your garage. There are 48 different vehicles in the game, including bonus vehicles, such as a school bus. While no official makes and models are used, it’s fairly easy to see that the vehicles are modeled on real-life counterparts, including Chevy Camaros, Ford Broncos and Honda CRX’s. Your 11 competitors each prefer differing types of vehicles and have varying personalities to match. Before long, you’ll learn which ones run the fastest laps, and which ones will ram you every chance they get.
Besides Flatout mode, there is Carnage mode which features 36 distinct events, including Flatout style races, Deathmatch Derbies, Stunt events and the checkpoint based Beat the Bomb race. By playing through Carnage mode, the gamer can unlock additional vehicles, but unlike Flatout mode the vehicle you use in any event is predetermined.
Xbox Live play allows the gamer to participate in Deathmatches, Carnage races and Stunt events. Up to 8 competitors can go head to head in a fairly lag-free event. The only weak point of Xbox Live support lies in its treatment of Stunt mode, as all participants compete at the same time, and scores are tallied at the end. As mentioned, part of the fun of Stunt mode is watching what others do. Lap time leaderboards are featured for every race, including offline Flatout and Carnage mode events.
