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Mac|Life has posted a review of FlatOut 2, a racing title from Bugbear Entertainment and Virtual Programming. The game focuses on reckless driving and destruction, allowing players to ram enemy vehicles, smash objects in the environment, and engage in a variety mini-game stunts. Mac|Life gave the game a score of 4 out of 5.

From the review:

FlatOut 2 started life on the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and Windows in 2006, this is an arcade racer with a heavy emphasis on destruction. It’s got three car classes—derby, race, and street—and you win by wrecking your opponents, either by smashing into them or by running them into the destructible scenery. Combining speed plus aggression earns you credits to buy more cars or upgrade your current ones. Completing each short cup series unlocks a demolition derby (smash up your opponents to be the last car standing) and a stunt minigame.

The stunts are quite ridiculous, but mercilessly short and super fun to play over and over. Each one has you smash your car and launch its driver through the windshield and into the air, where you control his sickening flight to aim him at the goal. In one stunt, he smashes into bowling pins; another has him flying through rings of fire; in another you try to get him to flop lifelessly through a basketball hoop. The rag doll physics cause the driver to flip and flop realistically as he bounces off objects and slams into the ground, and the bone-crushing thud had us cringing every time. A Party mode lets you challenge your friends to a set of six stunts, and you just pass around the controller and take turns playing on one Mac. Our biggest complaint is the hard-rock soundtrack (Nickelback, Audioslave, Megadeth, and so on), which seemed dated and a little too “high school weight room.”

Mac|Life: FlatOut 2 Review

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FlatOut 2 (add to watch list)

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