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FlatOut: Ultimate Carnage Preview for Xbox 360 (X360)

FlatOut: Ultimate Carnage Preview for Xbox 360 (X360)

A love for flying through windshields at break neck speeds awakened

Fast driving, neck breaking speeds, insane crashes, and rag doll physics? The aforementioned sounds like a regular driving day on the Detroit streets, but it is actually the core gameplay involved with FlatOut: Ultimate Carnage! Developed by Bugbear, FlatOut: Ultimate Carnage is not the first in the series and with other developer games like Burnout, Carmageddon, and Destruction Derby, it looks as if carnage induced racing games are far from done with.

FlatOut: Ultimate Carnage screenshot

Fast driving, neck breaking speeds, insane crashes, and rag doll physics? The aforementioned sounds like a regular driving day on the Detroit streets, but it is actually the core gameplay involved with FlatOut: Ultimate Carnage! Developed by Bugbear, FlatOut: Ultimate Carnage is not the first in the series and with other developer games like Burnout, Carmageddon, and Destruction Derby, it looks as if carnage induced racing games are far from done with.

FlatOut: Ultimate Carnage is the newest iteration which is on its way to the Xbox 360, and it is looking fantastic so far. There are now 40 cars to choose from, each with deformable parts that show destruction as you bump and grind into other cars and objects, but I’m sure drivers training has taught you better than to deliberately crash into folks despite this being the youthful generation of Grand Theft Auto lovers. Though you can lose a race by having your car totaled, it seems that your car can take quite a beating before passing on to that vehicular heaven in the sky where the “Happy Days” star, the Fonz, sits with Jimmy Hendrix reminiscing about days of old. Despite my hallucinogenic analogy, there will now be 12 cars per race which doesn’t leave much room for civility but plenty for road rage.

FlatOut: Ultimate Carnage screenshot

There will be 39 tracks to race on now, spanning a variety of times of day, each with 8,000 objects to crash into, avoid, or at least push your opponents into. These objects range from plate glass windows to store fronts, crates, and even a section where you drive through a shopping mall. Now, finally you can reenact the driving scene from the hit movie Cranked! On some tracks there will be alternate routes that may prove beneficial to you while others may be more of an inconvenience, but naturally once you memorize the track you’ll leap bounds above others.

I, personally, am really excited about the artificial intelligence in the new FlatOut. The drivers are friends to no one and that includes each other, and judging by how some of them drive they might not even like themselves. With that said, no longer do the drivers specifically target only you and it is pretty amazing and funny to see your A.I. opponents at each other’s axles while racing through the already hazardous tracks. There will be situations in the game where the A.I. opponents are attacking each other so aggressively that they won’t even notice you; talk about being blinded by rage.

FlatOut: Ultimate Carnage screenshot

Though the single player modes are great for a social misfit like me, don’t stop reading just yet because for you online junkies there’s even more! The functionality of the Xbox 360’s live platform is far better than its predecessor. As before, up to eight players can play online, though two new modes have been added. “Head on” is a mode where all drivers race to the end of the track, before turning around and racing back, similar to drag racing. Another superb benefit to Xbox Live is that it will allow developer Bugbear to create new tracks and cars even after the game’s release. Bugbear has not stated what the exact plans are in this area or the cost of such downloads, but certainly it is intended to utilize the Xbox Live feature as much as possible. The other part of the game that will be expanded for the Xbox 360 is the arcade challenge section. .

This includes the hilarious rag doll challenges that most sadistic gamers have come to know and love. For those of you unfamiliar, the rag doll challenges are when you forcibly propel your car’s driver through the window and through a series of obstacles. For example, one challenge was set in a giant bowling alley in which you must send your rag doll possessed driver out the window of your car and into the bowling pins. You know, kind of like real bowling. In another, the person is flung through a series of flaming rings possibly becoming burnt to a crisp. Despite how difficult it is to refrain from using a burnt taste-like-chicken joke, we at Cheat Code Central have transcended such low brow jokes, allegedly. Parents, don’t call your lawyers just yet because there is no gore or blood involved. The rag doll challenges are more comical than violent. FlatOut: Ultimate Carnage is looking great so far with its new superficial coating, enhanced graphics, and multi-player modes. I’m looking forward to venting my road frustrations on the new A.I. opponents and wreaking havoc with the rag doll physics. Keep reading for any updates as they come our way.

Features:

  • Play with enhanced graphics in all its visual glory!
  • Now race against 12 players which is twice the carnage.
  • Each car has at least 25,000 polygons per car, which means for some serious wreckage!
  • The wear and tear actually shows on your vehicles as you crash into objects in great detail with 40 deformable panels.
  • Go online for new downloadable tracks and cars.

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