[SpikeyTheFatGit]

Originally Posted by museumsteve

haha, I did wonder mate
I've got a copy sitting at work for tomorrow, just hope it is region free (as my machines are US) but ,may have to nick the kids machine for a while :D

I'm in the same boat as I don't have a PAL 360 either, so really hoping this is region free, especially as the kids don't have one I can nick!

[SpikeyTheFatGit]

Doesn't look as though it works in Jap 360's, not sure there's much chance of it working in a US one either

Link

[museumsteve]

It works in my US machine

[SpikeyTheFatGit]

Originally Posted by museumsteve

It works in my US machine

Nice one...means I can pick it up now after all

[CounterWhine]

My wife just collected my copy from PC World. It required her to do battle with a variety of feckless wastrels but she prevailed in the end.

She first stunned them with a vicious expectation that they should do their jobs and then followed up with a devastating barrage of foot tapping until they succumbed.

My wife rocks!

[Moogle]

Originally Posted by SpikeyTheFatGit

Doesn't look as though it works in Jap 360's, not sure there's much chance of it working in a US one either

Link

A lot of games that are region free and work on US NTSC and UK PAL consoles don't actually work on Japanese machines for some reason. If a game doesn't work on a Japanese machine doesn't neccesarily mean it won't work on a US/UK machine.

[CeeJay775]

This games a great fun racer, no technical things to worry about just floor it and smash your way to the front. I have only done the first couple of races but can tell you its good fun. The tracks look nice the water sprays around and in some races there loads of water to drive through, find the short cuts grab big air and just have some fun. I have gone half a lap with a fence on my roof and when I went of the jump it went flying through the air with me, it landed near the side of me about 20 meters away. You gain points for samshing people so whack as many as you can and to win races you really need a couple of upgrades, again very basic but stick a turbo in, and the cars start to fly along. As I say only 1 car so far and a couple of races but first impressions are good, I will go online latter and try some more cars. All in all it looks nice, plays great and gives you the big inducing moments, what more could you ask.

[nutter45]

You'll have plenty more when you try the Head-On online mode

I'm very impressed that what with all the madness going on on-screen, hundreds of objects flying all over the place and 12 cars, there is no slowdown and also no sign of any tearing at all

AI seems pretty good so far. They smash into each other quite a lot and you'll see (then very shortly after drive into) some huge pile ups

[rio1981]

You lot are going to have waxing lyrical about this, sounds like exactly the kind of game that I'm missing at the moment and needless to say I have no means to currently buy it!!!

[SpikeyTheFatGit]

Originally Posted by Moogle

A lot of games that are region free and work on US NTSC and UK PAL consoles don't actually work on Japanese machines for some reason. If a game doesn't work on a Japanese machine doesn't neccesarily mean it won't work on a US/UK machine.

Luckily this one's ok, but I've only had a couple that work in both PAL and US machines but not a Jap one. Most region-free games I've had work in all three. I've been waiting for this for ages and as there don't seem to be any release dates for the US or Asia yet, it not working in a Jap machine had me worried.

[Mark Hodgkinson]

I back up everyone else's opinion on this. It's just an honest-to-goodness fun arcade racer in the best traditions

I'll be online tonight if anyone fancies adding me

I do think they should steer away from the Burnout style presentation though, right from the cover art to the in-game fonts you could easily be mistaken which game you were playing. Sure there are plenty of similarities but it deserves to stand up proud in it's own right!

Best £27 I've spent in a long while.

[nutter45]

Originally Posted by rio1981

You lot are going to have waxing lyrical about this, sounds like exactly the kind of game that I'm missing at the moment and needless to say I have no means to currently buy it!!!

Trade DiRT for this, much more fun (IMO!) and a perfect foil for Forza

[Captain Beaky]

Originally Posted by nutter45

Trade DiRT for this, much more fun (IMO!) and a perfect foil for Forza

really? its that good? why is it better than dirt? you unlocked any of the minigames?

also, can anyone tell me if this game supports the force feedback wheel?

[Mark Hodgkinson]

Originally Posted by Captain Beaky

also, can anyone tell me if this game supports the force feedback wheel?

Says so on the box

[nutter45]

Originally Posted by Captain Beaky

really? its that good? why is it better than dirt? you unlocked any of the minigames?

also, can anyone tell me if this game supports the force feedback wheel?

Flatout does support the wheel.

Dirt just didn't grab me in the slightest, despite me wanting to like it. It looks like it should be a proper rally game, but it doesn't drive or feel like a proper rally game at all. I'm going to try it again when I get tired of the career mode on Forza, but I have little interest in it right now.

Flatout is just a no-nonsense crashy arcade racer, it doesn't pretend to be anything other than that. It plays like demolition derby, with a healthy splash of Burnout. It could easily be mistaken for Burnout presentation-wise. Online, so far, is unbelievably smooth even with 8 players and is just loads of fun. It is pretty remarkable given how much is going on

I've unlocked a load of time trials and demolition derbies in Flatout mode, but I've not ventured into Carnage mode yet which is where all the minigames reside, I think.

[featherhall]

Originally Posted by Captain Beaky

really? its that good? why is it better than dirt? you unlocked any of the minigames?

also, can anyone tell me if this game supports the force feedback wheel?

I just got my copy, so will check when I get home and post. It says so on the box, but there is no mention of it in the booklet which is strange. It better, otherwise its going back.

[Crovon]

Didnt really like the handling in Dirt and Ive got Forza, but I cant always be bothered with its seriousness, but this game is brilliant!!

I dont think I could've asked for better handling, it feels solid and thrashy/slidey all at the same time. you never feel like you cant control the car, its great.

Graphics are ace, everything moves along smoothly no matter what is flying around on screen (and trust me there will be lots of things - all at once) it just looks great.

I agree about the burnout stlye front end, menus, etc - it really doesnt need them to be like this, the devs should have done more of their own thing, but its not such a huge problem for such a good game.

I havent tried it online yet, nor have I done any minigames etc, just a few races but I will do shortly.

I would happily recommend this to anyone who just wants to have a good blast and bomb around a track causing as much mayhem and damage as possible.
In my opinion this puts all the Burnout games to shame!

tip: for an easy 10 gamerpoints just keep restarting the race your in. (I had to as I was half asleep when playing and kept nearly finishing 5th so just restarted) I dont know how many times you have to do it, but I would say no more than 10. Its the Perseverance achievement I think.

[SkilledNutter]

if the destruction arena is muiltiplayer then i will defo by this, i loved destruction derby on ps1

[Inj]

Sounds like I'll be trading in the uber-serious Forza 2 for this little puppy!

I should almost be able to trade in the LE of Forza 2 outright, shouldn't I?

That'll keep Tetlee happy!

[sem1604]

think ill trade in forza2 also - just couldnt get into it enough and devote the time it needed.

any suggestions on best place to trade in with.


looking forward to some old Destruction Derby style multiplayer games with you lot.

[Captain Beaky]

eurogamer just reviewed it and gave it a respectable 8/10. said the only 2 things stopping it from being a 9/10 were;

1, - physics bugs like other cars getting stuck to your front bumper when you rear end them (not every time, about 1 in 5 times) and random objects spinning in the middle of the track

2, - disproportionate difficulty. making a simple mistake, or being nudged whilst leading and going from 1st to last, with little chance of catching the leaders. said theres no chance of last lap heroics

so there you go. what would you guys who have the game say to that? fair comments. i was seriously considering the game, but if the difficulty thing is true, i may just rent it, or give it a miss. i hate that kind of thing.

[sem1604]

not to bothered about the difficulty, buying it for the multiplayer mayhem more than the single player side of things

[nutter45]

Originally Posted by Captain Beaky

eurogamer just reviewed it and gave it a respectable 8/10. said the only 2 things stopping it from being a 9/10 were;

1, - physics bugs like other cars getting stuck to your front bumper when you rear end them (not every time, about 1 in 5 times) and random objects spinning in the middle of the track

2, - disproportionate difficulty. making a simple mistake, or being nudged whilst leading and going from 1st to last, with little chance of catching the leaders. said theres no chance of last lap heroics

so there you go. what would you guys who have the game say to that? fair comments. i was seriously considering the game, but if the difficulty thing is true, i may just rent it, or give it a miss. i hate that kind of thing.

1. Yes it happens, but you just brake to untangle. There are occasional problems with random objects, but when there are that many things happening at once it is pretty much inevitable. Overall the physics are excellent.

2. Yes and no. Single player is not by any stretch easy. Most events so far have been a series of 3-6 races, but you can retry any of the individual races if you don't like where you finish, which obviously helps a lot. I've not gone 1st to last so far. If you end up facing a tree, upside down or in a field you just press Y quickly to reset and usually only lose a few places, sometimes none.

[Captain Speedy]

Originally Posted by sem1604

think ill trade in forza2 also - just couldnt get into it enough and devote the time it needed.

any suggestions on best place to trade in with.


looking forward to some old Destruction Derby style multiplayer games with you lot.

Blockbusters will take Forza off you and give you Flatout for £9.99

[Inj]

Originally Posted by Captain Speedy

Blockbusters will take Forza off you and give you Flatout for £9.99

Sounds good. What would GAME or Gamestation give you? I've not done a trade in eons.

[zAndy1]

I would imagine you'd be looking at Forza + £15 to get it at Gamestation/Game (assuming they're selling it for £39.99)

[Tetlee]

Originally Posted by Captain Beaky

2, - disproportionate difficulty. making a simple mistake, or being nudged whilst leading and going from 1st to last, with little chance of catching the leaders. said theres no chance of last lap heroics

so there you go. what would you guys who have the game say to that? fair comments. i was seriously considering the game, but if the difficulty thing is true, i may just rent it, or give it a miss. i hate that kind of thing.

Originally Posted by sem1604

not to bothered about the difficulty, buying it for the multiplayer mayhem more than the single player side of things

As above, have DiRT on it's way for single player so this one will be online all the way when it arrives.

Just came off the phone from mother back home, insisted that she forwards Flatout to me tomorrow with no exception! Gonna get..what's the word...pwned? enough by the time I get on the road as it is after waiting serveral weeks for the Argie post

Go for it Captain Beaky the more people on my FL with this game the better, need something to get me off GoW now and again.

[SeedyR]

Originally Posted by zAndy1

I would imagine you'd be looking at Forza + £15 to get it at Gamestation/Game (assuming they're selling it for £39.99)

At the moment you get £30 for Forza 2 in Gamestation and they're selling Flatout for £39.99

I just did that today, bout to play Flatout now

[jason g]

Originally Posted by sem1604

think ill trade in forza2 also - just couldnt get into it enough and devote the time it needed.

any suggestions on best place to trade in with.


looking forward to some old Destruction Derby style multiplayer games with you lot.

ive already ordered flatout, plus call of juarez, i have dirt already and im looking to trade in forza but im not sure what to get myself yet.

[sdb123]

Has anyone else tried the Stunt mini-games yet? I'm seriously bad at them and can't see myself getting any better.

The Destruction Arena's are first class btw.