Burnout for hillbillies.
This is what most people who have played the Flatout games describe it as. One part racing, one part destruction derby, and one part involving outrageous driver ejections, this series is somewhat under the radar to gamers and racing fans. But it really shouldn't be, because despite a few flaws, it's one of the funniest and enjoyable racing games out there.
NOTE: The PC/360 versions are identical in every way. I chose to review this version simply because I am playing it at the moment. I have already 1000/1000'd the 360 version if you are curious.
First off, Flatout: Ultimate Carnage (FUC? Pronounce that.) is actually a port of Flatout 2, which came out several years ago. I didn't play Flatout 2 at the time, but the graphics got one real noticeable boost, and I heard additional events were added. And man does it show. My laptop (despite having a dual core CPU and 4GBs of RAM) can't run it too great on high quality, but turning it down to about 50% settings, it looks and runs smooth.
I'd also add that this visual setting (medium) is on par with the 360 version. High quality looks really, REALLY damn nice in motion too, tested that on a quad core, 8GB ram machine.
As I stated earlier, there are three types of game modes in here: races, derbies, and stunts. The races are self explanatory, just get from point A to point B as many times as needed. However, you get rewarded (in either points or cash) for wrecking the hell out of the other racers. If you play these races without crashing into anyone, you aren't playing the game right. The harder you hit, the better the reward. There are three types of cars (ranging from junkers to slick lookers) and each perform differently, whether it's handling or speed.
Which brings us to the reason 9/10 people give up on this game: the control. A friend actually messaged me when I started playing this version, saying how the cars handle like tanks. Yes, it's bad, but you are driving crappy cars on crappy terrain. It adds a degree of realism, as if you were going down a gravel road 200mph you couldn't take a sharp right turn with ease. Then again, "realism" here also means slamming into another car and watching the driver hilariously fly out the windshield. There's an odd sensation in hearing the crash, followed by the "AAAAUUUUGGGGGHHHH" as they fly out of the car.
Nobody in the world of Flatout wears a seat-belt. The game does say upon startup "wear a seat-belt," but why couldn't they get a real person to say it, like in Need for Speed? Or better, have a guy get launched and have him talk about auto safety while airborne?
The derbies are more fun, as they rely more on smashing than handling. There are two types on hand here, (a "last man standing" type event, and a "deathmatch" style, where you have power-ups and several lives) and they both a hoot. For better or worse, they don't last very long (up to 5 minutes tops) so they are great for short bursts of fun.
The stunts are the highlight of the game though, as they were in previous Flatout games. In these, you LAUNCH THE DRIVER through genuinely silly events, such as the high jump, darts, baseball, soccer, and bowling, to name a few. Aside from the comic value, there is also a degree of strategy here, as you can control the driver in midair, but it slows down his momentum. Some of these stunts are a little glitchy as well (such as the drivers arm sticking through a fence) but they don't impact the actual gameplay.
The two main "careers" in the game are Flatout Mode, and Carnage Mode. Flatout Mode is strictly races, as well as the occasional time trial, or derby, and Carnage Mode contains all the derbies, stunts, and Carnage Races, which are like the regular races, but reward you more for causing... well, CARNAGE. If you do good in the Carnage events, you unlock new cars to use in the Flatout Mode. It's also worth mentioning that each race and carnage event has it's own leaderboard.
The online component, despite being pretty much dead (much like the 360) contains all the events from the single player component, for support of up to 8 players. The derbies particularly are a blast with more people, but everything else is "meh." There is also something called "list play" (something it seems all GFWL games have) but nobodies on that.
The achievements are, as stated above, identical to the 360 version, but they are stackable: meaning you can theoretically 1k the game TWICE. If you can wrestle the controls and find people to play online with, you can finish this fairly easy. Most of the achievements come from the Carnage Mode (gold medals), as well as other specific tasks (such as using nitrous for 10 seconds, or ejecting 30 rival drivers). The only difficulty, as I mentioned, comes from the game itself. Be prepared to pull your hair out if you are going for the 1k though. The "Flatmobile" challenge alone may drive you mad.
It's not an easy game to find, it seems. Then again, GFWL games are challenging to locate for some reason. I got this brand new for only 6$ off amazon.com, and provided you have a decent enough computer, you should too. It's also compatible with the xbox 360 controller, but without a wired controller or damned wireless adapter, I can't comment.
I assume it's the same control setup as the 360 version.
If you can look past the challenging controls and occasional unevenness, Ultimate Carnage is worth picking up, for the sheer comedy of the stunts and the entertainment of the derbies. Whether you buy the PC or Xbox 360 version, if you stick with it, you're going to have fun.