Flatout 3, Falling flat?

Article first published as Flatout 3, falling flat? on Technorati.

Note:  The Technorati article is a shortened version.

"GIve it a chance"

That's how I described Flatout 3 to a gamer friend of mine when I saw it on sale on Steam over the past week for $9.99US (normally $29.99US on Steam)

Before I get too deep into my observations of the latest Flatout release a little history may be in order for the uninitiated.

First, In spite of its name, Flatout 3 is actually the fourth Flatout title.  The actual third installment was Flatout: Ultimate Carnage released in 2008.  While it was a good looking game it was little more than a retextured  Flatout 2 which may explain why this current incarnation has earned the number 3. 

Flatout is a driving game with multiple modes including racing, stunt driving and demolition derby events.  No matter what the game type, destructible environments and vehicles are central to the experience and there's no lack of opportunity to hurtle your embattled character through the windshield.

Speaking of hurtling,  one thing that you must accept with any Flatout title is that your character will eventually fly out of your car in some undignified fashion.  There's neither blood nor gore but the ragdoll physics are realistic enough to have caused the German government some discomfort when the original Flatout was released.  They forced the original developer,  Bugbear, to replace the human character textures with crash test dummies which were apparently more family friendly .  I suppose the rest of the world has a sick sense of humor, myself included.

I've enjoyed the Flatout franchise from the start.  Bugbear did an admirable job providing an experience both engrossing, irreverent and infinitely re-playable.  It's with this expectation that I approached Flatout 3. 

This release of the latest Flatout on December 13th 2011 was something of a surprise as there was little to no promotion other than a tile on the Steam client store page.  Its arrival was largely overshadowed by  the clamor over the recent releases of Modern Warfare 3 and Skyrim.

Flatout 3 attempts to carry on the tradition of an irreverent driving experience while expanding game modes and updating the look of the game.  There are a number of vehicles and driver character types to choose from.  The choice of vehicles is limited by the game mode and player progress in the single player campaign but driving character choice is unrestricted.  Multiplayer vehicle and event choices are less restrictive and configurable on the system acting as the game host.  As in previous releases, multiplayer allows participants to experience maps they may not have unlocked in solo play.

Flatout 3 includes 9 gameplay modes including;

Race*, stunt man*, big battle*, battle arena*, monster trucks, speed*,nightshift*, offroad* and  challenge.  Modes with an asterisk by their name are also available in Multiplayer mode.  Most game modes are variations on the race theme while the big battle and battle arena are demolition derby modes.

 The Stunt Man mode presents a number of events where the player needs to hurl the driver through the windshield  guiding him through a number of obstacles toward a target .  Scoring is dependent on where the character comes to rest at the end of his....journey?

 Control setup is slightly more complex than previous games in the series but nowhere near the level of complexity of a Battlefield 3 or Need for Speed Shift.  I also applaud the detection of my Joystick as many current arcade driving titles such as Blur and Split Second favor gamepad style controllers.  An annoyance for someone who only uses a joystick or steering wheel.

Overall, configuration is kept relatively simple which allows you to start playing in seconds meaning less time wasted in the navigation of a complex interface.  This is also a tenet of previous Flatout titles.

Flatout has always been more about the gameplay than the environment.  Maps and textures have always been attractive but never to the detriment of the game experience.  There has always been an emphasis on keeping the player engaged in the task at hand.  To support that, attention was given to ensuring that the player had adequate camera angles and a clear view of the playfield. 

I'd like to say this latest incarnation has upheld that standard.  I'd like to say that but I can't. 

I'm not going to pile on the avalanche of bad reviews that have already been written.  I have some genuine concerns about this game but I come at it from the angle of someone who  regularly  plays Flatout 2 and has been a fan of the franchise since the first release. 

With Flatout 3 development duties have been moved from Bugbear who is working on other projects to Team Six studios.  The change is evident in the game.  While the basic premise and organization of the game stay faithful to the series the mechanics are very different. 

For example;  the stunt man mode is very different from Flatout 2.  Yes, the goal is still to hurl your driver through the windshield in an attempt to collect maximum points while overcoming obstacles in your way.  It's the execution (pardon the pun) that feels unnatural. 

This may be trivial but another difference between Flatout 3 and its predecessors concerns the rag-doll effect.  In previous versions the actions seemed more realistic and natural.  In Flatout 3 there's an almost rubbery aspect to your driver character.  It's likely the German government will have no issue here.

Car control has never been stellar in a Flatout game but it's understood that it's not meant to be making any complaint irrelevant.  Car control is no worse in this incarnation.

In earlier Flatout games you always had a full view of the playfield and  character control functions were intuitive.  In Flatout 3 there's a disconnect from the environment.  Often your field of view is restricted to a strange camera angle centered on your character which is problematic when trying to guide your airborne driver toward his target on a stunt map

The game's looks are adequate for the most part with the high points coming in the nightshift and battle modes.  The game relies on the Windows Experience index to automatically configure graphics settings.   Unfortunately,  on two pc's with graphics cards from different vendors I was forced to manually configure these settings.  Luckily the option for manual graphics configuration is always available from the options menu.

Stunt Man maps are adequate in number but either unimaginative or overly complex.  You may eventually complete the map but it's more a matter of luck than skill.  It may have been the same in earlier Flatout games but at least I believed that I had an effect on the outcome.

Racing and demolition derby events are far more faithful to their flatout roots but again strange camera angles and overly aggressive AI hamper the experience. 

Much has been made of game bugs, slow load times and a lack of optimization.  To their credit Team six is very active on the Steam forums and has released a number of patches and updates based at least in part on feedback.  There are real technical issues with the game but at least there appears to be an attempt to address them.

Still, even if the game were technically flawless it doesn't capture the feel of its predecessors.  It's not a horrible game and for the sake of the franchise I am willing to make allowances for it if it means the next installment corrects the core defects of this one.

I don't expect any Flatout title to look as good as BF3, have a story like Modern Warfare or be as polished  as Shift 2.  What I do expect is another chapter to an already well executed series.  Flatout 3 tries to pull that off but ultimately comes off as a pale imitation leaving me hoping that the next 
iteration is closer to it's roots..