Flat Out: Head On ^{(Sony PSP)}

Genre: Racing Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Developer: Six By Nine Players: 1

By Scott N (22nd May 2008)

Ever want to launch yourself through you car windscreen onto a giant dart board? Now's your chance.

Pedal to the metal rednecks! It’s psychotic, no holds barred racing with a touch of Dukes of Hazzard and a special twist that would keep even the most sadistic mind occupied. Flatout – Head On (F:HO) is the PSP version of Flatout – Ultimate Carnage, and although being remarkably similar to the original version, it still packs a serious punch, particularly for a handheld experience.

The title of this one is incredibly fitting. F:HO is primarily a racing game that incorporates a reckless style which rewards destroying both your opponents and the track. Whether you are in a cup race or a demolition derby, you receive both bonus points and turbo boosts with each bump, shunt and crash you deal out to, well, pretty much everything. Even yourself.

There are two major modes, Flatout and Carnage. Flatout is the straightforward racing mode, if you can call it straight forward. You compete in one of three car categories in races that get longer and more difficult as you progress. For each category you require a different class of car, with the faster classes being much more expensive. So, as it goes with most racing games, the better you do in the races the more money your get and the faster cars you can afford. You can also get extra credit bonuses for being the most aggressive driver, the most destructive driver and having the fastest individual lap.

Carnage mode is quite different and unique to the Flatout games. There are four varieties of game in this mode - Destruction Derby, Beat the Bomb, personal favourite Stunts and finally, Race. Destruction Derby is pretty self explanatory, and the second (beat the bomb) is simply a race against time. You pass through the checkpoints, gaining a slight time bonus with each, until the last second ticks by and your car goes flambé.

Stunts mode pits you and your car in an arena, where you have to race along a runway and launch your driver trough the windscreen for either distance or accuracy (depending on the event). Events vary from the simple high jump to darts, soccer, the ski jump or even a leisurely game of curling, and more. After you have gained pace and dodged any obstructions you press the launch key, which initiates the ‘angle of launch’ gauge. With a second press your driver bursts free, through the glass, and on to a very entertaining end. The goal of these events (and those of the first three Carnage Modes) is to win either the gold, silver or bronze trophies through earning points. With each new point level a new stage is unlocked.

The final mode, Race, sounds simple enough, and there really isn’t too much to it. The big difference is the goal is not to win, in fact there is no physical end to the race. Although you are racing with 7 other competitors, the only reason you want to go fast is to reach the next check point where your time is extended. In between check points, however, your goal is to wreck as much havoc as humanly possible. The only way to earn your trophy in this race is to smash your opponents and the scenery. If your car gets too much damage though, your race ends, so you do need to show some restraint.

Having gone through the structure of the game, and spoken well of it, do the rest of the components, like graphics and sound, live up to the game play? Well, they do, and very well in fact! The graphics are very impressive. Having played the original game on the 360, I was apprehensive and thought I could be disappointed with the PSP version. I was proven quite wrong. The game not only looks very polished and almost identical to the 360 (but a lot smaller of course), but it also runs smoothly with no visible glitches or sluggishness. Loading times even rival that of the next gen console.

The audio is another aspect that is a perfect match for the game. The vehicle sounds are suited to the style of car employed in the game and the accompanying soundtrack thrashes and pumps along with the action, keeping the adrenalin flowing even when frustration sets in after the ninth or tenth time you restart a race because someone's clipped your tail end and flipped you into a caravan.

The game can be difficult at times, and as much as it can bring you to the brink of hurling your PSP against the nearest wall, this is ultimately a good thing, because it gives that warm feeling of accomplishment when you do finally get the required points or win the race.

A welcome addition is the ‘Single Event’ selection menu, where you can compete in any of the races, derbies or stunts on offer without unlocking them or committing to a lengthy series of races (like in Flatout Mode). So you get to have a crack at any of the cool stunts you want without having earned the right. Yeah, I know, doesn’t really sound like it is in the spirit of game playing, but I did say the stunts were really sweet, so it is worth it.

So I'm fan of this game. F:HO blends entertaining racing with mayhem, madness and just a dash of stupidity. In a strange way it reminds me of Mario Kart, minus the cuteness. It's an entertaining game on all accounts, and although it hasn’t had as much hype as other releases recently, it should prove to be one of the better ones and easily worth the price tag. Hopefully there won’t be too many traffic violations as a result. Remember kids, don’t try this at home.