FlatOut has been on my wanted list since it was first announced about 18 months ago. A racing game with the excellent Havok physics engine seemed like a very good idea, especially since the graphics seemed very nice. Did we get what was promised ? I guess so, but it could have been so much more.
FlatOut is one of these games that lack so little to be a reference. The destruction is there, the physics is as good as can be, and yet something is lacking. It's hard to describe, some of the fun seems to be missing.
FlatOut's gameplay is part unrealistic (the cars are never totally destroyed in races) and part realistic in the way the cars behave. This makes the game way too shallow, the cars are too heavy and lose too much speed in the curves, even in the better categories. Add to this a very frustrating pilot ejection when you crash too hard and you get a game that's quite nice to play, but certainly not as fun as it should have been.
If you are a fan of racing games and already have all big games of the genre on Xbox I'd say you should give this game a try.