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FLATOUT HEAD ON Information thread ESRB: TEEN Number of players: 1-4 Ad Hoc IGN rating: 7.7 "GOOD" GAMESPOT Rating: 7.5 "GOOD" I highly recomend this game! CONTROLS PRESET 1 
preset 2 
GAMEMODES Rag Doll Stunts: Hurl your driver through the windscreen in one of 12 hilarius mini-games across two different arenas. Derbies: There are two different types of derbies in FlatOut Head On, Wreking Derby is a classic derby mode following last man standing rules. Survival of the fittest! Deathmatch derby is a more traditional Deathmatch set-up where racking up kills is the order of the day. FlatOut Mode: Compete in multiple cups spread over 3 classes to become the ultimate FlatOut champion. You start with 5,000 credits and an empty garage. Earn points and money by wining cups to buy new cars and upgrade your existing colloection! Carnage Mode: The Carnage Mode is a collection of 36 different chalanges incorporating 4 distinct game styles: Carnage Race( ), Beat the Bomb, Stunts , andDeathmatch Derby. Single Events Race: The race mode allows you to play a one off reace against the CPU. Stunt: The stunt mode allows you to play a one off Rag Doll mini-game against teh CPU. Derby: The destruction Derby arenas are contained arenas where the player has to survive against teh other opponent cars Party Mode Party mode is a turn-base version of the single player Rag doll Stunts game. Play with 2-8 players using a single PSP system. IGN Rating In roughly mid-2006, Bugbear Entertainment released FlatOut 2 on the PS2, OG Xbox and PC, a sequel that improved on its already-fun predecessor in almost every way. Late last year, the developer turned everything up a notch with FlatOut: Ultimate Carnage, an enhanced version of the game for the Xbox 360. Now, the studio (with a little help from Six by Nine) has brought the game to the PSP. Whereas the Xbox 360 release of Ultimate Carnage saw the bonus of enhanced graphics over the original PS2 and Xbox versions, the PSP release of Head On comes at us with diminished visuals, physics and overall frame rate. However, despite some issues related to this, it's still a very enjoyable title that racing fans should check out.
If you've played or read about FlatOut 2 or FlatOut: Ultimate Carnage, you'll know exactly what's in store for you here. There's really nothing new that's been added to the formula. The game is a physics-based racer, which means that practically everything around you is destructible, crashable or what have you. In fact, crashing into things is how you'll earn the all-important boost, and once you're at speed and trading paint with other racers, you'll notice slight hints of Burnout ingrained in its design.
The main FlatOut mode works as your basic career path, Carnage mode (from the 360 title) has been brought over and gives you a medal-based progression option, and there are the requisite stunt events that the series is famous for. WiFi multiplayer is present, but it only supports local play, so you can't hop online. So again, there hasn't really been anything new added to the PSP game, which is somewhat unfortunate, though we suppose additions are being held for FlatOut 3.
So what we're left with is, while old news to anyone who's a fan of the series, still a good deal of fun. The racing is just as chaotic as ever, the driving personalities aspect works (though it could still be better), and the mini-games are incredibly fun.
As mentioned though, there are a couple slight drawbacks to playing the game on the PSP. Firstly, the texture resolution is ghastly in some spots. There's a sign on top of a building in one of the early stages that you can crash through that looks like it uses a 16x16 texture expanded and blurred to fit something larger than your car. Not good at all. Some stuff looks good, while other stuff looks pretty bad. The tradeoffs make sense, as the cars and other things you look at all the time feature better work than the stuff that you don't see too often, but there are spots where something is very, very obvious and its low-res texture work really stands out, like the aforementioned sign, part of the ground, or a wall that you race right alongside.
While the framerate isn't perfect, it's pretty stable, which is rather impressive for the PSP given how much physics work is going on here. However, the collision detection between objects (or specifically, your car and everything else) doesn't seem to have the fidelity of the console releases, which affects handling. Your car is still very much on the loose side, though ultimately controllable, but when you hit or run over objects, your car reacts in unexpected ways sometimes. Crazy, out of left field stuff doesn't happen, but hitting a cardboard box may have a bigger effect on your performance than you expect it to while whipping around a turn. Closing Comments
While FlatOut: Head On is far from perfect, it's also quite a fun racing game. The PSP iteration of the franchise has issues with texture resolution, frame rate and, most importantly, the physics fidelity (which affects handling), but none of these issues keep the game from ultimately being a fun ride. 
GAMESPOT Review
There's something rather charming about the low-fi nature of FlatOut: Head On. With its Dukes of Hazzard-style vehicles and single-minded hunger for destruction, it definitely has a gritty charm--like Burnout on a budget, if you will. But what FlatOut lacks in refinement, it makes up for with a twisted sense of humour, an assortment of game modes, and some frankly outrageous stunts. FlatOut fans will definitely get a feeling of déjà vu if they pick up this first iteration of the series for the PlayStation Portable, but that doesn't stop it from being a very enjoyable handheld racing game. FlatOut: Head On offers a wide variety of race types, all of which have a destructive element. The circuit races are the most familiar--the aim is to win the race while earning points and boost power by smashing others off the road. Final position is based not only on where you finish, but also on the points you accumulate and the amount of damage you dish out. There are also destruction derbies, a welcome mode for anyone with fond memories of Psygnosis' Destruction Derby on the original PlayStation. The idea here is to inflict as much damage as possible on the other vehicles in the arena, mainly by hitting the weakest spots on their car as fast as you can. If you become damaged yourself, you have to hide from other players or else you can be knocked out of the event. Finally, beat the bomb follows the traditional time-trial racing model--but FlatOut's penchant for destruction means you'll explode if you miss a checkpoint. The stunt mode is where FlatOut: Head On really comes into its own, and it's here that its twisted sense of humour shines through. The idea behind stunt mode is to drive down a short stretch of road to build up speed, and then launch your driver through the windscreen of your car, aiming him at some sort of target. Ten-pin bowling, darts, and even curling form the basis for many of these minigames; there are a total of 12 sporting-based stunts. While they might sound like minor diversions compared to the main races, the minigames are addictive and frequently hilarious as your rag-doll driver hurtles into a variety of obstacles. The aforementioned modes are split up into two main components, the carnage mode and the flatout mode. The carnage mode offers a total of 36 races, derbies, and challenges that are unlocked by earning enough points along the way. This means that you don't actually have to come in first in every race, and you can go back and retry them if you're struggling for points. There are a decent number of events in total, and working through them will take at least a few hours depending on how many times you have to redo them. The flatout mode is more like a standard career mode, where you'll race to earn money that you can spend on new vehicles and upgrades as you progress. With more than 100 events split up into 27 cups, it's enough to keep you going for quite some time. On the multiplayer side, up to eight people can share a PSP and compete in both custom or preset stunt challenges. Passing the PSP among eight people can be a bit laborious, but it's good to see that multiplayer has been implemented without the need for multiple PSPs and numerous copies of the game. If you know fellow FlatOut fans, you can set up races and competitions to play over the ad hoc wireless feature of the console. Up to four people can join as long as you each own a copy of the game, and you can compete in races or destruction derbies. The satisfaction of driving in FlatOut is greatly enhanced by the excellent physics engine, and the weight and handling of the cars feel spot-on. Vehicles crash and crumple in a realistic-looking manner, and as they become increasingly damaged you have to wrestle with the controls in order to keep yourself on the road. FlatOut isn't unfair in its difficulty level, but it's certainly at the higher end of the scale. The destruction derbies are particularly gruelling, and trying to complete some of the stunts will test even the strongest nerves. The structure of the carnage mode allows you some leniency by not forcing you to win or even take part in every race, but some of the challenges will definitely require some repetition. This isn't particularly due to the strength of the competitor intelligence--it's more to do with the fragility of the cars themselves. The stunt mode is also quite challenging, often requiring you to navigate your way around a number of obstacles at high speed before firing your man through the windscreen. FlatOut is a textbook PSP game, offering a fantastic mix of racing modes that are great to play in short bursts or long sessions. Head On has very few features over FlatOut 2 for the PS2 other than the new multiplayer options and the ability to play on the go, but there's still plenty to sink your teeth into across the many different game modes. The racing is highly satisfying, the destruction derbies are a great deal of fun, and the stunt games go beyond being simple distractions to becoming one of the main reasons to play the game. If you have any sort of interest in destructive racing and you've never played a FlatOut game before, then the PSP version is definitely a good place to start. SCREENSHOTS VIDEOS RACING
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