Hands on with FlatOut: Head On on PSP

Hang on, give us a moment to loosen the racing harness, which appears to have over-tightened following our stint with the carnage fest that is Bugbear's FlatOut: Head On.

That's better – we can breath again and our voice is back to its growl-like manly tone. It was a rough ride, certainly, but if it gives you any indication of what the FlatOut PSP experience is like, we'd happily strap ourselves back in and do it all again.

The game opens up by offering a selection of modes: Carnage, FlatOut, Single Event and Multiplayer. We'll leave the latter in the pits straight away because, being ad-hoc based, we didn't get a chance to try it out. Actually, that's not strictly true – there is a Party Mode for up to eight player which is played sequentially, with each participant taking their turn at a selection of the stunt events (and we'll get to those in a minute).

We did head straight to Single Event, however, and couldn't quite decide whether to opt for a race, try out one of the many stunt options or get rid of our aggression in a destruction derby.

Being traditionalists at heart, we figured a race would be the most acceptable start. And being idiots, we went for the fastest, top-of-the-range vehicle (we're not entirely sure if it's our preview code, but in Single Event it seems as though all options are opened for play). That proved to be something of a silly move because, after a tolerable loading time, we found ourselves fighting to control a beast of a car, trying to keep the damn thing in a straight line while bouncing from one opponent into another (who appeared more than willing to return the favour).

When there wasn't anyone to crash into, there was still plenty of destructible scenery to smash our way through and if nothing else it gave us much opportunity to see the game's impressive physics modelling in action. There's a genuine, sturdy physicality to FlatOut's gameworld which proves very rewarding in play.

Our on-track shenanigans also gained us plenty of boost, which is obtained through contact with adversaries, destruction of roadside objects and time spent with all four wheels off the ground.

What it didn't get us was a decent finish. For that we had to downgrade to a more predictable car, as well as get used to the game's handling, which is reassuringly weighty and convincing in conveying its real-world influence. At this stage we haven't yet decided whether the D-pad or analogue nub offers the best solution, given that we found ourselves skipping between the two depending on the characteristics of the car we were driving.

And also the type of discipline we were engaged in. Having left the Single Event mode with our tailpipe between our legs, Carnage proved to be our next stop. Here the game's various offerings – racing, deathmatch derby, stunt, beat the bomb (timed checkpoint-based races) – are mixed and unlocked progressively by earning points in each challenge.

We merely dabbled, succeeding in being the last car running in a satisfying and action-packed destruction derby, and eventually getting the hang of playing ten-pin bowling with our driver as replacement for the ball in one of the fun and addictive stunt modes, but from what we glimpsed there appears to be a comprehensive game mode awaiting players.

More substantial still is the FlatOut mode, which in effect is Head On's 'career' option (whereas Carnage is its pick-up-and-play counterpart). Again we didn't spend long enough to uncover all it has to offer, but there certainly seemed to be plenty of depth, with car purchasing and upgrading achieved through prize money won in events split into three main categories – derby, race and street – which are further divided into cup-based competition tiers.

We'll leave the detailed analysis for the review, clearly, but on first impressions there is much to praise this PSP version of FlatOut. Technically it's remarkably solid, with excellent and detailed visuals, a great sense of speed, and a very convincing physics-based environment underpinning a fine driving dynamic.

In terms of play mechanics, it's brutal, relentless and seemingly excellent fun. Indeed, we're already looking forward to getting back behind the wheel in order to bring you the review.

Until then, why not check out the three-level demo (carnage race, destruction derby, ragdoll stunt) which should now be available from both the Official PlayStation and Empire Interactive sites?