UK, April 5, 2007 - After FlatOut 2 provided some serious levels of racing destruction last year it was always going to be a challenge for Bugbear Entertainment to up the intensity levels even further for this Xbox 360-exclusive follow-up. However, having spent a day immersed in the latest build at Bugbear's Helsinki offices, under the watchful supervision of Business Development Director Jussi Laakkonen and Producer Jay Ranki, we can safely say that Ultimate Carnage is promising to more than live up to its name and crank up the carnage levels to new, even loftier heights.
Of the three car types, the basic destruction derby saloon is the easiest to drive.
Right from the off it is clear that Ultimate Carnage is shaping up to be more of a war on wheels than just another shunting racer. Take our first race: after powering away from the starting line, around a track consisting of a concrete maze of passageways, we instantly became embroiled in an unrelenting battle for first place, with our souped-up motor and 11 AI opponents (a marked increase on FlatOut 2's seven) all jostling for an early advantage. And while Laakkonen was quick to point out that the handling was still being tweaked, the cars already felt as though Bugbear is well on course to striking that ever-elusive balance between realism and pure, unadulterated entertainment.
The opponent AI is impressive too and each driver has their own discernibly unique **** as well as a unique paint job on the motor drive. They're all evil SOBs too, so if you give them a nudge or play dirty, they'll track you down and dish out some full metal revenge. In fact Laakkonen informed us that, in the final version, these grudges would even be carried over to future races, most notably in Championship mode - a collection of races where the driver with the highest points total wins. "When you first start playing you soon realise that you've got to fight the other guys," claims Ranki. "Not only do you get their cars to become more wrecked, you also earn nitro from it, which lets you drive much faster."
The impressively detailed tracks range from forest roads that meander beneath dense tree canopies to desolate oilfields teeming with decaying refining equipment.
Other circuits see the drivers kicking up spray as they shoot over deep puddles, severely compromising the handling of the cars, causing you to wrestle with the wheel just to remain on the track. Oil spills and gravel pits cause the cars to buck and weave like enraged bulls as their tires cut deep scars into the off-road dirt. 
Ouch. We just hope they were wearing seat belts.
With each track featuring 8,000 fully deformable objects, as opposed to FlatOut 2's 5,000, every race soon becomes a maelstrom of destruction within seconds of the start. Tyre walls disintegrate into scores of individually bouncing rubber rings while walls, pipes, windows and lampposts crack, shatter, splinter and tumble upon impact. Some barriers are little more than flimsy masks for alternative routes too, often concealing the entrance to shortcuts: "Each track has alternative routes but if you want to take a shortcut you'll need to explore a bit," explains Laakkonen.
Of the three car ****s on offer, we found that the clapped out Derby ****vehicles were the most instantly accessible, though their spluttering engines and rusting chassis substantially reduced their speed and durability. The Street ****cars, with their polished bodyworks powered by pulsing race engines, proved far harder to handle, yet after some practice the art of drifting soon became second nature. Finally, we test drove the hulking Race ****cars - towering steel behemoths custom built for the game's collection of alternative gaming modes, including Destruction Derbies and Frag Derbies.
These separate modes are packed with a cornucopia of deadly power-ups, such as Mass Drivers that turn cars into a wrecking ball on wheels. Infinite nitro enables drivers to build up speed and cause mega damage by ramming into another car head-on. "You'll be able to upgrade your car's top speed, acceleration, handling, strength, weight and nitro," promises Laakkonen. "You can either pay for upgrade parts for a particular feature, or buy upgrade packs that focus on the whole car. This second option is for people who want that upgrade experience without tinkering with the nuts and bolts."
On impact each car disintegrates into hundreds of bits.
While the visuals, selection of cars and alternative gaming modes did raise our pulses, the one feature that really stood head and shoulders over everything else was Ultimate Carnage's incredible destruction model, which was responsible for some of the most realistic and spectacular real-time vehicle degeneration we've ever seen. "We're really focussing on attention to detail regarding the cars," explains Laakkonen. "All the cars have 40 different parts including wheels, bonnets and hoods, all of which are detachable. When you hit something on the track the damage affects a particular area. It will start to sag or swing off its hinges. Once you get enough damage it'll tear off. This can happen to headlights, bonnets, spoilers, wing mirrors and hoods. They'll degenerate and show off dents and scratches."
More often than not, by the time you reach a race's final lap it'll be in a three-wheeled car-wreck, limping its way to the finish line with the bonnet missing and spoilers ripped off, passing the burnt out husks of destroyed competitors who hadn't been so lucky. "If your car's bumper hits a pole, only that point will deform, but if you hit a wall, the whole front of the car will deform," continues Laakkonen. "There are almost an infinite number of ways that a car can deform when you have detachable parts, scratch and dents and deformable meshes." It's certainly impressive to watch when you're in the middle of a race.
"That parking space is MINE!"
And while Ultimate Carnage might not be an astronomical leap forward from FlatOut 2, it's looking like it could well be the next evolutionary step for the series, providing a level of carnage that could easily surpass the first two games combined. With a host of new fun game modes - including Beat The Bomb, which is like a game of tag only with a ticking clock and a large explosive device - and some truly manic eight-player online multiplayer fun in the offing, this may well prove to be one of the most violent and accomplished racing games yet to grace the 360.
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day 1 purchase for me :D
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