When comparing FlatOut 2 vs Starbound, the Slant community recommends Starbound for most people. In the question“What are the best LAN party PC games?” Starbound is ranked 41st while FlatOut 2 is ranked 72nd. The most important reason people chose Starbound is:
Starbound allows the player to go at their own pace while completing the tutorials. By the end of the tutorials the player will have the skills and equipment to succeed in the game and have fun doing it.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Multiplayer
Multiplayer is still possible in 2021, with a patched exe.
Pro Competing racers have personalities
Each driver has their own driving style and uses the same car each race. It creates storylines and allows noticing a player at a distance. This is especially useful in tournament races, since it's possible to get an overall better standing not just by driving better, but by eliminating the competition as well.
Pro Informative and well paced tutorials
Starbound allows the player to go at their own pace while completing the tutorials. By the end of the tutorials the player will have the skills and equipment to succeed in the game and have fun doing it.
Pro Incredibly deep gameplay
The exploration, crafting and combat are all both very polished and deep in terms of what you can do, especially compared to other games in the genre. This makes the sandbox very fun to play in as you're never really stuck doing the same thing over and over.
Pro Boss levels
For what is a procedurally generated game, Starbound offers boss levels that once beaten unlock new sectors of space to explore.
Cons
Con Online component has since been abandoned
As there's is practically no-one playing the game since it's release in 2006, the online counterpart of the game might as well be obsolete.
Con First few hours can be boring
Initially the player needs to amass enough coal to fuel their ship, which is a bit of a grind.