FlatOut 3: Chaos & Destruction

Oddly enough, it's the chaos and destruction that derail FlatOut 3.

Terrible physics, shoddy controls and unfair AI-Opponents bury the once great Flatout series under a pile of Chaos & Destruction.

The jam of optional game modes helps a little to forget the botched gameplay of the main race, but can't save Flatout 3: Chaos & Destruction from the shame of a production that screams vengeance thinking to the never-ending holidays where talented developers like Bizarre are forced.

Flatout 3 is a total failure. There no career mode and the races are chaotic and unplayable. Don't play it.

FlatOut 3: Chaos & Destruction crashes and burns. Mediocre at best, unplayable at worst, the title disappoints in all the key areas that made the previous FlatOut games enjoyable. [Feb 2012]

The subtitle of Flatout 3 is "Chaos & Destruction". Quite appropriate: This impudence sparked in me an unexpected destructive frenzy so far. And after throwing my gamepad about twentyseventimes through my office, it was also there, indeed, pretty chaotic. The subtitle, however, remains the only promise that redeems Flatout 3 - the rest is utter misnomer. Here is pursued, in the most shameless way, to flog off an abysmal racing game with a known name to unsuspecting fans of the series. Flatout has not deserved this!

Despite to first two enjoyable episodes FlatOut 3 sets out its own way – unfortunately, what a way to a waste container. A.I., driving model, boring races… almost everything is as bad as it gets. [Jan 2012]

A lot of ideas developed in a bad and very quickly way, without a real beta testing. Although several patches have been released, the game is still a failure.

This is an immense disservice to the Flatout franchise, and one that makes Flatout 2 look like a vehicular ballet. [Apr 2012, p.72]

Flatout 3 doesn't come close to the glory of the former games in the series. This game manages to throw everything that makes Flatout great out of the window. Forget this title.

Quotation forthcoming.

Flatout 3 does wind up having one mildly redeeming feature: it won't screw up your computer when you inevitably delete it in disgust.

Not surprising. There isn't much to play or buy here. Between its obsolete visuals, dead vehicle dynamics, atrocious AI, and deserted multiplayer lobbies, Flatout 3 is a decided waste of time and space.

Avoid this game at all cost! Don't even think about buying this it. FlatOut 3: Chaos and Destruction is pure garbage!

Some games are so bad they're good (for a laugh, at least). FlatOut 3 is just plain bad. [March 2012, p.102]

There may be something sexual in watching a car with no artificial intelligence banging on rocks with its bumper – that's what new Flatout is all about. It's about foolishness, disrespect and defective work. A game so confusing and so uncontrollable would succeed on the market only if buyers were incredibly naive and they pre-ordered the game after just seeing its well-known title.

An unforgivable defamation of the FlatOut series. [February 2012, p.66]

The gaming equivalent of a Reliant Robin, except with none of the character or entertainment value - just a grand tour of everything you could possibly get wrong in a driving game.

Bugbear built the FlatOut brand, and bred a following on a balance of silly stunts, destructible environments and rewards. It crafted the game's zanier side with care, with the aim of keeping players invested in its often cheap kicks. Team6 has abandoned that manifesto in favour of haphazard thrills via haphazard design. As a result, FlatOut 3 crashes and burns.

It is not bad in the way that a game like Boiling Point is bad, where things coalesce into a kind of awful greatness. This is a tacky and technically incompetent production with no redeeming features whatsoever, devoid of fun and an insult to the name it bears. Flatout once burned bright, but now is gone - and if there is a driving hell, this is surely it.