FlatOut 4: Total Insanity

 PlayStation 4
User Score
6.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 59 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 22 out of 59
  2. Mixed: 19 out of 59
  3. Negative: 18 out of 59
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. SuperkenGaming
    May 5, 2017
    6
    FlatOut 4: Total Insanity
    Fun Racer with no balance
    Flatout 4 is an arcade racer that’s fun to play, with great track design, but broken rules and broken multiplayer… There’s a career mode here where you take place in racing cups, speed trials, and arena battles… Winning races and destroying opponents will earn you cash to buy better cars or upgrade your current car… The only problem    FlatOut 4: Total Insanity
    Fun Racer with no balance
    Flatout 4 is an arcade racer that’s fun to play, with great track design, but broken rules and broken multiplayer…
    There’s a career mode here where you take place in racing cups, speed trials, and arena battles…
    Winning races and destroying opponents will earn you cash to buy better cars or upgrade your current car…
    The only problem is the payout is far too low…
    A low payout mixed with unbalanced rules makes getting through this career mode a drag…
    There is way too much emphasis on the total insanity aspect of this game…
    There’s a derby cup, classic, and all-star, but the rules remain the same unbalanced mess…
    You aren’t rewarded for being a flawless driver like let’s be honest.. I am of course…
    jokes... a little... I do have my moments…
    But there is a nitro boost to help you in races…
    The thing is that sure you get a little from jumps and sharp turns… but you only really get nitro for ramming into other cars..
    because of this enemy ai is extremely aggressive, constantly spinning you out…
    doesn’t sound like a big deal until you realize that being out in front means there’s no one for you to hit.. There’s no way to fill up your nitro...
    you aren’t rewarded for maintaining certain speeds or dodging obstacles…
    because of this you have everything to lose by holding the top spot…
    it’s way too easy at the last moment for an opponent that’s been ramming into cars all race to use it nitro to catch up to you and then spin you out… forcing you to reset your car and be placed in the middle or near the end of the pack when you were in first place…
    this unbalance makes the racing segments of the game feel unfair..
    Sure coming out on top against all odds is thrilling...
    but being first the whole time and then losing because there is no nitro reward for you makes the game feel cheap, and ultimately makes winning feel like you got lucky…
    this of course could be balanced out by high payouts for wins and damage.. But you don’t get that… the payouts are low so you can’t just go buy a better car... you’re stuck with playing the same tracks over and over until you can afford one…
    The tracks are well designed and fun to play through though.. easily the best part of the game…
    Outside of the grindy career there’s flatout mode which features stunt tracks where you try to nock items down for example for the most possible points, beat the bomb which is a race the clock checkpoint style challenge, carnage where you destroy as many items and cars as possible, and finally death match which like the arena modes in the career is a demolition derby style game, expect here you have infinite lives trying to get the most kills, while in the career its more last man standing…
    and finally there’s multiplayer..
    Which is completely broken...
    I’d tell you how it plays but for 1 it’s a ghost town, no one’s playing it, and for 2 the game would crash every single time the match start counter got to 0, so don’t plan on buying this game for its online…
    The negatives of this game could be overlooked if the payout killed the grind…
    But unfortunately that isn’t the case… this game is an imbalanced grind that you’ll lose patience for…
    I give Flat-out 4: Total Insanity
    a 6.5/10    … Expand
  2. LFGamer2004
    Jun 29, 2019
    4
    Not devoloped by the Famous bugbear! the Previous best Flatout games are: FlatOut, FlatOut2, FlatOut Ultimate Carnage and Flatout Head On for the PSP, Flatout 3 and Flatout 4 are ones of worst.
    no Longer is Real
    the engine physics are worse, the damage effects are weak. it's i rubbish.
  3. Letiste-Gaming
    Mar 23, 2017
    6
    Flatout 4 no llega al nivel de calidad de sus dos primeras entregas, ya que copia en demasía a estos y no innova nada, pero esta a años luz de su abominable tercera entrega. Es divertido, no se toma en serio a si mismo, goza de un notable apartado técnico y ofrece unas carreras muy caóticas (en el buen sentido).

    Pero se ve lastrado por su falta de circuitos, su desajustado sistema de    Flatout 4 no llega al nivel de calidad de sus dos primeras entregas, ya que copia en demasía a estos y no innova nada, pero esta a años luz de su abominable tercera entrega. Es divertido, no se toma en serio a si mismo, goza de un notable apartado técnico y ofrece unas carreras muy caóticas (en el buen sentido).

    Pero se ve lastrado por su falta de circuitos, su desajustado sistema de desbloqueo en el modo carrera, y su irrisoria IA, que convierte a los campeonatos y desafíos en un simple paseo.

    Si todos estos problemas son solucionados en posteriores parches (que estoy seguro que sí) y echáis de menos aquellos títulos de conducción arcade de antaño, aquí tenéis una opción a tener en cuenta.    … Expand
  4. Furiousmike
    Aug 16, 2017
    1
    Flatout 4 doesn't live up to the glorious Flatout 2!

    If you are one of those who had tons of fun playing previous entries of this series, I would suggest not to touch this one. I fired up my original xbox to be sure that I'm not just wearing nostalgia goggles. Flat out 2 is still the best one by far. In this title I found the cheapest AI in gaming history. Even worse than nfs    Flatout 4 doesn't live up to the glorious Flatout 2!

    If you are one of those who had tons of fun playing previous entries of this series, I would suggest not to touch this one. I fired up my original xbox to be sure that I'm not just wearing nostalgia goggles. Flat out 2 is still the best one by far.

    In this title I found the cheapest AI in gaming history. Even worse than nfs undercover. I really didn't think that was even possible but here it is. It doesn't matter what you're driving or how well you drive. These opponents will pass you while driving the crappiest piece of **** in the game. Which leads us to the next problem. Usually the player will be the one who's driving the ****box clunker. That's because you have to go through hellish grindfest in order to have enough money for a better car. But that doesn't really matter because the ridiculous rubber band AI is giving you the finger no matter what.

    Destruction has been taken to a whole another level. Half the time you can't even see where you are supposed to go. There's just too much **** on the screen and too many opponents on the track at once. It's funny though. This chaos provided those rare moments of fun I had with this game. No guts, no glory! Pedal to the medal and hope for the best! Yeah.. that was fun. For a few seconds.

    The mini games from flatout 2 are back. Here you will fling your driver through your cars windscreen and use the poor fellow as a game medium to play high jump, beerpong or some other games like that. They are stupid and not fun at all, just annoying. In Flatout 4 you have to play them if you want to unlock any of the better cars. This happens by completing challenges in flatout mode. You have to complete ridiculously hard mini games and racing challenges. My "favorite" is a death match. In this challenge you will drive the crappiest cars in the game and try to demolish your opponents in an arena. Problem is you can't hit anything and even if you do, you just end up wrecking your own car. You get unlimited respawns though. Some times the opponents won't take any damage no matter how hard you ram them. it took me 4 hours to complete one of these.

    Fun moments in Flatout 4 are sparse. Even as a fan I wasn't able to enjoy the game much. The AI characters were obviously created by a 4 year old. Antonia Fool, a girl with a clown paint on her face. WTF!? It's a no-brainer, this game absolutely needs a local multiplayer option but it's not present. Why? I just can't figure it out. It makes me furious because local multiplayer should be an obvious feature in any racing game. Good soundtrack is not enough to save this totally vulgar pile of Scuzzlebuts excrement.

    After playing enough to do a review my eyes started to wonder. I was looking at my copy of flatout 2 in my game shelf. I ejected flat out 4 disc from my ps4 and threw it cross the room and out of the window. I couldn't believe I had wasted big pile of money to another ****ty game. I popped flatout 2 in my xbox. I played couple of races and suddenly all was well. I wasn't angry anymore, I was smiling. I was having fun. This is how you make a good arcade racer!

    Conclusion:
    Graphics: nothing special
    Game play: inconsistent, winning is matter of luck not skill.
    Ai: rubber band crap, unfair challenge
    Multiplayer: Only online, no local multiplayer. (This is automatic -5 from me in racing games)
    Soundtrack: Best thing about this game. Reminds me of times when racing games had awesome soundtracks every time. Many games today lack in this department.

    A solid score of 1 from me. I'm harsh but I'm fair. Score would be 6 with local multiplayer option. Even bad games become fun when you play with your friends in the same room.    … Expand
  5. Harbey
    Mar 18, 2017
    8
    It's Flatout, and if you like any of the previous Flatouts, you'll like this. Unfortunately, it is just like the previous version which is great in some ways, but could be seen a missed opportunity. It's still great fun though and one of the best arcade racers out there - especially if you like crashes (and who doesn't?). Would certainly recommend, especially as it will no doubt be inIt's Flatout, and if you like any of the previous Flatouts, you'll like this. Unfortunately, it is just like the previous version which is great in some ways, but could be seen a missed opportunity. It's still great fun though and one of the best arcade racers out there - especially if you like crashes (and who doesn't?). Would certainly recommend, especially as it will no doubt be in the bargain bucket within a few weeks due to the terrible job they've done of not marketing it.… Expand
  6. Project_Susanoo
    Mar 18, 2017
    10
    Very good game. Is better then FlatOut 3. If you love this series of game, then run and buy it.

    P.S. Critics are wrong, Don't listen to them. It's really good game.
  7. jro3001
    Mar 31, 2017
    0
    Whoever designed the ai in this game should be punched in the **** repeatedly. Seriously, this has the cheapest ai I've ever seen. Constantly spins you out and is usually just faster them you to boot until you grind forever. Could've have been a good game but it's garbage due to the ******* ai. Oh, the music will make you want to stab your eardrums too.
  8. ObroPL
    Apr 1, 2017
    0
    Game is n ot bad i used to it lackness and it was good to play and fun too but sudenly my saves got deleted so im in hate coma now. Pozdro 600. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
  9. Hush503
    May 12, 2017
    10
    I've never played this game before the 4th installment, but I can say that I haven't had more fun playing a racing game then this game right here. The graphics are great on PS4 pro the sound is awesome and the cars and tracks are cool and creative. I honestly don't understand all the negative reviews... I'm rating this game a 10 to balance out the zeros and low scores...But honestly it's aI've never played this game before the 4th installment, but I can say that I haven't had more fun playing a racing game then this game right here. The graphics are great on PS4 pro the sound is awesome and the cars and tracks are cool and creative. I honestly don't understand all the negative reviews... I'm rating this game a 10 to balance out the zeros and low scores...But honestly it's a strong 8 out of 10… Expand
  10. adam0509
    Feb 11, 2019
    8
    Funny game, do you expect more ?
    I'm a big fan of Flatout 1 & 2 and what can I say ?
    Pro : - New stunts/mode/course - Remember Burnout - Rock music is cool, thus you can use spotify (even free acount) - Runs OK on PS4 (~40FPS) , but it's compatible PS4Pro - Full custom commands - Sensitivity Acceleration/Brake/turns is customisable... Cons : - ...we doubt guys were sure    Funny game, do you expect more ?
    I'm a big fan of Flatout 1 & 2 and what can I say ?

    Pro :

    - New stunts/mode/course
    - Remember Burnout
    - Rock music is cool, thus you can use spotify (even free acount)
    - Runs OK on PS4 (~40FPS) , but it's compatible PS4Pro
    - Full custom commands
    - Sensitivity Acceleration/Brake/turns is customisable...

    Cons :

    - ...we doubt guys were sure about the preset of it..!
    - No Split Screen (but still "hot-seat")
    - Can't move the camera during stunts with make some (Beer Cup) very difficult.

    If you don't like it you can still try Wreckfest
    Cons :    … Expand
  11. Steyraus
    Dec 31, 2020
    3
    Probably the worst racing game of ever played it's just a mess. I've just thrown racing in with demolition in with stunts and it's just all over the place you can hardly stay on the track with the horrible physics and the amount of crap going on. And if you do manage to get on the track you get pump straight off by some a whole driver anyway. Absolutely mess only good thing I can say isProbably the worst racing game of ever played it's just a mess. I've just thrown racing in with demolition in with stunts and it's just all over the place you can hardly stay on the track with the horrible physics and the amount of crap going on. And if you do manage to get on the track you get pump straight off by some a whole driver anyway. Absolutely mess only good thing I can say is the musics pretty good.… Expand
  12. umaturman
    Dec 24, 2022
    2
    Terrible unfinished not polished Flatout game.
    The physics and damage effects are bad. There is no satisfaction from destruction at all. This is a big minus for the demolition racing game like Flatout.
    Graphics are cheap: they took some rendering model from previous gen and added soap on top of it.
    Driving feels sluggish. Progression is ****
    Avoid.
  13. Lukecali97
    Aug 1, 2018
    5
    average game it was far to easy the campaign get far to repetitive i hope you like racing on the same track several times moving to a different tier only makes the cars shinier and faster and that,s it the stunt mode can be fun though if you got friends to play agents but that,s pretty much about it i could only recommend getting this if it,s a. heavily discounted and b. if you always gotaverage game it was far to easy the campaign get far to repetitive i hope you like racing on the same track several times moving to a different tier only makes the cars shinier and faster and that,s it the stunt mode can be fun though if you got friends to play agents but that,s pretty much about it i could only recommend getting this if it,s a. heavily discounted and b. if you always got friends coming over to your house if these two requirements are not met i just cannot recommend this game even if its super cheap… Expand
  14. dewdar
    Nov 15, 2019
    3
    This is the game that made me appreciate even more one of my most beloved racing games, Flatout 2. So, kudos to the developers... I guess. But anyway, it would have been great if the developers would at least hide the fact that they spend all the time on their rally games, while "developing" this mess.

    How is this even possible. Flaout 2 was made more than a decade before this    This is the game that made me appreciate even more one of my most beloved racing games, Flatout 2. So, kudos to the developers... I guess. But anyway, it would have been great if the developers would at least hide the fact that they spend all the time on their rally games, while "developing" this mess.

    How is this even possible. Flaout 2 was made more than a decade before this installment. Maybe, it wasn't the first game in its genre, but it gave a clear template to future developers, on how to make a great follow-up.

    This game feels lifeless and it took me a while to figure it out, because it's so obvious, in plain sight that I wasn't expecting developers to be so lazy.

    Sound:
    Right at the start of the game, when you hit the gas pedal, you'll notice something is missing. The car has only engine sound effects, there is no noise from tires when you're turning. Hitting other cars sound effects is much quieter than hitting random wooden boxes on the tracks. When you hit the wall and ragdoll-driver falls out of the front window all you hear is the quick smash sound with nothing else. If you're a fan of Flaout1-2 you know that the driver screams when he/she flies through the window and then screams again when he/she hits the wall or falls on the floor. It's such a memorable element of the series that it's embarrassing that developers "forgot" it. The game also missing sound effects for smashed glass/windows as well.

    Gameplay:
    Vibration, you would think that developers have figured out how it works, so why do I have to mention it? Vibration works only when you hit another opponent, random objects on the tracks and when you hit nitro, especially the last part. Anything else is missing, fell off the main road, so you're riding offroad? Nothing. You're drifting or sliding? Nada. How about frickin' hitting the ground after flying a few seconds? Oh, come on!

    The same can be said about driving itself. There is no difference if you're driving off road, speed is only affected if you hit something or someone. It looks as if the car is just floating on the road. It feels like you're controlling a car-shaped rubber.

    When the stunt mode rounds start you can see how the car textures/object fall for a short millisecond on the track. And that's happening every damn time. It's annoying and could be easily fixed, but I guess they have another rally game to make in time.

    Career mode is a nice throwback to Flatout2. The only thing is added is the mode with "weapons", it's something new. But unfortunately, I couldn't enjoy it. I found it to be rather frustrating than entertaining. Upgrading the car has not changed much, except for the visual exhaustion animation and horn upgrades. I guess it's cool, but I got to ask... what am I supposed to do with switching horn sound? It feels so unnecessary and it's definitely useless for players.

    Graphics:
    Graphics is not something I care about much, but I would argue that the Ultimate Carnage had much better graphics. Color palette is lifeless and the graphics are muddy. It's 2017 and I thought people already figured out that motion blur does not make graphics prettier, and in the case with this game, it doesn't make any favor either.

    Design/Art direction:
    This is something that I can see clearly, that people cared about the work they're putting in. Some levels borrow elements from Flatout2 and newer ones can be a memorable and nice welcome. The game has a nice variety of cars, so you won't have any problems to find a favorite or a few.
    When it comes to music, it is subjective, obviously. It was either hit or miss, but there were plenty of songs fitting the racing.

    Conclusion:
    Some people point out how this game is better than Flaout3. Why stop there? How about comparing it to Big Rigs, then call it a masterpiece and call it a day. Yeah, that cheap comparison doesn't make it any better.

    Make yourself a favor, either buy Flaout1/2 if you did not play them or try out Wreckfest. As for the Kylotonn Games, good luck with your annual rally game releases.    … Expand
  15. Sagnol
    Jun 28, 2020
    5
    Its fun and makes you keep playing but it can't be compared with Flatout 2 and Ultimate Carnage...
    It needs better physics,more cars,tracks and better OST... But if you compare it to Flatout 3 its a lot better.
    Let's hope Bugbear sometime will make a proper FO game in the future..
  16. Yojimbo2015
    Apr 27, 2023
    7
    I was a big fan of Flatout: Ultimate Carnage on the XBox 360 which was a breath of fresh air compared to the ocean of soulless, terminally anal Gran Turismo clones out there, thanks to its concentration on fun rather than "realism". This is another smash and basher in the demolition derby mould that's not quite as good as its predecessor, but is still good fun if you like the Burnout andI was a big fan of Flatout: Ultimate Carnage on the XBox 360 which was a breath of fresh air compared to the ocean of soulless, terminally anal Gran Turismo clones out there, thanks to its concentration on fun rather than "realism". This is another smash and basher in the demolition derby mould that's not quite as good as its predecessor, but is still good fun if you like the Burnout and Motorstorm games.… Expand

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
62

Mixed or average reviews - based on 32 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 32
  2. Mixed: 22 out of 32
  3. Negative: 4 out of 32
  1. Playstation Official Magazine UK
    May 29, 2017
    80
    Look past the scruffy visuals, because Flatout 4's penchant for vehicular violence means it passes its madcap MDT. [May 2017, p.92]
  2. Playstation Official Magazine Australia
    May 2, 2017
    60
    Flatout’s schtick is its physics-heavy racing, but that engine is antiquated now. Like the nitro it ungenerously ekes out – fun in short bursts only [May 2017, p79]
  3. GameOver.gr
    Apr 14, 2017
    80
    As its name implies this is an insane arcade racer that offers a kind of gameplay not so common these days. Flatout 4 is fun, crazy and enjoyable, albeit a bit repetitive in areas.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »