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
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  1. 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.
  2. 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
  3. 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.
  4. 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
  5. 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
  6. 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.
  7. 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

Critic Reviews

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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
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