FLATOUT 4: TOTAL INSANITY
Riotous racer nails slapstick slaughter
Ain’t it grand when games are fun? Not highbrow, not envelope-pushing, just a refreshingly silly good time. That’s what Flatout 4 presents: a daft racer that exists to slap a smile on your face. Who needs Gran Turismo’s photorealistic dashes when you can catapult a driver into a gigantic toy castle of Jenga blocks?
This is a lovely big picnic of a racer. A meaty serving of 16 traditional cups is backed up by the delicious treats of the titular Flatout mode – an assortment of deathmatch and stunts events – before a generous eight-player online suite1 of skirmishes finishes a spread any petrolhead army of ants would be delighted to devour.
What separates it from the racing game pack is the focus on rewarding aggressive driving. Even when you’re not bashing rivals with spiked projectiles in Assault challenges, simply cutting across racing lines to barge cars into hazards dishes out bursts of useful nitrous. Shunting a dude named Evasion Joe into a barnyard, where bales of flying hay total his ride, offers quite the payoff.
The AI’s no pushover either. Play a last-car-standing survival arena, 2 and you’ll witness some of the most brazenly bloodthirsty racers since Destruction Derby. Whether tossing a driver into huge cups in a car-centric take on beer pong, or halting a rival with a monstrous magnet, Flatout 4 delivers constant bonnet-crumpling treats.
There’s only one reason Kylotonn’s racer doesn’t nab a bigger score: it looks rougher than roadkill. But look past the scruffy visuals, because Flatout 4’s penchant for vehicular violence means it passes its madcap MOT. Dave Meikleham