FLASHOUT 3 is the latest in futuristic racers where speed is king. Race with a variety of gravity-defying vehicles on insanely twisted tracks. What makes FLASHOUT 3 different from other racers of this type is the inclusion of combat, where being in the lead isn’t exactly a good thing. Think of this as Mario Kart, but more grown-up and realistic.
I’ll start off with the easy bit here. The graphics for FLASHOUT 3 are really good, especially with all the settings turned up and enabling the higher frame rates. The game is so crisp and smooth with lots of detail. There are also some really great lighting effects coming from the weapons fire, explosions and engine trail on each vehicle. Reflections on the tracks are also really good along with the realistic environments. Pay close attention to the environment because they didn’t just tack on some generic backdrops. These are fully rendered environments that give each track life and realism.
Next up is the audio track that features lots of techno-synth-style music. This goes great with the whole futuristic theme of the game and hypes up each race.
In terms of gameplay, here is where things get a little weird sometimes. Let’s start off with the races which are pretty straightforward. Races normally consist of 8 cars and the first one to the finish line wins. However, this is made increasingly difficult because you have to contend with opponents who shoot at you with deadly accuracy. Remember how annoying Mario Kart was when you think you’re about to win and a red turtle shell comes out of nowhere to knock you into last place? This is the exact same thing, except that the combatants here have weapons all the time so whoever is out in the front is a target.
Not only that, it also seems like the AI does the same Mario Kart type thing where no AI opponent is ever that far from you and they seem to catch up instantly even if you blow them up time after time. I know they do these types of things to make the race more exciting and competitive, but it’s honestly frustrating when you know the AI is cheating and all you’re trying to do is win fairly.
That doesn’t mean Flashout 3 can’t be fun though, especially once you start unlocking new ships and all the extra equipment to upgrade your ship. That means you can get things like extra shields, countermeasures, and better weapons. This can help tremendously with survivability considering that the enemies seem extra tanky sometimes while you get one-shot. The game is fast-paced though with some gorgeous visuals.
Is Flashout 3 worth a purchase? The game is a solid anti-gravity racer with a lot to offer, such as unlockable ships, tracks, races, weapons, and equipment. There’s actually a lot to do in the game. However, I’m not a big fan of the overly aggressive opponents and how the game seems to artificially speed up opponents who are behind you just to make the race feel close. That’s something I couldn’t stand in Mario Kart and that’s something that I don’t like here either. Racing should always be about skill and if you can beat other racers by huge margins, then that’s how it should be. Other than that, Flashout 3 is a good-looking racer, just not the best racing game out there.
Disclaimer: Received game from developer and/or publisher for coverage purposes.
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