FLASHOUT 3

For nearly 30 years we have been waiting for a game to truly take over the wipE′out mantel as THE anti-gravity racing game. Many contenders have come and go, and in recent years the best of the bunch was Pacer, but even that had a lot of flaws, which I upset the developers by pointing out in my review. More quietly a series of anti-grav games have come and go under the Flashout banner, in 2012 we had Flashout 3D, and then a few years later Flashout 2. both had moderate success, well now the long awaited third game in the sequel has been released, the imaginatively titled Flashout 3.
Now it is worth noting that the Original 2012 game Flashout 3D has also been released and remastered and is available for free!, so check that out.
Let us ignore the problem of calling the first game in the series Flashout 3D and then the third one Flashout 3, and hope that people don't confuse the two, as I did.
Let's first look at the blurb for Flashout 3
"Where high speed meets high stakes. Where unforgiving combat, loud electronic music and addictive boosts of adrenaline mix up to separate winners from losers. Where gravitation is nothing more than an empty word. This is where the world of FLASHOUT 3 will take you and your ride to the absolute limits!
FLASHOUT 3 offers you ultra-fast ships, loops, jumps and sudden razor-sharp turns! Test your skills on the most impressive sci-fi racing tracks and try not to fall behind! But if it happens, don't sweat! Unleash the power of rockets, guns, bombs and mines to help you level down your competition!
Take part in an exciting, head-to-head fight to the finish! Witness spectacular crashes, the agony of defeat, and the sweet taste of victory! But don't blink! It can all end in a flash!"
I have to say it all sounds good, but anyone who follows my reviews, knows that I am super harsh when any game tries to take on a classic, so how does Flashout 3 do?
You have all the usual options, 2 characters to choose from, split screen modes, horizontal and vertical, VR support, 10 tracks, reverse versions, lots of vehicles and weapons to unlock. An epic high beat electronic soundtrack. There are tournaments, race modes like Standard Race, Elimination Mode, Destruction Mode.
You know the drill, everything you expect in an AG racer you will find in Flashout 3. So, the question remains, how does it all fit together and is it any good?
Playstation original wipE′out introduced the "Air Brake" system, and in my opinion that is the ONLY game in history to ever get it just right. Flashout 3 does have air brakes, this is where you use the bumpers/trigger buttons on your controller to move your craft to make very tight turns, the problem is that it always feels very unnatural to do, when most people are used to regular racing games whereby you just use the left trigger as a brake, and sometimes have another button for handbrake turns or drifting, to use left and right bumpers for turning sharp corners is a skill that takes time to learn, and when a game has other things you need to concentrate on, mainly firing weapons, it can often feel very busy, and simply feels like there is too much to do.
Luckily Flashout 3 does something that so many anti-grav games do not do, they give you THE OPTION! Meaning you can turn off the air brakes, or have them activated automatically, meaning you can drive your craft as you would drive a normal car. Now I understand that this slightly defeats the whole point of anti grav racing, as it is supposed to be different, but the fact you have the option to use air brakes or not is greatly appreciated, and instantly answers one of my major critiques of similar style games.
I am totally happy with the control system in Flashout 3, something I never thought I would say for another anti grav racer.
The graphics as you would expect are top quality, everything looks suitably futuristic. The weapons that you can use and eventually unlock, are all fun and interesting, you do not need to "collect" them while racing, you automatically have them on your racer, and as you use them, they will heat up, overuse them and they will go off line for a few seconds. As you choose different weapons to equip, they have a different weight value, so you have to balance them with the vehicle, this is good as it makes you have to think about what to install on the vehicle, instead of just putting 3 of the most powerful weapons on there.
Weapons themselves are your usual type, machine guns, rockets, an AI drone to fire at other racers, shields, and so on. A nice mixture between offensive and defensive.
The different game modes are fun, nothing spectacular, elimination mode, destruction mode, regular racing and so on, everything you will already be familiar with.
The campaign mode has you complete various types of races, score points, and if you finish high enough you can unlock the next event.
The Good
Sharp graphics, great soundtrack and most importantly good control system make this a fun game that is punching above its weight.
The Bad
Some levels are slightly too busy on screen, so everyone firing weapons, volcanoes exploding, and sometimes you can barely see the track, and with no onscreen map, you will find yourself flying off the course and dying. Of course, you respawn quickly enough, but this does mean that at times it feels like you are doing well more by luck than by pure skill. You could always learn the tracks I suppose, but I am a lazy so and so.
Overall
I really enjoyed Flashout 3, after recent experiences with AG racers, I was expecting to have the same complaints about this one, but instead I found myself liking it almost from the get go. Clearly gameplay was the first thing in the minds of the developers, with everything else coming later, and in my opinion, this is how you make a good game. With Flashout 3D being free, and Flashout 3 being the true next generation game in the series, it is hard not to recommend this game as the current number one anti-gravity racer on the market today.
It is fast, it is exciting and it is fun, and is fully compatible with Steam Deck too.
I score Flashout 3 a solid 8.5/10.

I shyed away from the review score, but I am pleasantly surprised the first few levels were a lot of fun, I'm not good at the game, but I can appreciate that the game doesn't feel like it hand-holds -- which in the words of Gaben hand-holding in other games makes the game "feel like the game is ignoring you" -- other games have invisible force-fields to stop you from doing stupid things like flying off course -- this pleasantly doesn't stop the player from doing what I want to do. Plays good on Steam Deck, no idea why the reviews are not in the 8X or 9X

Ok truth be told...i haven't put much into this one. But I have put enough time in to see where this is going versus where the series felt like it would go.
The first Flashout was a good little Wipeout clone. This one...don't really feel like Wipeout anymore. It is more combat based. BOOM! You blow up and then quickly respawn. Weapons reload. Its a battle racer...which isn't a bad thing...but its not really Wipeout.
Also things can easily go racing by fast, and complicate quickly. You are flying, flipping, and feel like there is no control over it sometimes. One example: i was racing on the 2nd track, took a jump, and slammed into the overpass a little after the landing. Why? My speed wasn't more than usual. I've never done that in a Wipeout or Wipeout clone. It just sort of happened my jump was longer than usual...and there would have been no way to avoid it from happening short of going off the track. Being that you insta-spawn, maybe going off the track would have been a faster recovery.
But the game is still pretty fun. it isn't going to blow the doors off....ok maybe it will blow the doors off due to all the machine gun bullets flying, and rockets firing....but you get what I mean. However, I always feel like one race is enough before a break. Sure I come back...but after that one race, I am craving something else for a bit.
And maybe that is not so good.

Nice graphics, good gameplay, almost as good as WipeOut.

-great music/soundtrack
-great graphics/visuals
-cloud saves
-fun
-if you win doesn't depend on how good you drive because of rubber banding

"I think Flashout 3 is a pretty solid arcade style racing game and I’m glad that the developers tried something unique with this release as well. It’s a fun game but I will admit that it feels like the campaign ends too soon. Hopefully there’ll be a lengthier campaign in the next Flashout game, if they have one planned, that is."
Full Review:

Flashout 3 is without a doubt a visual and conceptual rip-off of WipeOut. Yes, I know you can’t copyright a premise, but everything from the ship designs to the game modes and even the hex-designed menus seem to be daring Sony to take legal action. Apparently, since the game is still around a year later nobody cares, so let’s just enjoy this awesome anti-grav racer.
Loaded with content, Flashout 3 offers a campaign series, instant race, and even split-screen racing for couch competition, and yes, you can split the screen either way. There are five race modes including; Standard, Destruction, Elimination, Time Trial, and Speed Lap; again, all the exact same modes from WipeOut. There are four speed classes that span across an unlockable garage of nine ships, each with three variations that can equip up to three devices like weapons, defensive gadgets, or just good old shields and armor plating. Items have power consumption ratings, and your combined power cannot exceed the rating for your chosen ship, which can lead to serious contemplation when customizing your ship or even choosing a different ship with more power.
Flashout 3 remains a thrilling rollercoaster of a racing game, with a slick design and plenty of content.
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