List of vehicular combat games
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Vehicular combat games (also known as just vehicular combat or car combat) are a sub-genre of vehicle simulation video games where the primary objectives of gameplay include vehicles armed with weapons attempting to destroy vehicles controlled by the CPU or by opposing players. The genre normally features a variety of different vehicles available for play, each with its own strengths, weaknesses, and special attack abilities. Players may also unlock hidden vehicles by completing certain in-game tasks. Games may include racing themes, but they are generally secondary to the action.[1]
Gameplay
Vehicular combat games normally follow a simple play pattern; the player must defeat increasing numbers of not very skilled enemies before facing off against a final, super-powerful, boss character. Vehicular combat games differ from traditional racing games both in the combat aspect and in the general lack of any set path for players to follow, instead allowing them to explore each level at their leisure. The complexity and strategy required to complete games vary, from the careful resource maintenance and intense story-driven plotlines of the Interstate '76 series to straightforward smashups like WWE Crush Hour. Often, the primary plot will involve a contest or competition of some sort, encouraging the various characters to fight and destroy one another to obtain a reward. The Twisted Metal has been attributed as the first "true" vehicular combat game, without cartoony graphics as seen in kart racing games.[2]
Subgenres
Car
Year | Name | Platforms | Style |
---|---|---|---|
2005 | 187 Ride or Die | PS2, Xbox | |
2017 | All-Star Fruit Racing | Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch | Kart racing |
2006 | Auto Assault | Windows | 3rd person view, MMO |
2011 | Armageddon Riders | Windows, PS3 | |
2018 | Asphalt 9: Legends | iOS, Android | Action Car Game |
1985 | Autoduel | ||
2016 | Auto Warriors[3] | iOS | Turn-based |
2002 | Bandits: Phoenix Rising | Microsoft Windows, Linux | Post-apocalyptic |
2017 | Battle Riders | Windows, iOS | |
2017 | BlazeRush | Top-down view | |
2010 | Blood Drive | PS3, XB360 | |
1999 | Beetle Adventure Racing | N64 | |
2010 | Blur[4] | Windows, PS3, XB360 | |
2001 | Burnout series[4][5] | Arcade Racing | |
1997–2016 | Carmageddon series[6] | DOS, Windows, Mac, PS1, N64, GBA, iOS, Android | Open world, graphic violence |
1988 | Chase H.Q.[4] | Arcade | |
2017 | Crash of Cars | iOS, Android | Cartoon |
2005 | Crash Tag Team Racing[5] | ||
2001, 2002 | Cel Damage[7] | GameCube, Xbox, PS2 | cartoon |
2014–2019 | Cel Damage HD | PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch | cartoon |
2002 | Command & Conquer: Renegade | Microsoft Windows | |
1993 | Crash 'n Burn | 3DO | |
2006/2017 | Crashday | ||
2018 | The Crew 2 | Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Stadia | "Demolition Derby" (crash mode) in Freestyle motorsport family |
2016 | Crossout | Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 | |
2007 | Darkwind: War on Wheels | ||
1976, 1990 | Death Race | Arcade | |
1996–2012 | Death Rally | DOS, iOS, Android | Top-down view, arcade |
1989 | Deathtrack | MS-DOS, DOS | |
2008 | Death Track: Resurrection | Windows, PlayStation 3 | |
2021 | Destruction AllStars | Playstation 5 | |
1995, 1996 | Destruction Derby series | DOS, PS1, Sega Saturn, N64 | |
1998 | DethKarz | Windows | |
2021 | Detonation Racing | iOS, MacOS | |
2012 | DiRT: Showdown | Microsoft Windows, OS X, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 | |
2006 | Earache: Extreme Metal Racing | PlayStation 2, Wii, PC | |
1995 | Fatal Racing | MS-DOS, DOS | Aka Whiplash in North America. Cross between Race Drivin, Stunts & Destruction Derby. |
2012 | Final Run | iOS | |
1988 | Fire and Forget | Post-apocalyptic combat racer | |
1990 | Fire and Forget II | Post-apocalyptic combat racer. Cars also fly. | |
2005 | Fired Up | ||
2004–2017 | FlatOut series | Windows, Xbox, XB360, PS2, PSP, Wii | |
2006 | Full Auto[7] | XB360 | |
2006, 2007 | Full Auto 2: Battlelines[7] | PS3, PSP | |
2012 | Gas Guzzlers Extreme | Windows | |
2015 | Grip: Combat Racing | Windows | Inspired by Rollcage series |
2000 | Grudge Warriors | PS1 | |
2006 | Hard Truck: Apocalypse | post-apocalyptic | |
2016 | Hardware: Rivals | PS4 | |
1997 | Have a N.I.C.E. Day! | Windows | |
2009 | Hot Wheels Battle Force 5 | Wii, NDS | |
2007 | Hot Wheels: Beat That! | PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, Windows, Wii, NDS | |
2021 | Hot Wheels Unleashed | PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Switch, Xbox One, Windows, Stadia, Xbox Series X/S | |
2023 | Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged | PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Switch, Xbox One, Windows, Xbox Series X/S | |
2002 | Hot Wheels Velocity X | GameCube, PlayStation 2, PC, Game Boy Advance | |
1997 | Interstate '76[2] | ||
1999 | Interstate '82 | ||
2005 | Jak X: Combat Racing[8] | PS2, PS4 | |
1989, 1990 | Knight Rider | NES | |
1999 | Lego Racers | ||
2001, 2002 | Lego Racers 2 | ||
2000 | London Racer: Destruction Madness | Windows, PS2 | |
2012 | LittleBigPlanet Karting | PS3 | |
1992 | Lucky & Wild | ||
2015 | Mad Max | Windows, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 | post-apocalyptic |
1999 | Mad Trax | Microsoft Windows | |
1992–2020 | Mario Kart[5] | Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64, Game Boy Advance, GameCube, DS, Wii, 3DS, Wii U, Arcade,[8] Switch, iOS/Android | Kart racing, 1st person view (Mario Kart 7) |
2004 | Mashed series | ||
1994 | MegaRace | ||
1996 | MegaRace 2 | ||
2002 | MegaRace 3 | ||
2018 | Meow Motors | Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch | Kart racing |
2010 | ModNation Racers | PS3, PSP | cartoon |
2001 | Motor Mayhem | ||
2011 | MotorStorm: Apocalypse | PS3 | Apocalyptic racing |
2000 | NASCAR Heat[4] | PS | |
1996 | Necrodome | ||
2010 | Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit | Windows, PS3, Wii, XB360, iOS, Android, webOS, Windows Phone, Java ME | |
2013 | Need for Speed: Rivals | Windows, PS3, XB360, Xbox One, PS4 | |
2018-2022 | Nickelodeon Kart Racers series | Crossover branded kart racer | |
2019 | Nightwolf: Survive the Megadome | Windows | Synth-themed, cyber-powered vehicles |
2006 | Novadrome | ||
2016 | Obliteracers | Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 | Cutesy combat racer on exoplanets |
2022 | One Hell of a Ride[9] | Xbox One, Xbox Series, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch | |
1992, 1993 | Outlander | Sega Genesis, SNES | |
2017 | PAKO 2 | Windows, MacOS | overhead view, arcade |
2011 | Post Apocalyptic Mayhem | Windows | Post apocalypse |
2005, 2006 | Pursuit Force | PSP | |
2007, 2008 | Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice | PSP | |
1994, 1995 | Quarantine | 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, Sega Saturn, PlayStation, MS-DOS, DOS, IBM PC compatible | dystopian armed cab-driving |
2011 | Rage | Windows, PS3, XB360, MacOS | FPS game |
1999, 2000 | Red Dog | Dreamcast | |
1999 | Redline | ||
2011 | Renegade Ops | PC, PS3, XB360 | |
1999 | Re-Volt | RC cars | |
2012 | Ridge Racer Unbounded | PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC | |
1998 | Red Asphalt | ||
1999 | Rollcage | Windows, PlayStation | |
2000 | Rollcage Stage II | Windows, PlayStation | |
1987 | RoadBlasters[4] | Arcade | |
2003 | RoadKill | PlayStation 2, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube | |
1986 | Roadwar 2000 | Amiga, Apple II, Atari ST, Commodore 64, MS-DOS | Roguelike, Strategy video game |
1987 | Roadwar Europa | Amiga, Apple II, Atari ST, Commodore 64, MS-DOS | Roguelike, Strategy video game |
1993 | Rock n' Roll Racing[4] | Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo, Mega Drive, Game Boy Advance, Windows | |
1998 | Rogue Trip: Vacation 2012 | ||
1998 | S.C.A.R.S | ||
2015 | Scraps: Modular Vehicle Combat[10] | Windows, MacOS, Linux | Buildable vehicles |
1999, 2000 | San Francisco Rush 2049 | Arcade, N64, Game Boy Color, Dreamcast | |
2008 | Speed Racer: The Videogame | PS2, Wii | |
2010 | Split/Second | Windows, PS3, XB360, iOS, Java ME, PSP | |
1983 | Spy Hunter series[2][4] | Arcade | |
2003 | Starsky & Hutch | ||
2016 | Switchcars | ||
2007 | Swypeout | ||
1997 | Streets of SimCity | ||
2004 | Test Drive: Eve of Destruction | Xbox, PS2 | |
1986 | Turbo Esprit | ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64 | |
1999 | Toy Commander | ||
1995–2012 | Twisted Metal[2][5] | PlayStation, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable | |
1999 | Vigilante 8: 2nd Offense | PlayStation, Dreamcast, Nintendo 64 | |
1998 | Vigilante 8 | PlayStation, Nintendo 64 | |
2007 | Vigilante 8 Arcade | ||
1985 | Violent Run (Gekisou)[11] | Arcade | |
2018 | Warped Kart Racers | iOS, MacOS | Kart racer with crossovers from cheap cartoon shows. |
2003 | WWE Crush Hour | ||
2009 | Wheelman | Windows, PS3, XB360 | |
2018 | Wreckfest | PC | |
2009 | Zombie Driver | Windows, PS3, XB360, Android |
Futuristic racing
Note: Also covers Anti-gravity combat racing games.
- Fire and Forget (1988)
- Fire and Forget II (1990)
- Deathtrack (1989)
- S.T.U.N. Runner (1989)
- F-Zero series (1990 debut)
- Battle Cars (1993)
- Hi-Octane (1995)
- Wipeout series (1995 debut)
- Assault Rigs (1996)
- Jet Moto series (1996 debut)
- DethKarz (1998)
- Psybadek (1998)
- Fatal Inertia (2007)
- Death Track: Resurrection (2008)
- BallisticNG (2018)
- Pacer (video game) (2020)
Aircraft
- Airfix Dogfighter
- Altitude
- Diddy Kong Racing
- M.A.C.H.
- Mach Storm
- Plane Crazy
- SkyDrift
- Slipstream 5000
- Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed
- War Thunder
- World of Warplanes
- DCS World
- IL-2 Sturmovik (series)
Boat, ship and submarine
- AquaNox series
- Blood Wake
- Critical Depth
- Dead In The Water
- Microcosm
- Silent Hunter series
- Silent Service and Silent Service II
- TigerShark
- War Thunder
- Wave Race series
- World of Warships
- Akella's PT Boats series
Tank
- Alien Front Online, the primary good forces are tanks and the secondary alien forces are played as mechs
- Arcticfox
- Armored Warfare
- BattleTanx series
- Battlezone, original arcade game and home conversions
- Battlezone and Battlezone II: Combat Commander, although most of the tanks have anti-gravity engines instead of tracks
- Borderline (Thunderground)
- BZFlag, a FOSS Battlezone-like game
- Combat, the original 1977 founder of the genre
- Cyber Sled
- Front Line
- Gunmetal
- Hovertank 3D
- Iron Warriors: T-72 Tank Commander
- iPanzer '44
- IL-2 Sturmovik: Tank Crew
- M1 Tank Platoon
- M1 Tank Platoon II
- Metal Drift
- Metal Max series, a tank combat and role-playing video game combination
- Nova 9
- Panzer Commander
- Panzer Front
- Panzer Elite
- Pop'n Tanks!
- Quantum Redshift
- Red Orchestra: Ostfront 41-45
- Recoil
- Spearhead (video game)
- Spectre VR
- Steel Armor: Blaze of War
- Steel Beasts
- Steel Fury
- Stellar 7
- Tanarus
- Tank
- Tank Universal
- Tank! Tank! Tank!
- Tank Troopers
- Team Yankee
- Thunder Brigade
- Tiny Tank: Up Your Arsenal
- TNK III (T.A.N.K.)
- Tread Marks
- War Rock
- War Thunder
- Wild Metal
- World of Tanks
- World War II Online, a tank, gun, infantry, plane, ship, simulation, MMO, FPS and real-time strategy combination
Motorcycle
- A.B. Cop
- Cycle Warriors[12]
- DeathDrome
- Extreme-G series
- Final Fantasy VII (G Bike)
- Final Fantasy VII G-Bike
- Mach Rider
- Mad Crasher
- Road Rage
- Road Rash series[4]
- Road Redemption[13]
- Seicross
- Grand Theft Auto series
Space vehicle
- Astron Belt
- A/X-101
- Battlestar Galactica (2003 game)
- The Cosmic Balance series
- Colony Wars series
- Descent (series)
- EVE Online
- Freespace series
- Freelancer
- Lunar Rescue
- Moon Patrol
- Project Sylpheed
- Space Encounters
- Space Seeker
- Star Citizen
- Star Trek
- Star Wars: Demolition
- Star Wars: X-Wing
- Star Wars: Rebel Assault series
- Star Wars: Starfighter series
- Tac/Scan
- X
- Starlancer
- Star Trek: Bridge Commander
- Wing Commander (franchise)
Multi-vehicular
(List of games in which players use more than one vehicle type during gameplay)
- Armed Assault series
- Armour-Geddon series
- Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts (2008)
- Battlefield series
- Body Harvest (1998)
- Borderlands series
- Battlestations series
- Command & Conquer: Renegade (2002)
- Darkwind: War on Wheels (2007)
- Deadly Dozen series
- Delta Force: Xtreme 2 (2009)
- Diddy Kong Racing (1997)
- Diddy Kong Racing DS (2005)
- Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (2007)
- Extreme Assault (1997)
- Frontlines: Fuel of War (2008)
- G-Police: Weapons of Justice (1999)
- Grand Theft Auto series
- Halo series
- Hidden & Dangerous series
- Homefront (2011)
- Incoming (1998 video game) (1998)
- Incoming Forces (2002)
- Jeff Wayne's The War of the Worlds (1999)
- Just Cause series
- Mario Kart 8 / Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (2014-2017)
- Mario Kart Wii (2008)
- Mercenaries series
- Onrush
- Operation Flashpoint series
- PlanetSide (2003)
- PlanetSide Arena (2019)
- PlanetSide 2 (2012)
- Rage 2 (2019)
- RecWar (2002)
- Red Faction series
- Saints Row series
- Scarface (2006)
- Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (2012)
- Star Wars: Battlefront series
- Stealth Combat: Ultimate War (2002)
- Switchcars (2016)
- The Saboteur (2009)
- Thorium Wars series
- Tribes series
- Unreal Tournament 2004 (2004)
- Unreal Tournament 3 (2007)
- War Thunder (2013)
Mecha
This subgenre of vehicular combat involves mech robots, or mecha, as the vehicle for combat.[citation needed] For most mech games, they are played in either first-person or third-person view style. Other games are based on popular Anime television shows such as the various Gundam series, Robotech, and Evangelion. Also, games with a mech theme are featured in RPG games such as Xenosaga and the Front Mission series.
- Another Century's Episode series
- Armored Core series
- Assault Suits series
- Battle Engine Aquila
- Nintendo's Battle Clash/Metal Combat: Falcon's Revenge
- Border Break
- Nintendo's Custom Robo series
- Chromehounds
- Cruise Chaser Blassty
- Cyberbots: Full Metal Madness
- Cybernator
- Daemon X Machina
- Earthsiege
- Eureka 7 video games
- Exteel
- Front Mission series, a tactical RPG mecha series
- Ghen War
- Ghost in the Shell
- G-Nome
- Gungriffon series
- Gun Metal
- Hawken
- Heavy Gear series
- Hover Attack
- IGPX Immortal Grand Prix video games
- Kagirinaki Tatakai
- Krazy Ivan
- Nintendo and Levels-5's Little Battlers Experience
- The Super Dimension Fortress Macross video games
- MechAssault series
- MechWarrior series
- MechCommander series
- Metal Fatigue
- Metal Head
- Metal Marines
- Metal Storm
- Metal Warriors
- Mobile Suit Gundam video games
- Neon Genesis Evangelion video games
- One Must Fall 2097
- Patlabor
- Perpetuum
- Phantom Crash
- Robocraft
- Robot Alchemic Drive
- Robotech video games
- Senko no Ronde
- S.L.A.I.: Steel Lancer Arena International
- Slave Zero
- Shattered Steel
- Shogo: Mobile Armor Division
- Star Cruiser, a first-person shooter action RPG
- Starsiege
- Steambot Chronicles
- Steel Battalion
- Steel Battalion: Line of Contact
- Super Robot Wars series
- Tail Concerto
- Titanfall
- Thexder series
- Transformers video games
- Vanguard Bandits
- Vastar
- Virtual On
- WiBArm, a third-person action RPG shooter
- Xenogears
- Zone of the Enders series
Kart racers with battle modes
Battle modes for kart racing games are deathmatch battles influenced by the characters, go-karts and weapons used in the mode. The Mario Kart series demonstrates this kind of mode in its previous installments.[8]
Mario Kart series
- Super Mario Kart
- Mario Kart 64
- Mario Kart: Super Circuit
- Mario Kart: Double Dash
- Mario Kart DS
- Mario Kart Wii
- Mario Kart 7
- Mario Kart 8
- Mario Kart Tour
Crash kart series
Other kart racers with battle modes
- Cel Damage
- Charinko Hero
- Cocoto Kart Racer
- Diddy Kong Racing
- Diddy Kong Racing DS
- Freaky Flyers
- Jak X: Combat Racing
- LittleBigPlanet Karting
- Looney Tunes: Space Race
- Muppet RaceMania
- Pac-Man World Rally
- R.C. Pro-Am
- Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed
- Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing
- Speed Punks
- Team Sonic Racing
- Wacky Races
- Wacky Wheels
Notes and references
- ^ "Vehicular Combat". Giant Bombs. Archived from the original on January 14, 2014. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
- ^ a b c d Schwab, Brian (2009). AI Game Engine Programming. Cengage Learning. p. 192. ISBN 978-1584506287. Archived from the original on February 5, 2023. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
- ^ "Auto Warrior revs its way out of soft launch and crashes into the App Store". Archived from the original on August 7, 2016. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Lambie, Ryan (June 10, 2010). "The 10 best combat racing games". Den of Geek. Archived from the original on April 28, 2015. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
- ^ a b c d Adam (May 18, 2012). "5 Awesome Vehicular Combat Games". egmr. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
- ^ Hudak, Chris (August 8, 1997). "Carmageddon Review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on March 15, 2015. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
- ^ a b c Schilling, Chris (April 2017). "Drinkbox Studios". Edge Magazine. No. 304.
...developer Pseudo Interactive, best known for vehicular combat games Cel Damage and Full Auto and their sequels.
- ^ a b c Masser, Jeff (2012). "A Brief History Of Kart Racing Games". Modojo. Archived from the original on June 26, 2015. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
- ^ "One Hell of a Ride (2022)". MobyGames. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
- ^ "Scraps: Modular Vehicle Combat". Scraps: Modular Vehicle Combat. Archived from the original on December 5, 2018. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
- ^ Roberts, Mike; Doyle, Eric (February 1986). "Coin-Op Connection". Computer Gamer. No. 11. pp. 54–5.
- ^ "40 Years of Arcade Games - Part 2(1990-2012)". Arcade Heroes. June 28, 2012. Archived from the original on March 12, 2016. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
- ^ "Road Redemption". road-redemption. Archived from the original on August 11, 2020. Retrieved June 27, 2020.