Vehicular combat games (also known as just vehicular combat or car combat) are a sub-genre of
vehicle simulation
Vehicle simulation games are a genre of video games which attempt to provide the player with a realistic interpretation of operating various kinds of vehicles. This includes automobiles, aircraft, watercraft, spacecraft, military vehicles, and a ...
video games
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...
where the primary objectives of gameplay include
vehicles
A vehicle (from la, vehiculum) is a machine that transports people or cargo. Vehicles include wagons, bicycles, motor vehicles (motorcycles, cars, trucks, buses, mobility scooters for disabled people), railed vehicles (trains, trams), wate ...
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. Traditionally, vehicular combat games focus on fast-paced action inside the vehicle, rarely, if ever, concerning themselves with
role-playing
Role-playing or roleplaying is the changing of one's behaviour to assume a role, either unconsciously to fill a social role, or consciously to act out an adopted role. While the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' offers a definition of role-playing a ...
or other elements, ''
Metal Max'' series being an exception. Games may include racing themes, but they are generally secondary to the action.
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
In video games, a boss is a significant computer-controlled opponent. A fight with a boss character is commonly referred to as a boss battle or boss fight. Bosses are generally far stronger than other opponents the player (game), player has fa ...
. Vehicular combat games differ from traditional
racing game
Racing games are a video game genre in which the player participates in a racing competition. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to fantastical settings. They are distributed along a spectrum between more realistic ra ...
s 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
''Interstate '76'' is a vehicular combat video game for Microsoft Windows. It was developed and published by Activision and released on March 28, 1997.
Plot
The game opens in the Southwestern United States in an alternate history of the year 1 ...
'' series to straightforward smashups like ''
WWE Crush Hour
''WWE Crush Hour'' is a vehicular combat video game published by THQ and released in 2003 for the GameCube and PlayStation 2. An Xbox version was planned but cancelled.
Plot
The plot of the game consists of Vince McMahon ending up having cont ...
''. 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
''Twisted Metal'' is a series of vehicular combat video games published by Sony Computer Entertainment, and developed by various companies. The series has appeared on the PlayStation, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 3. As o ...
'' has been attributed as the first "true" vehicular combat game, without cartoony graphics as seen in
kart racing games.
Subgenres
Car
Futuristic racing
* ''
S.T.U.N. Runner
''S.T.U.N. Runner'' (Spread Tunnel Underground Network Runner) is 3D racing/shooter game released in arcades by Atari Games in 1989. The player pilots a futuristic vehicle which can exceed 900 mph, through various tunnels and courses with ...
'' (1989)
* ''
F-Zero
is a series of futuristic racing video games originally created by Nintendo Entertainment Analysis & Development, Nintendo EAD with multiple games developed by outside companies. The F-Zero (video game), first game was released for the Super Fa ...
'' series (1990 debut)
* ''
Battle Cars'' (1993)
* ''
DethKarz'' (1998)
* ''
Hi-Octane'' (1995)
* ''
Wipeout'' series (1995 debut)
* ''
Fatal Inertia'' (2007)
Aircraft
* ''
Ace Combat
is an arcade-style combat flight simulation video game franchise published by Bandai Namco Entertainment, formerly Namco. Debuting in 1995 with '' Air Combat'' for the PlayStation, the series includes eight mainline installments, multiple sp ...
'' series
* ''
After Burner
is an arcade vehicular combat game developed and released by Sega in 1987. The player assumes control of an American F-14 Tomcat fighter jet, and must clear each of the game's eighteen unique stages by destroying incoming enemies, using both a m ...
'' series
* ''
Air Combat
''Air Combat'' is a 1995 combat flight simulator developed and published for the PlayStation by Namco. Players control an aircraft and are tasked with completing a series of missions, with objectives ranging from destroying formations of enem ...
'' series
* ''
Altitude
Altitude or height (also sometimes known as depth) is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum and a point or object. The exact definition and reference datum varies according to the context ...
''
* ''
Digital Combat Simulator''
*''
IL-2 Sturmovik
The Ilyushin Il-2 (Russian: Илью́шин Ил-2) is a ground-attack plane that was produced by the Soviet Union in large numbers during the Second World War. The word ''shturmovík'' (Cyrillic: штурмовик), the generic Russian term ...
'' series
* ''
M.A.C.H.''
* ''
Mach Storm
is a 2013 combat flight simulation game, combat flight simulation arcade game developed and published by Namco Bandai Games. The player controls a fighter craft, the leader of the Storm Squadron, in a mission to prevent a terrorist group from atta ...
''
* ''
Microsoft Flight Simulator
''Microsoft Flight Simulator'' is a series of amateur flight simulator programs for Microsoft Windows operating systems, and earlier for MS-DOS and Classic Mac OS. It was an early product in the Microsoft application portfolio and differed sig ...
''
* ''
SkyDrift''
* ''
Airfix Dogfighter''
* ''
War Thunder
''War Thunder'' is a free-to-play vehicular combat multiplayer video game developed and published by Gaijin Entertainment. Announced in 2011, it was first released in November 2012 as an open beta with a worldwide release in January 2013; it had ...
''
* ''
World of Warplanes
''World of Warplanes'' (''WoWp'') is a free-to-play aerial combat massively multiplayer online (MMO) game developed by Persha Studia and published by Wargaming.net. The game was originally released in November 2013 in CIS countries, North America ...
''
* ''
World of Warships
''World of Warships'' is a free-to-play naval warfare-themed multiplayer online game, developed. produced and published by Wargaming. Players can battle others at random or play cooperative battle types against bots or an advanced player versus e ...
''
* ''
Jetfighter'' series
Boat, ship and submarine
Tank
Motorcycle
Space vehicle
Multi-vehicular
(''List of games in which players use more than one vehicle type during gameplay'')
Mecha
This subgenre of vehicular combat involves mech robots, or
mecha
In science fiction, or mechs are giant robots or machines controlled by people, typically depicted as humanoid walking vehicles. The term was first used in Japanese (language), Japanese after shortening the English loanword or , but the mean ...
, as the vehicle for combat. For most mech games, they are played in either first-person or third-person view style. Other games are based on popular
Anime
is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
television shows such as the various
Gundam
is a Japanese military fiction media franchise. Created by Yoshiyuki Tomino and Sunrise (now Bandai Namco Filmworks), the franchise features giant robots, or mecha, with the name "Gundam". The franchise began on April 7, 1979, with ''Mobile ...
series, ''
Robotech
''Robotech'' is a science fiction franchise that began with an 85-episode anime television series produced by Harmony Gold USA in association with Tatsunoko Production and first released in the United States in 1985.
The show was adapted from ...
'', and ''
Evangelion''. Also, games with a mech theme are featured in RPG games such as ''
Xenosaga
''Xenosaga'' is a role-playing video game series developed by Monolith Soft and primarily published by Namco. Forming part of the wider '' Xeno'' metaseries, ''Xenosaga'' is set in a science fiction universe and follows a group of characters as th ...
'' and the ''
Front Mission
is a collection of video games and related media produced by Square (video game company), Square, now Square Enix. The series was created by Toshiro Tsuchida and developed by G-Craft, a studio that was later absorbed by Square and existed withi ...
'' series.
Kart racers with battle modes
Battle modes for
kart racing games are
deathmatch battles influenced by the characters,
go-kart
A go-kart, also written as go-cart (often referred to as simply a kart), is a type of sports car, close wheeled car, open-wheel car or quadracycle. Go-karts come in all shapes and forms, from non-motorised models to high-performance racing ...
s and weapons used in the mode. The ''
Mario Kart
is a series of racing games developed and published by Nintendo. Players compete in go-kart races while using various power-up items. It features characters and courses from the ''Mario'' series as well as other gaming franchises such as ''T ...
'' series demonstrates this kind of mode in its previous installments.
''Mario Kart'' series
*''
Super Mario Kart''
*''
Mario Kart 64
is a kart racing video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. It was also released for the iQue Player in China in 2003. The game is the second main entry in the ''Mario Kart'' series and is the successor to ''Super Mari ...
''
*''
Mario Kart: Super Circuit''
*''
Mario Kart: Double Dash''
*''
Mario Kart DS
''Mario Kart DS'' is a 2005 kart racing video game developed by Nintendo EAD Group No. 1 and published by Nintendo. It was released for the Nintendo DS handheld game console in November 2005 in North America, Europe, and Australia, and on Dece ...
''
*''
Mario Kart Wii
is a kart racing game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii. It is the sixth installment in the ''Mario Kart'' series, and was released in April 2008. Like its previous installments, ''Mario Kart Wii'' incorporates playable characters ...
''
*''
Mario Kart 7
''Mario Kart 7'' is a kart racing video game developed by Nintendo EAD in cooperation with Retro Studios and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS in 2011.
As with the previous games in the ''Mario Kart'' series, players participate ...
''
*''
Mario Kart 8
is a 2014 kart racing game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii U. It features the '' Mario Kart'' series' game mechanics, in which players drive go-karts using ''Mario'' franchise characters in various race formats. Items placed ...
''
**''
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
is a 2014 kart racing game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii U. It features the ''Mario Kart'' series' game mechanics, in which players drive go-karts using ''Mario'' franchise characters in various race formats. Items placed a ...
''
*''
Mario Kart Tour
is a 2019 kart racing mobile game, the fourteenth in the franchise in the ''Mario Kart'' series, developed by Nintendo EPD and published by Nintendo for iOS and Android devices. The game was announced in January 2018 and was released on Sept ...
''
''Crash'' kart series
*''
Crash Team Racing
''Crash Team Racing'' (stylized as ''CTR: Crash Team Racing'') is a 1999 kart racing video game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation. It is the fourth installment in the ''Crash Bandicoot'' ...
''
*''
Crash Nitro Kart
''Crash Nitro Kart'' is a 2003 kart racing game for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, and Game Boy Advance; versions for the N-Gage and mobile phones were released in 2004. It is the second racing game in the ''Crash Bandicoot'' series after ' ...
''
*''
Crash Tag Team Racing
''Crash Tag Team Racing'' is a 2005 kart racing game developed by Vancouver-based Radical Entertainment and published by Vivendi Universal Games under the Sierra Entertainment label for the GameCube (NGC), PlayStation 2 (PS2), Xbox, and the P ...
''
*''
Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled
''Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled'' is a 2019 kart racing game developed by Beenox and published by Activision. The game is a remastered version of '' Crash Team Racing'', which was originally developed by Naughty Dog for the PlayStation in 1999 ...
''
Other kart racers with battle modes
*''
Cel Damage
''Cel Damage'' is a vehicular combat video game developed by Pseudo Interactive and published by Electronic Arts. The game was first released for Xbox on 14 November 2001, and for GameCube on 7 January 2002, in North America respectively. In Eur ...
''
*''
Charinko Hero''
*''
Cocoto Kart Racer
''Cocoto Kart Racer'' is a kart-racing game released by Neko Entertainment between 2005 and 2009 on major platforms. The original Wii Edition was exclusive to North America and a "sequel" was released on Wii for PAL regions in 2011, but ''Cocoto K ...
''
*''
Diddy Kong Racing
''Diddy Kong Racing'' is a 1997 racing video game developed and published by Rare for the Nintendo 64. The game is set on Timber's Island and revolves around Diddy Kong and his friends' attempt to defeat the intergalactic antagonist, a wizar ...
''
*''
Diddy Kong Racing DS
''Diddy Kong Racing'' is a 1997 racing video game developed and published by Rare for the Nintendo 64. The game is set on Timber's Island and revolves around Diddy Kong and his friends' attempt to defeat the intergalactic antagonist, a wizardi ...
''
*''
Freaky Flyers''
*''
Jak X: Combat Racing''
*''
LittleBigPlanet Karting
''LittleBigPlanet Karting'' is a kart racing video game developed by United Front Games and San Diego Studio, in conjunction with series creators Media Molecule for the PlayStation 3. It is the fifth game of the ''LittleBigPlanet'' franchise, a ...
''
*''
Looney Tunes: Space Race''
*''
Muppet RaceMania''
*''
Pac-Man World Rally''
*''
R.C. Pro-Am''
*''
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed
is a kart racing video game developed by Sumo Digital and published by Sega. It was released for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii U in November 2012, for PlayStation Vita in December 2012, for Windows in January 2013, for Nintendo 3DS i ...
''
*''
Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing
is a 2010 kart racing video game, produced for Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo DS (February 23, 2010), and Microsoft Windows (March 3, 2010), featuring characters from multiple List of Sega video game franchises, Sega franchises. The game ...
''
*''
Speed Punks
''Speed Freaks'' (released as ''Speed Punks'' in North America) is a racing video game developed by Funcom, Funcom Dublin for the PlayStation (console), PlayStation released in 1999. It supports up to two players (four with a multitap for PlaySta ...
''
*''
Team Sonic Racing
''Team Sonic Racing'' is a 2019 kart racing game and a Spin-off (media), spin-off from Sega's ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' series. Controlling one of 15 characters from List of Sonic the Hedgehog characters, the series' cast, players compete in races ...
''
*''
Wacky Races
Eccentricity (also called quirkiness) is an unusual or odd behavior on the part of an individual. This behavior would typically be perceived as unusual or unnecessary, without being demonstrably maladaptive. Eccentricity is contrasted with nor ...
''
*''
Wacky Wheels
''Wacky Wheels'' is a kart racing video game released by Apogee Software for MS-DOS in 1994. The game strongly resembles '' Super Mario Kart'' from the Super NES, but the karts are described as lawn mowers and the eight playable characters are anim ...
''
Notes and references
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vehicular combat game list
Video game genres
Video game lists by genre
Video game terminology