Summary

• Melding high-speed racing with brutal combat, car combat games provide a thrilling hybrid experience.
• Road Rash 3, Crossout, and Rollcage Stage 2 showcase the best of this genre with intense gameplay.
• From stealing weapons mid-race to building custom vehicles for combat, these games offer adrenaline-packed fun.

Racing and fierce combat are two of the most inte🅷nse and dangerous expꦡeriences to be had in real life. Thanks to the advent of video games, we can all experience those sweet adrenaline rushes we've been missing out on, like nailing a perfect drift or lining up the perfect shot, in relative safety.

In a moment of genius, these thrilling gaming experiences were mashed🌠 together to create the car combat game, a spectacular hybrid of high-octane racing and pixel-perfect shooting. Whilst there ꦐhave been hundreds of attempts at this genre crossover, very few have perfected the balance quite like the following games.

Updated August 8, 2024 by Jack Pierik: If you’ve ever played Mario Kart, you remember the first time you were so close to victory, only to get mercilessly Blue Shelled and have first place disappear before your eyes. In this update, we’re trying to capture that feeling and keep the spirit of cars and combat alive; you do want revenge, don’t you?

With three extra games to explore, we hope you find something that feels fresh, exciting, and competitive. Oh, and if you don’t believe in ‘dirty’ driving, and you feel that any strategy for winning is fair game, you’re in the right place.

13 🐟 🌟 Road Rash 3

Road Rash 3 melds high-speed motorbike racing with senseless violence by adding the ability to beat your opponents, not just with speed but with weapons, fists, aℱnd leather-clad boots. With a well-timed punch, yo𓆉u can steal clubs, crowbars, and chains from other racers and clobber your way to victory.

The weapon-wielding opponents aren’t the only dangers to contend with though, as other vehicles, signposts, and changes in road elevation can cause catastrophic crashes, ending your race. Road Rash 3 is the pinnacle of the series and 168澳洲幸运5开𝓡奖网:despite🤡 later attempts at moving into 3D, the newer gamꦦes co💝uldn't recreate that same magic.

12 Crossout

Crossout is a game that involves both cars and combat, b𒊎ut the real focus is on fighting, whereas building your own custom vehicle is simply a medium for installing weaponry, if that makes sense. Sure, you’ll drive around, but you’ll haveꦑ to think tactically and cautiously.

Any part of your vehicle can be targeted, so you have to think of the long-term; if s⛦omeone blasts off some of your tires, you’re going to be stranded and picked off in no time. Thankfully, the game is free to play, so there’s no sunk cost in trying it out.

11 Rollcage Stage 2 💝 🌠

Rollcage Stage 2 features vehicles with enormous chunky tires, allowing them to flip over and continue racing in any direction. The gameplay is extremely fast. So fast, in fact, that the cars can cling ont🐼o walls and ceili💙ngs using their own momentum. This feature means you will crash often and it's here that the ability to quickly right yourself and continue racing comes into its own.

The tracks are short, with hard to reach shortcuts, and feature a variety of weapon pickups that perfectly suit the frenetic gameplay and add to the on-screen chaos. Rollcage Stage 2 is a fantastic arcade game with gr♚eat visuals, 🐲a pounding techno soundtrack and explosive, gravity-defying gameplay.

10 🥃Tw🎃isted Metal

For many, Twisted Metal is the first game series that springs to mind at the mere mention of vehicular combat, but whilst the original games are remembered fondly, they haven't aged well. The 2012 reboot brings the gameplay and graphics bang up to date and adds additional game modes 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:and online multiplayer.

The core gameplay is still essentially a destruction derby where players can use machine guns, missiles, and other destructive weapons to wreck their enemies and be crowned the last man standing (or🐼 last car driving). The tricky control scheme takes some getting used to, but with persistence, you'll soon be wr🎶eaking four-wheeled havoc and reducing your opponents to smoking piles of twisted metal.

9 Vigilante 8: 2nd Offensဣe 🌊

A direct sequel to Vigilante 8: 2nd Offense is another royal rumble-style elimination-based game with a selection of devilish weapons on hand to blow your opponents to kingdom come. Interestingly, there are additional powerups to be found in each arena t𓆏o allow vehicles to travers🧸e unsuitable terrain such as lakes and snowy plains.

A new salvag🅘e feature lets players collect points from wrecked opponents which can be used to upgrade vehicle stats like speed, armor and offensive capabilities. The game is great fun in single player modes against the AI but, as with most of these games, it really comes into its own in split-screen mode with a group of 🧸friends (future enemies).

8 Carmaged🌄don 2: Carpocalypse Now

Carmageddon 2 is the gaming equivalent of the 1975 sci-fi B-movie, The Death Race 2000. It's set in an apocalyp🌞tic world where dangerous people in ridiculous vehicles compete in life-threatening races for a monetary incentive. Races can be won by reaching the finish line first, destroying all opposing vehicles or by killing every pedestrian in a level.

At the time, t♐he polished graphics, realistic vehicle deformation and detailed dismemberment of unfortunate bystanders pushed gaming hardware to its limits. It’s a game that’s also notable for its humor which should be obvious from the title, the character names (e.g. Max Damage), and the wild powerups (e.g. jelly suspension). A true classic of PC gaming.

7 Rocket Leಌague 🌠

When Rocket League was first released, it was a simple game of football with rocket-powered cars instead of human players. The aim was to get an oversized ball through the opposing team's goal and stop them from doing the same by any means possible. Originally this could only be done by violently ramming enemies out of the way, but soon a whole host of new abil𒐪ities were added.

It's now possible to kick opponents with a giant boot on a spring, set off a swirling vortex, that sucks up everything in its path, or even change the sport to basketball. Without these useful additions, Rocket League is still a highly competitive, fast, and frantic slice o🌠f car combat.

6 Burnout Revengꦏe 🐷

In the early days of the Burnout series, the emphasis was on driving really fast and winning races by avoiding crashes with traffic, op𒁏ponents and other obstacles. In Burnout Revenge you are encouraged to plow through traffic, ram your opponents into walls, barriers and oncoming traffic and cause 🔴as much high-speed destruction as possible.

The other racers are extremely aggressive and will actively attempt to run you off the road and wreck your vehicle. If successful, they become your rival and your immediate task is to carry out an act of fittingly brutal revenge. This version of Burnout has never b𒐪een bettered and pe꧃rhaps EA should forget about their remaster of Burnout Paradise and update Burnout Revenge instead.

5 Ne✱ed For Speed: Payback

Most would agree that Need For Speed: Payback is a🐠ll about tuning and adaptability; depending ⛦on the race, mission, or challenge you’re doing, you might want to change from a race or drift-oriented car, to more of a drag racing or off-roading style vehicle.

Beyond this, there’s plentyꦕ o🎐f rough racing to be had. Whether you’re pulling off pit maneuvers on police cars, pushing another player off the road, or sending someone into a canyon, you can do whatever you deem necessary to secure victory. It’s not heartless, that’s just the game.

4 🥂 ☂ Crash Team Racing

Crash Team Racing may owe a lot of credit to a certain portly plumber, but it’s really rather good in its own right. The level design is outstanding, with each course full of sneaky shortcuts, difficult jumps and hazardous indigenous creatures that need to be avoided. The weapons can be powered up, by collecting bottles of nitro scattered throughout each level, and ꦇthere’s a clever boost system, adding extra depth to the gᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚameplay by rewarding drifting.

The cartoonish graphics are excellent, the controls are sharp and easy to master and the combat is🌳 explosive. With a remaster close to release, Crash Team Racing is the only true contender to Mario’s karting crown.