History VideoGame / Carmageddon

A WideOpenSandbox racing game.

Three installments were eventually released, although by the time of the third one, games of this specific genre were already [[FollowTheLeader quite prolific]]. A fourth installment, ''[[http://www.carmageddon.com/reincarnation Carmageddon: Reincarnation]]'', will be released in 2012 after a SequelGap of 12 years.

''Carmageddon'' was released in 1997. The game revolves around a series of car races held in a WideOpenSandBox, although racing is really not this game's selling-point. You can race [[TheAIIsACheatingBastard your opponents]] around the track, but true success comes mainly from causing as much damage as possible to their cars, as well as running down the innocent civilians that practically litter the map. It was one of the first video games to feature this type of violence on such a massive scale - you can run over 500 people in some of the maps, including old women, and you are literally ''encouraged'' to do so! It garnered a lot of controversy from [[MediaWatchdog Media Watchdogs]]; controversy which probably spurred an entire genre of violent driving games such as VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto.

* HurricaneOfPuns: See PunnyTitle.

The game is usually regarded as a SpiritualLicensee of the infamous cult film ''DeathRace2000''.

''{{Carmageddon}}'' was released in 1997. The game revolves around a series of car races held in a WideOpenSandBox, although racing is really not this game's selling-point. You can race [[TheAIIsACheatingBastard your opponents]] around the track, but true success comes mainly from causing as much damage as possible to their cars, as well as running down the innocent civilians that practically litter the map. It was one of the first video games to feature this type of violence on such a massive scale - you can run over 500 people in some of the maps, including old women, and you are literally ''encouraged'' to do so! It garnered a lot of controversy from [[MediaWatchdog Media Watchdogs]]; controversy which probably spurred an entire genre of violent driving games such as VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto.

* FollowTheLeader: A russian game, Armageddon Riders, tries this but with more emphasis on racing.
** And then we have ZombieDriver, which is Crazy Taxi [[EverythingsDeaderWithZombies with zombies]]!

* TookALevelInBadass / BadassDecay: In between games, some drivers has since got themselves new cars with varying degrees of Badass. This is most noticeable in ''C1/SP'' with the "stealworthy" system. For example, Stig-o-Sore drove the Volkswrecker (a non-stealworthy car) in ''C1'' but then promoted to driving the Carrerasaur (a stealworthy vehicle) in ''Splat Pack''. Vlad's case is the direct opposite, with his car being stealworthy in ''C1'' but not in ''Splat Pack''.

* CarFu

* MonowheelMayhem: The Wheel from the third game. It is a cage-like monowheel armed with two giant axes.
* PoliceState: The last levels of the third game take place in such a place. Everywhere you look is just SceneryPorn.

''{{Carmageddon}}'' was released in 1997. The game revolves around a series of car races held in a WideOpenSandBox, although racing is really not this game's selling-point. You can race [[TheAIIsACheatingBastard your opponents]] around the track, but true success comes mainly from causing as much damage as possible to their cars, as well as running down the innocent civilians that practically litter the map. It was one of the first video games to feature this type of violence on such a massive scale - you can run over 500 people in some of the maps, including old women, and you are literally ''encouraged'' to do so! It garnered a lot of controversy from MediaWatchdogs; controversy which probably spurred an entire genre of violent driving games such as VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto.

Compared to the strict linearity of most racing games, the ability to drive ''anywhere'' in the city (as long as you were causing havoc along the way) combined with the wacky-literal cartoon physics (the Instant Handbrake will stop you ''in mid-air'' and suspend you there) make ''Carmageddon'' quite memorable.

A WideOpenSandbox racing game.

''{{Carmageddon}}'' was released in 1997. The game revolves around a series of car races held in a WideOpenSandBox, although racing is really not this game's selling-point. You can race [[TheAIIsACheatingBastard your opponents]] around the track, but true success comes mainly from causing as much damage as possible to their cars, as well as running down the innocent civilians that practically litter the map. It was one of the first video games to feature this type of violence on such a massive scale - you can run over 500 people in some of the maps, including old women, and you are literally ''encouraged'' to do so! It garnered a lot of controversy from MediaWatchdogs; controversy which probably spurred an entire genre of violent driving games such as GrandTheftAuto.

Each race takes place in a different scene: The countryside, a bustling metropolis, a series of mine shafts and so on. Each race is timed, and the only way you can complete it on time is to run through [[CheckPoint Check Points]].

That is - if you choose to complete the race at all.

** At least two cars are [[ShoutOut references]] to anime/manga: The Mecha and The Machine. The Mecha is a RiceBurner with an anime girl vinyl and is driven by a purple haired [[{{Animesque}} animesque]] girl. The Machine, while it is a hot rod crossed with an SUV, is driven by a cyborg who is merely a head with his body being ''the entire car itself''. His name? [[Manga/{{Akira}} Tetsuo]].

* [[AutobotsRockOut Autobots, Rock Out!]]: The "Red Book Audio" (CD music that can be played in conjunction with the game) features instrumental versions of several FearFactory songs, played by FearFactory themselves. You don't really play much of a hero in this game, though.

* CoolCar: The whole lot of them, although this ranges across different types. There are those [[BoringButPractical mundane cars which are reasonably priced and works well]], [[FragileSpeedster supercars which are pretty good racers but get squished easily]], [[MightyGlacier SUVs and the later big trucks which can take a beating and inflict pain, although that's what they're good at only]], [[JokeCharacter and the numerous interesting cars which serve no real purpose other than looking pretty interesting]].

** And then we have {{Zombie Driver}}, which is Crazy Taxi [[EverythingsDeaderWithZombies with zombies]]!
*** And then we have {{Blood Drive}}.

* GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere: The "Trucking Hell" mission in ''C2'', where Psycho Pitbull has followed you out from the quarry in the Big Dump with the intent of killing you for who knows why. [[spoiler: Fortunately there's a Solid Granite Car power up right next to the lamp post thats in front of your starting position.]]

* HotPursuit: In the first and third games, police cars will be parked in certain spots and will proceed to chase and ram you if they notice you doing anything reckless. This includes driving past them at 80 M.P.H. (60 is fine), running over pedestrians, or striking their vehicle. [[{{TheComputerIsACheatingBastard}} Naturally they don't care]] if it's an AI car causing the mayhem though. In the second game, the special race in the last group, [[{{TheBluesBrothers}} Bruise Brothers]], 12 Copcars will be chasing you. You have to wreck them all before the timer runs out in order to win.

*** And The Specter in ''TDR 2000''? Take the Bugga, give it a speed boost and a trike configuration and 100 times the frustration of driving the damn thing.
* MonowheelMayhem: The Wheel from the third game. It is a cage-like monowheel armed with two giant axes.

*** The Loggerhead is a cheaper version of the Big Dump which also appears as a regular opponent in the later stages.
*** There's also the Master Mine in ''TDR 2000'', Big Dump's {{Expy}}. Unfortunately its a JokeCharacter, being very slow and having very high ground clearance that even small cars can drive underneath it unscathed.

* RiceBurner: The afore mentioned 'The Mecha' which is actually a Ford Ka town car. Not a very good performance car since it is slow but does handle well.
** The Street Machine form the second game is a wacky example. It has speakers in the boot so large that the boot lid can't close. Driving the car is also like driving with the 'Grip-o-matic Tires' powerup permanently active. It gets worse when you actually have that powerup active.

* DemotedToExtra: Die Anna. She starts off as one of the two selectable [[PlayerCharacter player characters]] in C1/SP, returns as a mid-game opponent in C2 and never returned in TDR2000. Hopefully the reboot will see her return as a PlayerCharacter.

* AwesomeYetImpractical: Most of the time any sort of supercar will be this. They're bound to be [[FragileSpeedster frail]], hard to control, get eaten up by anything heavier than them and pretty expensive. Considering the fact that game mainly focuses on CarFu, you'll most likely save the money in order to buy one of the higher end trucks and go wreaking everyone instead of completing time consuming laps with something you can get wrecked in easily.

* BoringButPractical: C2 featured many rather uninteresting cars from the 60's towards the 80's but most of them can help you a lot without spending too much cash. For example, the [[RealManWearPink Slam Sedan]] may not be as badass as Otis' Caddy FatCat from C1 but its easy to drive, is pretty robust and can dish out hurt.

* GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere: The "Trucking Hell" mission in C2, where Psycho Pitbull has followed you out from the quarry in the Big Dump with the intent of killing you for who knows why. [[spoiler: Fortunately there's a Solid Granite Car power up right next to the lamp post thats in front of your starting position.]]

* RPGElements: In C1/SP, you first had to select your PlayerCharacter who both drive cars that suit different play styles (Max's Eagle is good for [[CarFu thrashing opponents]] while Die's Hawk is better at racing). As you race and cause general mayhem, you rack up credits which can then be used to buy non-stealworthy cars and universal upgrades that help to improve armor, power and offense (APO). You can also earn some of the better stealworthy cars if you wreck them a couple of times.

* TankGoodness: The King Merc in C1 and TDR2000 which was a Mercedes coupe fitted with tank armor and tank treads. Not fast but very hard. The Flower Plower, the bonus car in C2, leans more towards JokeCharacter though. And there's the Squad Cars and the [[LightningBruiser Suppressor]] in the C1.

* {{Expy}}: Max Damage is clearly the game's counterpart of [[TwistedMetal Needles Kane a.k.a Sweet Tooth]]. While not a MonsterClown, he's equally AxCrazy, is a LegacyCharacter (so as his car) and is also the game's {{Mascot}}.

** At least two cars are [[ShoutOut references]] to anime/manga: The Mecha and The Machine. The Mecha is a RiceBurner with an anime girl vinyl and is driven by a purple haired [[{{Animesque}} animesque]] girl. The Machine, while it is a hot rod crossed with an SUV, is driven by a cyborg who is merely a head with his body being ''the entire car itself''. His name? [[{{Akira}} Tetsuo]].

''{{Carmageddon}}'' was released in 1997. The game revolves around a series of car races held in a WideOpenSandBox, although racing is really not this game's selling-point. You can race [[TheAIIsACheatingBastard your opponents]] around the track, but true success comes mainly from causing as much damage as possible to their cars, as well as running down the innocent civilians that practically litter the map. It was one of the first video games to feature this type of violence on such a massive scale - you can run over 500 people in some of the maps, including old women, and you are literally ''encouraged'' to do so! It garnered a lot of controversy from MediaWatchdogs, and probably pioneered an entire genre of violent driving games such as GrandTheftAuto.

** Or the [[http://www.carmageddon.com/history/carmageddon-tdr-2000/nosebleed-pack Nosebleed Pack]] for that matter.

** At least two cars are [[ShoutOut references]] to anime/manga: The Mecha and The Machine. The Mecha is a RiceBurner with an anime girl vinyl and is driven by a purple haired [[{{Animesque}} animesque]] girl. The Machine, while it is a hot rod crossed with an SUV, is driven by a cyborg who is merely a head with his body being [[HighOctaneNightmareFuel THE ENTIRE CAR ITSELF]]. His name? [[{{Akira}} Tetsuo]].

* ZombieApocalypse: The censored version of the first game revolves on this. Solar flares have turned 80% of the world's population into zombies...and [[BloodSport Carmageddon]] is mankind's solution against this threat.

* SoBadItsGood: Some cars handle ''hilariously'' poorly.