History VideoGame / Carmageddon

** The Copcar from the same game isn't as awesome looking as its predecessor, being a dowdy 80's sedan instead of a futuristic armoured car. It still has the good top speed, damage output and durability that made the Squad Cars the deadly foes they are. Then there's that special race where you had to go up [[EverythingTryingToKillYou against]] ''[[OhCrap 12 of them]]''. Even with the Big Dump it's still no easy task.

** In ''Carmageddon 2'', the pedestrians' body parts are more solid, and albeit they don't produce damage upon, they can support the car's weight and lift the tires from the ground, forcing the player to respawn to get unstuck.

* {{Bowdlerise}}: The first game saw versions replacing pedestrians with [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman robots or zombies]]. A censored version of the UsefulNotes/{{Nintendo 64}} port even has ''[[EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs dinosaurs]]''!

* MadeOfPlasticine: The pedestrians splatter gruesomely if you so much as touch them. It is ''just barely'' possible to drive slowly enough to merely injure one. No pedestrian collision deals any damage to your car.

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: The series is notable for parodying real-life people and characters from other fiction but perhaps the most blatant of them is O.K Stimpson, driver of the Fraud Broko. He is obviously a thinly-veiled parody of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O._J._Simpson O.J Simpson]] and his vehicle is a Ford Bronco (albeit a modified one), the same vehicle O.J droved during police's low-speed pursuit of him. His description even references the incident, coupled with a small TakeThat.

* SequelDifficultySpike: The Missions on the second game, which [[http://www.carmageddon.com/history/carmageddon-2 the lead artist]] admit that they were late additions which he didn't test enough for people that unlike him hadn't become experts - "[[CreatorBacklash And so I stand before you, guilty of making a game too challenging for most mere mortals. It's a guilt I'll carry with me to my grave.]]"

Four instalments were eventually released, although by the time of the third one, games of this specific genre were already [[FollowTheLeader quite prolific]]. The latest game in the series, ''[[http://www.carmageddon.com/reincarnation Carmageddon: Reincarnation]]'', was released in April 2015 after a SequelGap of over a decade.

For extra [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential sadism value]], races may also be won by killing all civilians on the map. It should, however, be noted that until you get access to the post-completion-only cars, this is extremely difficult. It helps if you can find the ''Pedestrians Shown on Map'' power-up, of course.

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

* VideogameCaringPotential: You can actually choose not to mow down any pedestrians, and simply go after the pyschopathic racers who do. Not an easy challenge though, because of the time limit.

* HyperDestructiveBouncingBall: One of ''Carmageddon'''s infamous powerups is called "Pinball Mode", which causes every movable 3D object in the game to ricochet off other 3D objects (including the ground) upon impact, usually at a significantly higher speed. This can result in [[TrashTheSet trashing the set]] as things like vehicles, lamp-posts and traffic lights in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ero_TjVfcDk the original game]] and, from ''Carmageddon 2'' onwards, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRGTP97A1_U other miscellaneous 3D objects such as peds, fences, containers]], and even '''''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ebVJ8TcXOY F-14 Tomcats]]''''' get knocked off and sent bouncing and flying in all directions at speeds high enough to send ''other'' objects bouncing and flying around likewise.

* TheJuggernaut: ''Carmageddon 2'''s Big Dump is the apotheosis of this trope. It's a gigantic dump truck several times the size of most of the other vehicles, capable of plowing through everything else in the game... usually without losing speed. And in order to unlock it, you have to kill it. It even starts the level driving right at you, and will kill you outright if it connects.

* AwesomeYetImpractical: Most supercar- or speed-based vehicles are this, either being very [[FragileSpeedster frail]] or hard to control, sometimes even both, although they usually look much better than sturdier, more practical counterparts. Considering the fact that ''Carmageddon'' is primarily a vechicular combat game with a lot of CarFu, it is ''much'' more practical to use or save up and then purchase one of the slower but stronger vehicles and spend races wrecking other drivers instead of completing time-consuming laps with something that gets wrecked easily.

Four installments were eventually released, although by the time of the third one, games of this specific genre were already [[FollowTheLeader quite prolific]]. The latest game in the series, ''[[http://www.carmageddon.com/reincarnation Carmageddon: Reincarnation]]'', was released in April 2015 after a SequelGap of over a decade.

* {{Animesque}}: What sets ''TDR 2000'' apart from the previous games is how it seems to be inspired by CyberPunk animes. The game takes place in a Dystopian CyberPunk future, the residence all appear rather {{Animesque}} in terms of fashion sense ([[YouGottaHaveBlueHair even sporting eccentric hair colours]]), and this is further evident in two playable vehicles: The Mecha, a [[WeaponizedCar weaponized]] {{Itasha}}, and The Machine, a [[CyberneticsEatYourSoul vehicular cyborg body]] 'driven' by a man named [[Manga/{{Akira}} Tetsuo]].

* AutobotsRockOut: The original game's Redbook Audio features instrumental versions of several Music/FearFactory songs, played by Fear Factory themselves, while ''Carmageddon 2'' features music from Music/IronMaiden and Sentience. ''TDR 2000'' features a blend of hip-hop, rock and metal songs, and ''Reincarnation'' brings back a few of Fear Factory's songs from the first game, but a vast majority of its soundtrack is a combination of hard rock and heavy metal songs composed by Maximum Sexy Pigeon and Morgue. The community generally agrees that ''Carmageddon''[='=]s music greatly enhances the gameplay experience regardless of whichever game in the series is being referred to, which, considering the almost-universally negative reception of ''TDR 2000'', speaks volumes about how suitable ThePowerOfRock accompanies a vehicular slayfest.

* CoolPlane: The Supastuka in the second game, although its AwesomeButImpractical. The beta used to have "Birdy" -- a Cessna with clipped wings and a large bloodied propellor to drive into people. It was scrapped in the release version.

* CyberPunk: The third game seems to be this. In The Slums and Hi Rise levels, cyber punk features such as holographic billboards are an abundance. Even the pedestrians seem to be all cyber punk'd.
** Two characters from the first game and it's expansion seem to be fans of this: Mech Maniac (driver of Grunge Buster) and Su Borg (driver of Doozer).

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

* 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 that's 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, [[Film/TheBluesBrothers Bruise Brothers]], 12 Copcars will be chasing you. You have to wreck them all before the timer runs out in order to win.

** The Wheel. It's very poor center of gravity causes it to constantly bob about, making it impossible to gain speed. It also tends to veer to one side and end up spinning out of control.
** ''Carmageddon: Reincarnation'' and ''Carmageddon: Max Damage'' gives us the CU:NT. Seen in the first few races, this tiny armored city car is what the cops will use in the first few races, where they are barely a threat to the player and ''extremely'' fun to push around and smash into.

** Although the cost of it is more than the entire game would cost you to play. It costs 8,800,000 credits. You could spend that on upgrades and snatch one of the best vehicles in the game, Abba Cab for about 1,750,000. Beat the game and unlock everything anyway. You'll spend more time ''earning'' it, than just beating the game as the game doesn't take long. Unless you cheat. Even then a fully upgraded top tier car is likely better as they are faster, kill just fine (even Big Dump will get squashed in a direct confrontation), also they are stronger against wall collisions and can move the level better. Still fun to play as Big Dump though.

*** 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.

** The Mad Morris from the second game deserves a mention. Its a race modified Morris, looks rather stupid, and its a tiny hot hatch. It appears late in the game for a reason: its ridiculously resilient, hits just as hard as some of the heavier cars, is reasonably fast, and if used right can even [[PintSizedPowerhouse takedown trucks many times it's size without using any offensive powerups whatsoever]]. [[DifficultButAwesome Its twitchy handling and tendency to spin all over the place in midair are two things you should look out for]].
** The Copcar from the same game isn't as awesome looking as it's predecessor, being a dowdy 80's sedan instead of a futuristic armoured car. It still has the good top speed, damage output and durability that made the Squad Cars the deadly foes they are. Then there's that special race where you had to go up [[EverythingTryingToKillYou against]] ''[[OhCrap 12 of them]]''. Even with the Big Dump its still no easy task.

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: The series is notable for parodying real life people and characters from other fiction but perhaps the most blatant of them is O.K Stimpson, driver of the Fraud Broko. He is obviously a thinly-veiled parody of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O._J._Simpson O.J Simpson]] and his vehicle is a Ford Bronco (albeit a modified one), the same vehicle O.J droved during police's low-speed pursuit of him. His description even references the incident, coupled with a small TakeThat.

** He was [[{{Bowdlerise}} Bowdlerised]] in the US version and in the UpdatedRerelease, where he was renamed to Juicy Jones and his description has been changed to [[ItMakesSenseInContext him having a liking for orange juice but kept spilling it all over the place due to his SUV's super soft suspension]]. His name is still a reference to O.J (he was called "The Juice back in his sporting days).

** Also, if you push an opponent into deep water it wrecks him, but if he drives into it himself, he teleports back to solid ground just like the player would. Giving the opponent a little nudge on his way to Davy Jones' locker can make all the difference.

* RPGElements: In the first game, 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.
* SeriesMascot: Max Damage, who is the most notable character to appear in every Carmageddon game and appears on the box covers.

* SequelDifficultySpike: The Missions on the second game, which [[http://www.carmageddon.com/history/carmageddon-2 the lead artist]] admit that were late additions which he didn't test enough for people that unlike him hadn't become experts - "[[CreatorBacklash And so I stand before you, guilty of making a game too challenging for most mere mortals. It's a guilt I'll carry with me to my grave.]]"

* SuperNotDrowningSkills: Zig-zagged. Cars can still be driven underwater, albeit with changes to physics to emulate water resistance, unless they fall off the edge of the map, in which they recover at around the last spot they were at before they went under (or get wasted, if they were pushed off the map by the player in the original game). However, peds in ''Carmgeddon: Reincarnation'' will drown after a short period of time if they are pushed into bodies of water.
* TakenForGranite: Actually not a negative power-up by any standard means, the appropriately named Solid Granite Car power-up turns the player's vehicle into an unyielding mass of death. Does not significantly increase your own defense, but even the biggest trucks will bounce right off you. You however will be able to uproot trees, take out street lamps, and swat away any other vehicle. Even the slightest pressure created by pushing a car between you and a wall typically means instant death for the unlucky racer. In single player modes, your car model does not change, so it's difficult to tell if your wheels also become granite, but you are able to drive as unhindered as you were before the power-up.
* TankGoodness: The King Merc and the [[LightningBruiser Suppressor]] in ''C1'' and ''TDR 2000''. The Flower Plower, the bonus car in ''C2'', leans more towards JokeCharacter though. The Squad Cars in ''C1'' may count, being ''standard issue'' APCs which are nearly as good as the Suppressor. Da Panzer in ''TDR 2000'' is the series' most literal example. [[spoiler: You even get to gather tank shells and shoot them in the last Military Zone mission.]]
* VideoGameCrueltyPotential: Cripple a car, then push it into a field of ExplodingBarrels. Grab a Dismemberfest powerup, gently nudge pedestrians to remove their limbs, then watch the torsos flop around pathetically. Trap an opponent in a confined space, enable Pinball Mode, and allow him to smash himself to bits against the walls. Pin an opponent against a freeway divider, get the upgrades for stone car and gripped tires (by cheating, unless you're really lucky), turn the map on so the don't go anywhere, then ram them at top speed. They'll literally fly off the map. The opportunities are only limited by the player's sociopathy.

* InfinityPlusOneSword: The original ''Carmageddon'' gives us the Suppressor on the Rank 9 race, Blood on the Rooftops. This is a one-of-a-kind armoured APC that only appears in this race and is ''exceedingly'' difficult to waste and immensely powerful—it is described in the manual as [[spoiler:"something with the dimensions and weight of a small house but which has the performance of a fighter plane"]] and can easily ragdoll any other unlockable vehicle the player can get, even with all Level 5 APO upgrades equipped, and NoSell nearly any impact on it bar collisions when the Pinball Mode powerup is active or driving into enough mines to waste any other vehicle several times over. However, if the player is able to waste the Suppressor, [[spoiler:such as via high-speed collisions while the Solid Granite Car powerup is active,]] it is automatically unlocked for the player to use, and it will thereafter become the player's answer to ''everything'' they want to wreck or kill for the very same reasons that make it a nightmare to waste.

* PsychoElectro: Stella Stunna, who connects herself to the battery of her car for an "extra buzz". More annoyingly, in the first game her sportscar comes with a built-in Electro Bastard Ray that automatically kills pedestrians in a wide radius, which would be great if you could steal her car during the campaign but you can't. She will however gladly zap every pedestrian you are about to run over in the first thirty seconds of the race, causing you to run out of time and lose. Cue throwing your mouse through the monitor.

* SuperNotDrowningSkills: A rare racing game example.

* 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 ''TDR 2000''. Hopefully the reboot will see her return as a PlayerCharacter.

* 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.

* BoringButPractical: ''Carmageddon 2'' featured many rather unremarkable cars based on real-life 60's to 80's cars, but most of them are quite serviceable in a race despite costing fewer credits than the flashier, souped-up stuff. For example, the [[RealMenWearPink Slam Sedan]] may not be as badass as Otis' Caddy Fat Cat from the first game but it is easy to drive, pretty robust and can dish out hurt.

The other option is to kill as many civilians as you can, and attempt to destroy your competitors by repeatedly ramming into them at high speed. They, of course, are constantly trying to do this to ''you''. Although it is based on the earlier ''VideoGame/DestructionDerby'', ''Carmageddon''[='=>s improved collision physics (not to mention aerial and underwater physics!) means that hitting both opponents and civilians in different ways (particularly at different strength and with a different side of your car) gives bonus points and extra time on the clock. The race can thus be won by demolishing all other competitors' cars and earning a lot more points than you would just by racing through the checkpoints. The points you gain can then be used to unlock upgrades to your car, making it even more dangerous.

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 requires the player to pass through {{Check Point}}s placed along the course to win.

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

The other option is to kill as many civilians as you can, and attempt to destroy your competitors by repeatedly ramming into them at high speed. They, of course, are constantly trying to do this to YOU. Although it is based on the earlier ''VideoGame/DestructionDerby'', ''Carmageddon'''s improved collision physics (not to mention aerial and underwater physics!) means that hitting both opponents and civilians in different ways (particularly at different strength and with a different side of your car) gives bonus points and extra time on the clock. The race can thus be won by demolishing all other competitors' cars and earning a lot more points than you would just by racing through the checkpoints. The points you gain can then be used to unlock upgrades to your car, making it even more dangerous.

For extra [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential sadism value]], races may also be won by killing all civilians on the map. It should however be noted that until you get access to the post-completion-only cars, this is extremely difficult. It helps if you can find the ''Pedestrians Shown on Map'' power-up, of course.

Destroying your opponents is also encouraged because you might win the car they were driving. Each car in the game is unique --enabling a completely different playing style-- so destroying more enemies means improving your arsenal and repertoire. There are well over two-dozen different cars available to drive in the original game.

Compared to the strict linearity of most racing games, the ability to drive anywhere in the city - power-ups like Pinball Car, Ultra Grip Tires and Moon Gravity pushing the definition of "anywhere" further than you might imagine - combined with the cartoony but consistent physics engine (the Instant Handbrake even works in mid-air and the [[MadeOfDiamond Solid Granite Car]] will save you a lot of repair costs) make ''Carmageddon'' quite memorable.

* {{Animesque}}: What sets ''TDR 2000'' apart from the previous games is how it seems to be inspired by CyberPunk animes. The game takes place in a Dystopian CyberPunk future, the residence all appear rather {{Animesque}} in terms of fashion sense ([[YouGottaHaveBlueHair even sporting eccentric hair colours]]) and this is further evident in two playable vehicles: The Mecha, a [[WeaponizedCar weaponized]] {{Itasha}}, and The Machine, a [[CyberneticsEatYourSoul vehicular cyborg body]] 'driven' by a man named [[Manga/{{Akira}} Tetsuo]].

* AutobotsRockOut: The original game's Redbook Audio features instrumental versions of several Music/FearFactory songs, played by Fear Factory themselves, while ''Carmageddon 2'' features music from Music/IronMaiden and Sentience. ''TDR 2000'' features a blend of hip-hop, rock and metal songs, and ''Reincarnation'' brings back a few of Fear Factory's songs from the first game, but a vast majority of its soundtrack is a combination of hard rock and heavy metal songs composed by Maximum Sexy Pigeon and Morgue. The community generally agrees that ''Carmageddon'''s music greatly enhances the gameplay experience regardless of whichever game in the series is being referred to which, considering the almost-universally negative reception of ''TDR 2000'', speaks volumes about how suitable ThePowerOfRock accompanies a vehicular slayfest.
* AwesomeYetImpractical: Most supercar- or speed-based vehicles are this, either being very [[FragileSpeedster frail]] or hard to control, sometimes even both, although they usually look much better than sturdier, more practical counterparts. Considering the fact that ''Carmageddon'' is primarily a vechicular combat game with a lot of CarFu, it is ''much'' more practical to use or save up and then purchase one of the slower but stronger vehicles and spend races wrecking other drivers instead of completing time consuming laps with something that gets wrecked easily.
* AxCrazy: The entire cast. In-game, ''any'' cop that sees the player breaking a "rule" (ie. driving above the speed limit, hitting a ped or hitting another cop) will ''go nuts'' trying to waste the player even if they run over peds or into other cops themselves.
* BaldOfAwesome / BaldOfEvil: A member of Auto Scum, ED-101, Max Damage and Psycho Pitbull. All awesome, all bad to the bone.

* {{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 RecurringCharacter (so as his car) and is also the game's {{Mascot}}.

* {{Bowdlerise}}: The first game saw versions replacing pedestrians with [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman robots or zombies]]. A censored version of the {{Nintendo 64}} port even has ''[[EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs dinosaurs]]''!

* ChunkySalsaRule: In ''II'', if your car gets a piece cut off it, you lose. Instantly. To make it worse, ''armor points '''do not protect you''' from this '''in any way'''''. A little ways into the game, as you amass power points for more speed and acceleration, it's easy to all of a sudden run into a sharp corner in the level geometry and die even without being overconfident on how "sturdy" your car is.
* TheComputerIsACheatingBastard: Most noticeable when you try to finish the race by actually driving through the checkpoints. Opponents which should've been directly behind you may suddenly appear ahead of you on a head-on collision course. It's actually more helpful than it sounds, assuming you're looking to trash them (which you should).
** This teleportation ability can get annoying though, because once most opponents have been eliminated, the remaining car will be trying to ''avoid'' you. At least it can't teleport when you're near enough to it.

* InfinityPlusOneSword: The original ''Carmageddon'' gives us the Suppressor on the Rank 9 race, Blood on the Rooftops. This is a one-of-a-kind armoured APC that only appears in this race and is ''exceedingly'' difficult to waste and immensely powerful—it is described in the manual as [[spoiler:"something with the dimensions and weight of a small house but which has the performance of a fighter plane"]] and can easily ragdoll any other unlockable vehicle the player can get, even with all Level 5 APO upgrades equipped, and NoSell nearly any impact on it bar collisions when the Pinball Mode powerup is active, or enough mines to total any other vehicle several times over. However, if the player is able to waste the Suppressor, [[spoiler:such as via high-speed collisions while the Solid Granite Car powerup is active,]] it is automatically unlocked for the player to use, and it will thereafter become the player's answer to ''everything'' they want to wreck or kill for the very same reasons that make it a nightmare to waste.

* HyperDestructiveBouncingBall: One of ''Carmageddon'''s infamous powerups is called "Pinball Mode", which causes every movable 3D object in the game to ricochet off other 3D objects (including the ground), usually at a significantly higher speed. This can result in [[TrashTheSet trashing the set]] as things like vehicles, lamp-posts and traffic lights in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ero_TjVfcDk the original game]] and, from ''Carmageddon 2'' onwards, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRGTP97A1_U other miscellaneous 3D objects such as peds, fences, containers]], and even '''''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ebVJ8TcXOY F-14 Tomcats]]''''' get knocked off and sent bouncing and flying in all directions.

* InfinityPlusOneSword: The original ''Carmageddon'' gives us the Suppressor on the Rank 9 race, Blood on the Rooftops. This is a one-of-a-kind armoured APC that is ''exceedingly'' difficult to waste and immensely powerful—it can easily ragdoll any other unlockable vehicle the player can get without taking so much as a modicum of damage in return. However, if the player is able to waste it, [[spoiler:such as via high-speed collisions while the Solid Granite Car powerup is active,]] it is automatically unlocked for the player to use, and it will thereafter become the player's answer to ''everything'' they want to hit for the very same reasons that make it a nightmare to waste.

** From ''Carmageddon 2'', there's the Bugga, Harvester, Jetcar and Supastuka. The Bugga can't hit hard, gets wasted very easily—most of time it ''[[WhatAnIdiot wastes itself]]''—is not fast enough to be a proper racing vehicle, and [[ArsonMurderandJaywalking is pink]]. The Harvester, despite being strong, has ''rear wheel steering'' and an obscenely wide front that makes it impossible to turn tight and narrow corners. The Jetcar suffers the same cornering issues as the Annihilator, but complements it with a sloped front that tends to send every vehicle trying to ram it head-on flying into the air. The Supastuka is a plane on the ground. To scale. Complete with wings. Which tend to clip lamp-posts due to their width and tangle the entire vehicle up in ''one of the puniest, most avoidable objects in the entire game''.