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General discussionWhere there are so few decent combat racing games?(19 posts)(19 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted August 17, 2021
Ok, so I recently got a craving - you know the specific sort, when you absolutely must play a parkour game or an Incredible Machine clone: I just needed to get in a car, floor it and go cross country in a wasteland, preferrably shooting some psychos on the way. It definitely is far from a unique desire and I'd expect at least a couple of indie titles based on this premise, but I'd be willing to settle also for something more competition oriented than a Zen experience. I browsed the 'combat racing' an 'vehicular combat' tags on Steam and it seems like all titles have 'Mixed' reviews, and those which are liked are more about smashing into things and trashing your vehicle, or specifically hitting grandmas and people on wheelchairs Carmageddon style, which I definitely do not want.

Now, if anyone has recommendations then I'd love to hear them, but I also wonder why haven't anyone done something satisfying in this genre, as it seems simple enough to do a sandbox career game similar to various pirate titles. Even something you might play for 15 minutes or half an hour just to relax.
Posted August 17, 2021
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polysquirrel: Ok, so I recently got a craving - you know the specific sort, when you absolutely must play a parkour game or an Incredible Machine clone: I just needed to get in a car, floor it and go cross country in a wasteland, preferrably shooting some psychos on the way. It definitely is far from a unique desire and I'd expect at least a couple of indie titles based on this premise, but I'd be willing to settle also for something more competition oriented than a Zen experience. I browsed the 'combat racing' an 'vehicular combat' tags on Steam and it seems like all titles have 'Mixed' reviews, and those which are liked are more about smashing into things and trashing your vehicle, or specifically hitting grandmas and people on wheelchairs Carmageddon style, which I definitely do not want.

Now, if anyone has recommendations then I'd love to hear them, but I also wonder why haven't anyone done something satisfying in this genre, as it seems simple enough to do a sandbox career game similar to various pirate titles. Even something you might play for 15 minutes or half an hour just to relax.
I'd guess it's not an easy genre to get right. That being said, "wasteland", "shooting some psychos" immediately put me in mind of Rage 2. Have you tried that?
Posted August 17, 2021
"Why are there so few decent combat racing games?" (I assume you meant to write)

Maybe because the genre is not that en vogue anymore (for now at least) or because it peaked with the Carmageddon series, as far as the arena sand box-style of vehicular combat is concerned.

I assume you already are familiar with the FlatOut series (FlatOut, FlatOut 2, where's 3 and 4, GoG?)? If not, they're probably the closest to what you're looking for (Carmageddon minus the hysterical ultra-violence).

There's also GRIP and Redout (spiritual successors to Rollcage and Wipeout resp.) and Dark Future: Blood Red States (which I've not played myself yet, but its tactical spin on the genre sounds intriguing).

Other than that, there are the classics like the aforementioned Rollcage series, Destruction Derby series, Twisted Metal 1 & 2 (all of which I wish GoG could convince Sony to re-release here).
Oh, and Quarantine and Quarantine II: Road Warrior, of course.
Post edited August 17, 2021 by Swedrami
Posted August 17, 2021
Sandboxy? Not really, but check out DethKarz (on GOG).

Some others (not on GOG):
Axelerator
Death Track
Post edited August 17, 2021 by idbeholdME
Posted August 17, 2021
Something like Hard Truck Apocalypse / Ex Machina maybe?
Posted August 17, 2021
Rollcage and the spirtual sucessor GRIP: Combat Raicing
Post edited August 17, 2021 by amok
Posted August 17, 2021
Interstate '76
(note: some tweaking needed).

(The sequel Interstate '82 had rotten reviews when released so may be best avoided).
Post edited August 17, 2021 by AstralWanderer
Posted August 17, 2021
What about space racing with weapons?
Post edited August 17, 2021 by Green_Hilltop
Posted August 18, 2021
Isn't Mario Kart series exactly what you are looking for?

Of course that's not on PC for obvious licensing reasons, but if you really want such games, there are plenty on consoles. Racing games on PC tend to be more realistic. There are some combat racing games on PC too, but nothing as famous as Mario Kart.
Posted August 18, 2021
Well, neither quite match your description, but GOG does have Street Racer (Beware the 90s cultural stereotyping) and moreso Wacky Wheels, which most say has held up to time better.
Posted August 18, 2021
Mad Max
Posted August 18, 2021
Plug in some controllers and emulate an old Twisted Metal game split screen.
Posted August 18, 2021
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polysquirrel: I browsed the 'combat racing' an 'vehicular combat' tags on Steam and it seems like all titles have 'Mixed' reviews
Yeah, the first game that came to mind after R.A.G.E. and Mad Max (which are only partially about vehicular combat) was this indie game Wasteland Angel on Steam, which indeed only has a "Mixed" rating. Never played it myself, just remembered it from some bundle.

Driver: San Francisco is explicitly an open world game about driving, but it doesn't take place in a wasteland, and it's tied to Uplay, unfortunately.

And many open world games like Sleeping Dogs and The Saboteur have lots of aggressive racing activities / challenges, of course, but I take it that's not what you're looking for either.

My guess is that a pure racing game is too niche for big mainstream publishers (not the most popular genre), so they rather integrate it into genres with other, more popular gameplay elements like T/FPS, and indie studios possibly lack the resources to make really great combat racing games (or their visions are too niche again, like multiplayer only etc.).
Post edited August 18, 2021 by Leroux
Posted August 18, 2021
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polysquirrel: Ok, so I recently got a craving - you know the specific sort, when you absolutely must play a parkour game or an Incredible Machine clone: I just needed to get in a car, floor it and go cross country in a wasteland, preferrably shooting some psychos on the way. It definitely is far from a unique desire and I'd expect at least a couple of indie titles based on this premise, but I'd be willing to settle also for something more competition oriented than a Zen experience. I browsed the 'combat racing' an 'vehicular combat' tags on Steam and it seems like all titles have 'Mixed' reviews, and those which are liked are more about smashing into things and trashing your vehicle, or specifically hitting grandmas and people on wheelchairs Carmageddon style, which I definitely do not want.

Now, if anyone has recommendations then I'd love to hear them, but I also wonder why haven't anyone done something satisfying in this genre, as it seems simple enough to do a sandbox career game similar to various pirate titles. Even something you might play for 15 minutes or half an hour just to relax.
I would say your wish is very specific.
There are a few combat racing games (N.I.C.E. 2, Deathkarz, Grip) God - i want to buy NICE 2...
There are games that let you drive through an wasteland.
There are racing games with an open world (Need for speed series, this big MS racing series).
There are games that combine some of these things.

But everything mixed together is more often only to be found as a part of a bigger open world game.
Interstade might be the closest for you.

I don't know if it would be something you want to try, but there is Crossout. https://crossout.net
But that is more a post apocalyptic vehicle PvP (and to some degree PvE) game with free build.
Posted August 18, 2021
Best combat racing game on GOG: FlatOut 2. Your car is your weapon. ;)

Ramming into one's opponents at top speed and mangling their car like no other will always be more satisfying than using a silly contraption like a bolted-on mini-gun or missile launcher.
Post edited August 18, 2021 by Mr.Mumbles
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General discussionWhere there are so few decent combat racing games?(19 posts)(19 posts)
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