Vehicular combat (also known as car combat) games are typically video or computer games where the primary focus of play concerns automobiles or other motor vehicles, normally armed with guns or other weaponry, 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 or other elements. Games may include racing themes, but they are generally secondary to the action.

Gameplay

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Vehicular combat games normally follow a simple play pattern; the player must defeat increasing numbers of increasingly skilled enemies, often in increasingly complex battlefields, before facing off against a final, super-powerful, boss character. Vehicular combat games differ from traditional racing games 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 series to straight-forward smashups like World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Crush Hour. 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 series is especially well known for the black humor found in its ending sequences.

Partial list of vehicular combat games

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• The Battle option in the multiplayer of the Mario Kart series
• The Carmageddon series
• Interstate '76, its sequels and spinoffs
• Vacation 2012
• Cel Damage
• Demolition
• Streets of SimCity
• Vigilante 8, and its sequel
• The Twisted Metal series
• World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Crush Hour
• Grand Theft Auto series
• The City of Lost Heaven
• Autoduel
• Death Race
• Car Combat
• Full Auto
• Critical Depth
• The Destruction Derby series
• The Mashed series

Spy Hunter, RoadBlasters, Rock 'N' Roll Racing and Deathtrack could be considered early forms of the genre, as they involve the player operating an armed vehicle, but lack the ability to deviate from a pre-set course.

The Car Wars series could be considered a table-top vehicular combat game, and a spiritual predecessor to the genre.

Computer and video game genres | Vehicular combat games