What Gas Guzzlers: Combat Carnage is
Gas Guzzlers: Combat Carnage is a combat racing game where you drive, shoot and earn your way up. You start with a low-performance car and a small amount of money, buy your first vehicle without upgrades, and then work through a series of events and challenges. Winning races pays out points and money, which you spend on upgrades, new cars and maintenance. Events are split into four categories, and tracks, vehicles and classes unlock as you progress. Moving from a lower class to a higher one means winning a special tournament event.
Races, knock-outs and tournaments are the standard event types. Some events have entry requirements such as a specific class, car type, car color or an allowed weapon type. Alongside you, AI drivers take part in the same events, and they improve their vehicles in much the same way you do, so the field gets stronger over time. Each category has an official rank roster showing where every driver sits, and staying near the top means winning regularly to afford upkeep and save for your next car.
Playing it with friends
The game supports multiplayer over LAN and over the internet, and a dedicated server is included with the game. Five multiplayer modes are available: classic race, battle race, knockout, deathmatch arena and last man standing. Classic race is straightforward track racing, battle race mixes driving with weapons, knockout eliminates drivers as they fall behind, and the arena modes strip the track away entirely for pure combat. Remote Play Together is also supported, so one person can host and others can join in from their own machines.
Before you start
Expect a long climb rather than instant access to everything. Only the first class is enabled at the start, the number of available events is limited early on and grows mainly with your score, and unlocked events can be replayed as often as you like for more points and money. Money is a constant consideration: upgrades carry price tags that rise with the class and car type, and you need to keep paying to keep your vehicle competitive.
The toolkit is broad. There are 15 customizable cars with more than 12 upgrades each, plus color, rims, stickers and damage distribution on the vehicle, 12 unique weapons, on-track bonuses and power-ups, and over 150 miles of tracks with 5 different events per track. Some tracks, cars and experience are hidden and tied to the game's humor. Event prerequisites mean you may need a particular car or weapon setup before you can enter, so check what an event demands before committing your money to it.