Carmageddon

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Description

Carmageddon is a violent car racing game where the racing element can be equally important as wrecking opponents' cars or gathering kills by ramming into pedestrians. At the beginning the player has only one car and is ranked at #99. The overall objective is to race all the way to the top, collecting the opponents' cars on the way as trophies (and possibly replacements to one's vehicle). In the race itself the player tries to damage opponents by driving into them, and can also kill pedestrians.

Damage, kills and spectacular moves earn credits for upgrades and even making repairs to the car at anytime during the race. If a specific opponent's car is wrecked multiple times in successive races, it is added to the choice of available vehicles. There are many power-ups strewn around the courses that range from useful (more speed, instant brake) to fun and downright absurd. Though the player can win by racing by finishing first, wrecking everything in sight is encouraged. The game offers open environments where exploration away from the racing course is encouraged.

Screenshots

Promo Images

Alternate Titles

• "חולה הגה" -- Hebrew spelling
• "Hole Hege" -- Israeli title
• "Carmageddon: Fahr zur Hölle!" -- German title
• "Carmageddon 3D" -- Wireless title

Part of the Following Groups

• BPjS / BPjM indexed games
• Carmageddon series
• Games made into comics
• Genre: Car / motorcycle combat
• Genre: Open world driving
• Theme: Zombies

User Reviews

Ey, whassat on me windshield? Meh, just someone's intrails!	DOS	Stijn Daneels (85)
Carmageddon is tasteless, completely ridiculous, uglier than Divine in a two piece... and its one of my favourite games of all time.	DOS	Kaddy B. (791)
Fun x Fun = Fun²	DOS	Goteki45 (354)
The first and best Carmageddon	DOS	Gutter Snipe (26)
Though outdated, it's still one of the greatest racing games in computer game history.	DOS	Zamppa (102)
A great game for total unadulterated fun..	DOS	Chris Martin (1204)
One of the best network racers around	DOS	Steve Hall (352)
One hell of a stress-reliever. Forbidden, sinful fun.	DOS	Trixter (9125)
For those who are about to experience this for the first time. We salute you!	DOS	Paul Graves (41)
Original, very bloody original :)	DOS	Peter Cameron (2)

Critic Reviews

Mac Game Gate	Macintosh	1997		100
Game.EXE	Windows	Jun, 1997	95 out of 100	95
Hyperactive	Windows	2000	9.3 out of 10	93
NUKE Computer Gaming	DOS	2000	9.3 out of 10	93
Gameplay (Benelux)	Windows	Jun 02, 1997	90 out of 100	90
GameSpot	Windows	Aug 08, 1997	8.8 out of 10	88
PC Joker	DOS	Aug, 1997	82 out of 100	82
PC Player (Germany)	DOS	Aug, 1997		80
Computer Gaming World (CGW)	Windows	Oct, 1997		80
NowGamer	PlayStation	Jun 01, 1999	3 out of 10	30

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Trivia

Death Race 2000

The whole game is reminiscent of the 1975 movie Death Race 2000. The movie's premise is identical to that of Carmageddon. It featured David Carradine and a naive pre-Rocky Sly Stallone. And if you look at the main character's car, it is exactly like the main car in Carmageddon with a different paint job. Exidy's late 70's arcade game Death Race was another descendant of this movie.

German index

On October 31, 1997, the English version of Carmageddon was put on the infamous German index by the BPjS. More information about this topic can be found in the game group.

German version

The German version had robots, not people. This was due to Germany's strict legislation regarding violence in computer games. Those robots are also hidden in the standard releases. Calling CARMA.EXE with the "-ROBOTS" parameter will replace pedestrians with robots.

Indian version

The cows in Carmageddon were removed from the Indian release.

O. J. Simpson reference

One of the opponents, "OK Stimpson", is a clear reference to American football celebrity and actor O. J. Simpson in name and likeness. The game also alludes to the murder trial Simpson was involved in, by showing stains of a red liquid on his shirt in Stimpson's portrait picture, as well as having him drive a "Fraud Broko" SUV, similar to the Ford Bronco involved in a police chase in relation to the real-world case. Most likely due to the legally sensitive nature of the topic, some of the references were removed for the US release. The driver was renamed "Juicy Jones" (still a reference to Simpson's nickname, The Juice) and the stains on his shirt recolored to orange.

Sound

The engine noises came from a variety of places. One was my '67 Buick. Another was a guy who happened to come and check my hard drive. He had a rally car replica, so we strapped a minidisc to the back and he drove it around the Isle of Wight at highly illegal speeds! The pedestrian squelching noises were made by my partner Bill, the design director. He refuses to admit how. We think they're some dubious bodily function."

--Patrick Buckland, interviewed in PC Review May 97

Soundtrack

The soundtrack to Carmageddon consisted partially of music by the band Fear Factory, with the songs Body Hammer, Demanufacture, and Zero Signal. These tracks were off their album Demanufacture, but had the vocals removed for the game.

Starship Titanic

Carmageddon is listed in the "thanks" section of the Starship Titanic end credits.

UFO

In the level "Roswell that ends well" it is possible to find a UFO. Go to the top of the big pyramid, and jump into it. After your fall, you will be able to see it.

UK version

The game was only given a release in the UK after a palette change, converting the humans into 'zombies' with green blood (There were also 'zombie' cows, etc). Later, a patch was released, restoring the original palette.

Information also contributed by Emepol, emerging lurker, Floodspectre, hydra9, JayBee, Late, Ola Sverre Bauge, Ummagumma, Xoleras and Yeah No

Related Web Sites

• The Making Of… Carmageddon (article about the game's history, on EDGE (27th June 2008))
• Wikipedia: Carmageddon (Information about Carmageddon at Wikipedia)