Having played through all of the three Carmageddon games (for PC) at least once I was so excited when they finally announced a Kickstarter for a new one almost 15 years after the release of the first one. I more than happily funded and patiently waited until years later it finally released to the outside world with little fanfare. What happened and why? Had I such a rose tinted view of the game? Was I just too young at the time of the first game’s release? Well…

Back in 1997 this game was so much fun. The second one was extremely fun, too. But it was a different time for games than it is now and my age certainly helped enjoy it even more. Also because it was in the news many, many times due to its controversial gameplay. It was an exciting time: running over pedestrians in that way had never really been done before, with scoring points and having lots of gore in it.

Unfortunately this Carmageddon seems to be stuck in that same timeframe; it’s almost exactly like the ones from the 90s, but with upgraded graphics.
Carmageddon was never really about just killing pedestrians. You could just as well race around some laps to win (granted, that wasn’t any fun) or go out and find all of the other opponents to destroy or annihilate. Yup, Carmageddon was all about car carnage with the occasional pedestrian casualty (okay, frequently). Crashing into opponents with enough force could crumble them and ‘waste ‘em’, sometimes even ‘steal’ (i.e. it would be yours to drive) them. It was a-ma-zing! The physics were absolutely awesome and just incredibly well done.

I also remember its first level - Maim Street - having a very dark atmosphere (also most likely due to technical limitations) but that was the level to set the mood for the game. Later it became clear there were also brighter and more colorful levels, but still. I would’ve liked to see the game have a darker atmosphere as it would be more suitable.

While it seems I’m just reviewing the first game here, the sad truth is that all of this talk can easily be copy-pasted to the review box of this Max Damage game, with some additional features and even features that were left out:
Humor has stayed in but seems more subtle, the physics have improved (but not immensely), there are more power-ups and there’s a larger variety of pedestrians.
Out is the Pratcam (not an integral feature but one that’ll always be sorely missed), optimization (although it 100% runs better than its ‘predecessor’ Reincarnation), charismatic opponents (I much prefer the older 2D ones, the new ones with developer faces and whatnot just look weird and out of place) and challenges.

Graphics wise this Carmageddon certainly isn’t the prettiest. The destructible physics are still kind of impressive although they still look a mighty lot like the physics from the previous games. Pedestrians look mostly okay, some seem a little more detailed than others. Same goes for the vehicles really.
The sound effects sounded a bit too tinny and the heavy metal/rock music isn’t really my taste, although it fits the style of the game just fine.

All in all I recommend it only if you’re a true fan or it if looks at least a little interesting to you. I’ll always hold a special place in my heart for Carmageddon (therefore I just can not not recommend it) - but for the general audience this one just isn’t very good with also very little innovation compared to the previous titles. It feels stuck in the past and I’m pretty sure that’s what they were aiming for, but as I said: times have changed and people expect a little more effort these days.

One of your fans, Mark

Fun fact: maybe you remember the site Carmageddon Fan Club (CFC)? If so, you’re looking at its webmaster.

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Before I start please be aware that as a modder of this game I do have some bias and I really love this series I wlll try and remain as objective as possible with this review.

Carmageddon Max Damage is a game with cars. You play as a car that should ram other cars, run over pedestrians, do insane stunts, and use insane and zany powerups to help do all of the above. You can also 'race' and do the laps but really why would you. I personally wouldn't even qualify Carmageddon as a racing game, its more like a character action game where the people are replaced with vehicles. It is a niche game that doesn't try and appeal to the mass market. While there is some attempt at 'tutorials' the game does very little in the form of hand holding and if you are the type of person who enjoys sandbox fun combined with cars and silly humor then this game is for you and is well worth the price.

Onwards to the Carmageddon Stew!

Gameplay for the most part consist of the 'Classic Carma' mode, a mode in which there are three ways to complete a given race, these are :

• Use any means necessary to destroy your opponents. Ram them, push them off a cliff or a building, pick up a powerup that launches an anvil and go to town, the list goes on.
  
• Race the laps, if you're boring
  
• Kill every single pedestrian on a given level, if you're a sadist

There are other gameplay modes but they are pretty bland and I won't go into reviewing them too much. Fox n' Hounds (tag with cars) makes a welcome return from the older games and on the smaller maps its a blast to play with friends. There is Ped Chase, where you have to chase down and kill a pedestrian that randomly spawns on the map. Checkpoint Stampede where you have to chase down and kill a pedestrian a checkpoint that randomly spawns on the map. Lastly there is Car Crusher, which is the death match mode where in you respawn after being destroyed, highest kill count at the end of the match wins, simple stuff.


When your car isn't falling off a cliff or rolling down an embankment you will spend the majority of your time in this game actually driving around, so what is it like?

For me personally this is one of the most fun driving experiences out there. The cars spin out if you ♥♥♥♥ up with steering, there is no traction control, no abs simulation, no assists, nothing. Its very satisfying to perfectly drift into a bunch of cyclists and watch their body parts get suddenly separated from their torso because you're a maniac and that ♥♥♥♥ is hilarious.

The handling of the cars is spot on and if you read reviews where people complain about the handling then they missed the point and probably never played any of the older Carmageddon titles (except TDR2000, that had horrid handling) If you like an actual challenge in learning how to handle your vehicle then strap in and buy the game already, if you're going to whine that the cars are too hard to handle just know that this game doesn't have baby's first arcade handling and wasn't made for you.


I will refer to the the pedestrians in this game as pedsfrom now on, now you know.

Did I mention there are also pedestrians to run over? There are lots of different kinds and this game doesn't discriminate. Run over nuns, dogs, penguins, the disabled, cyclists, beach bums, fat dudes, fat dudes on mobility scooters, even aliens show up at one point. The pedestrians for the most part fill out the environments nicely and add a little bit of extra carnage to the whole stew but at the end of the day its about the car combat and while they do give time bonuses and are sometimes fun to plow into I do feel like there was a missed opportunity to create a bit more impact when colliding with the peds. Most of the time they will just explode when running into them at high speed and for the most part impacts with pedestrians feel inconsequential at best and bland and pointless at worst. The blood particles are pretty fun I suppose. Moving on.

The levels are also littered with all manner of powerups for your vehicle. From the basics like turbo boosts, oil slicks, manually activated afterburners, damage multipliers to silly ones like bouncy bouncy, gravity from jupiter, fart gas, and giant comical springs that will launch your opponents across the map. For returning players you'll find that most of the powerups from Carma 1 and 2 are here as well as some brand new additions. There are however some missing ones especially the pedestrian modification powerups from Carma 2 (fat bastards, stick insects). One powerup in particular that I miss is Pedestrian Respawn (gotta cheese those credits!).


Let me just get this out of the way, the game is FUN, don't let the flaws deter you from buying it. That said it wouldn't be fair if I didnt point out the things that Stainless just dropped the ball on.

First off the actual car combat itself can be really frustrating because the vehicle damage balancing didnt receive enough attention. I can't ignore the existence of Carmageddon 1 and 2 so here are the inevitable comparisons that people will make. Possibly my biggest problem with this game is that it heavily relies on the player to use powerups for damage opponents. In the older games you could get away with ramming everything and everyone and they would eventually die. Your car was the weapon . Especially as you progress through the game the opponents become ridiculously strong, sometimes wasting your sorry ass with a single tap to the fender Your best bet then becomes driving around looking and remembering where the offensive powerups spawn which then becomes by far the best way to inflict damage on your opponents.

That one thing alone is probably why I wouldnt rank Max Damage up there with Carmageddon 1 and 2 in terms of how it FEELS to ram other cars.


"This game looks like a PS2 game" is one that I've seen floating around a lot. No, it doesnt look like a PS2 game, and if you think so then you need to get your eyes removed and replaced with your own testicles.

Yes this game doesn't look like a AAA title, and guess what its because its not. I would say that it looks 'good enough' for what it is, yes there is room for improvement but it is what it is and its serviceable. Doesn't make a huge difference to the fun factor.

Thats pretty much it for my thoughs on CMD It really is a game that I thought would never exist but I'm glad it does.

PS : Now that THQ has bought the rights to the whole Carmageddon IP, I do hope they revisit this game and add more polish and content, it would be amazing but of course it could just be a pipe dream and CMD will eventually be forgotten, if so thank you Stainless for making this kids dream come true. Following the development of Reincarnation and making fan art I have this game to thank for inspiring me to become a 3D vehicle artist.

Thank you for reading if you got this far, please give this game a go and support the development of future Carmageddon games.

Your neighbourhood car man, AlexTSK

Having played 35 hours of the original Carmageddon: Reincarnation, a life-long fan of the series as a whole (Even TDR2000, let's fight) and a chunky ol' 30 year old boomer, I need to restate just how much I love this series and what a fantastic job Reincarnation and Max Damage have done at keeping the spirit alive.

I can easily see how this game doesn't easily appeal to the masses who might not be familiar with Carmageddon. The vehicles are chunky, the handling is strange, gravity seems to be more of a suggestion than a rule, cars launch into the sky and tumble wildly at the slightest provocation and the atmosphere is a strange blend of cartoon fun and gritty post-apocalyptic grunge.

The thing is, where this would sound like a harsh criticism of the game to most people, if you love Caramgeddon that's exactly what you're signing up for - and it's terrific. The attention to detail and the sheer love that Nobby and co clearly put into the latest instalment is clear as day.

Graphically it's not the best looking game in the world, but once again: Carmageddon never was. Other than the first entry it was always behind the curve graphically when it came to environments, but that's not the point. The creativity of the arenas you'll play in, the sheer volume of physical props, fun jumps and surprise areas and the set pieces like giant football stadiums and beach resort towns make blasting through these areas smashing pedestrians, cars and billboards alike a complete blast.

What is absolutely deserving of praise is just how well realised the vehicles are, feeling like the absolute end product of years of adoration for these designs taken straight out of the first game and given a modern coat of paint. These weapons of motorized mayhem are just so gloriously well realized, looking like chunky cartoon toys with a macabre bent.

The best thing about it is that parts of the car that were previously just there for flavour, like Kutter's blades and Val Hella's bouddica spikes, are fully functional and do exactly what you'd expect them to. If you're coming across a light car with a row of spikes bristling at the front, you'd better be driving something a hell of a lot stronger if you're going for a head-on collision because you're going to feel the pain when it hits you.

The Eagle's trademark mohawk of spikes slices pedestrians up. Kutter can plow through pedestrians like butter. The whirling blades of Ivan The Bastard reaps crowds of cows like they're wheat and people will be impaled on the Brother's Grimm's hearse until they're nothing but pulp.

The damage modeling is absolutely beautiful with wheels popping, parts of the cars littering the racetrack, and the repair function is just a joy to behold as forgotten parts of your car snap back into place. Pedestrians have a ton of fun variety in their design and thanks to Max Damage they even have vehicles like pushbikes and scooters to make your schadenfreude experiences extra pulpy.

This game is not for everyone, sure, and if you don't understand the appeal I probably couldn't blame you. Optimisation also seems poor still, loading times are exceptionally long - but you'll be spending a while on these maps, so I think it can be forgiven.

For people that enjoyed Carmageddon in the past or those who can look past the rougher elements of it? This is probably some of the best Carmageddon action you'll have.

The game is still a mixed bag. The good stuff first. Graphics look good. Its very easy to play thanks to a in game tutorial. You can skip this tutorial if you have already played the older version of this game. A lot of tracks and cars. Doesnt require a super computer to get good frame rates now.

The negatives are the handling of cars is still very floaty. The cars feel like they have no weight to them. I really wish they would have improved on the handling because it feels like all the cars all have bald tires. Imagine the physics of Flat out in this game. That would have been amazing. The Multiplayer is boring. It has no pedestrians, no bots. That makes multiplayer dead.

I still enjoy the game even with all of the negatives. Its fun to smash into stuff and wreck out other racers. The maps are all large and interesting to drive around in. The price is reasonable for the amount of stuff in this game.

Hello there, fellow gamer. How did you end up at this page? A mostly positive game? And the devs ran away after releasing a Trump-themed update? Surely that's Steam language for 'avoid like the plague', right?

Well, you see, not quite. This is a very peculiar game, and if you know what you're getting into, you might just have a lot of fun.

I know nothing about the development cycle this game went through, but considering this game is actually a reboot of itself (formerly known as Carmageddon: Reincarnation) - it probably wasn't great. I don't think the developers had a clear idea of what they actually wanted to create when they began development. It's an amalgamation of some very odd design elements, including but not limited to:

- Arcade timers that are pointless, because of how easy it is to gain time
- EXTREME 90s-style language that tries very hard to be 'cool' (for example, every time you rear-end someone, a big sign comes up on screen that says 'TAKE IT UP THE ARSE' or something like that)
- Landmines placed in circles around powerups, essentially requiring that someone dies to collect them (this is only on the one map I think)
- 'Bad' powerups that usually damage your car so much that you instantaneously die
- Some extremely adamant tutorial popups
- Really garbage sound design, just the worst
- The slowest-moving, weirdest-turning racing vehicles I've experienced in a game
- Arbitrary 6 cars per-race limit

It feels like the devs have kept a ton of absolutely unnecessary stuff from the old arcade heyday of Carmageddon, kind of like how the reboot of Goldeneye still had bodies disappear after a few seconds.

Sounds bad, right? But it isn't, though. Because this game can be very fun. Okay, so the AI is abominably simple-minded. Sure, the announcer has said all of his lines after about thirteen seconds of gameplay. But, the core gameplay of gadding about hitting things - that's the good stuff. The damage models are super fun, and while they don't entirely make sense, you really get to enjoy absolutely demolishing other cars, and occasionally old ladies. The best bit by far is that the various blades and murdering attachments on each car function as they should - are there spikes on the top of your car? Well, they won't help you unless you can get somebody up there to be impaled.

Here's the long and short of it: do you want to think when you play a video game? Go away. Forget about 'winning conditions' or 'racing'. Just hit stuff. Hit some dudes. Hit some cars. Burn a guy to death, then do it again when he respawns.

Just put some relaxing music on, and just, you know.

Kill everyone.

Carmageddon.

This is one of these games that deserve a "meh" rating, if Steam had such. But, in the end I think it's more recommended than not - consider it being "above meh".
Long story short - while I definitely had fun playing Carmageddon: Max Damage, the fact of the matter is that Carmageddon 2 did nearly everything better.

I'm not a die-hard fan of the Carmageddon series as a whole, though I have to admit that Carma2 is one of my all-time favourite games. That's why when I first heard about the new instalment in the franchise (Carmageddon: Reincarnation) I was extatic, but the more news came, the more my excitement subsided. It was getting clear it's not gonna be a AAA title of any sort... so I held off buying it for a while. Had I played this game on the release day, I'd probably be heavily disappointed.

I don't want to sound completely negative. This game has captured most of the Carmageddon "magic" and is worthy to bear its name. You get a feeling that the people behind Max Damage have lot of creativity, and it really shows. Sadly though, it also feels like they lack enough experience, and also possibly they lacked the time (or funds?) to give the game enough polish. The ideas are excellent and I really appreciate all the hard work put into making this, but most of the time the execution is subpar.

What's the most fun thing to do in Carma series? For me, it has always been wrecking opponents' cars. The damage model in Carma2 was so cool, the vehicles could bend in such crazy ways it made your head spin.
How does Max Damage compare? Well... it doesn't even come anywhere close. Most of the time you just see the car panels flying off, and that's about it. Hardly ever the vehicles get bent at all. Having played the Next Car Game demo (which has really nailed the way the autos get damaged, so awesome), I hoped to see something similar in the new Carma, but nope. The addition of a few new touches like wheels falling off, tyre shredding, etc. is nice, but not nearly enough. And don't tell me the modern PCs aren't capable of what was possible back in 1998. At least you can still rip cars in half.

The other thing that really bugs me is the damage calculation. Despite having put a decent number of hours into this game, I still have no idea how it works. The head-on collisions do pretty much no harm to you or your opponent (unless you have some powerups). I am yet to find a reliable way to wreck enemies. On the other hand, sometimes it feels like your car gets obliterated even by a gentle touch of your opponent, especially in the rear. Bottom line - if you want to kill and not be killed, you need powerups more than ever.

Speaking of powerups - they're awesome. It's cool to see most of the classic PUPs return, and the addition of many new ones is welcome (the anvil launcher rocks!). However, they had to spoil the fun by introducing more harmful powerups. Granted, there were a few ones in the earlier games that made your day a bit more miserable, but here some of them will pretty much kill you outright. One wrong move and boom, you get wrecked. Thanks. Whose bright idea was this?

Speaking of getting wrecked... well, get used to it. You're gonna die a lot. Gratefully, unlike in Carma2 this doesn't fail your current event, you can always repair, costing you a great deal of credits. Unfortunately, credits are absolutely essential to progress further. The game is divided into episodes, in which you need to gather a set value of credits to continue... and you're constantly spending money on repairs. Not only sometimes I had to replay some of the events just to grind more cash, but it also encouraged me to play it safe instead of having more fun being reckless (and also renders the ability to buy powerups impractical). Apart from that credits are useless, since you don't use them anymore to buy cars or upgrades. I reckon this whole system wasn't well thought out. With that said, the game actually gets easier later on, when you gain access to better, more sturdy vehicles - but in the middle of the campaign it can be unforgiving.

The AI is just dumb. If they get in your vicinity, they will pretty much always try to gangbang your ass and never let go. When fighting more than one enemy at once, you stand absolutely no chance. In Carma2 it wasn't the best either, but I feel like at least there was more variation in their behaviour. Here, they are either sworn to wreck you (when nearby) or just run aimlessly (when far away).

From what I saw in the early reviews, the performance of Reincarnation used to be atrocious even in high-end PCs. Some users reported it got a lot better with the patches, and that's something I can confirm. My PC has seen better days for sure, and I still can play this game on reasonable details. It definitely doesn't run as good as you'd expect, but it's decent enough. Loading times are also acceptable. No major issues here, then. Apart from the winter course that is, because it can lag the game quite heavily.
Graphics-wise, the word "acceptable" springs to my mind again. Nothing spectacular (especially given the hardware requirements), but they won't make your eyes bleed either. The game is enough to look at, even if just barely - occasionally it can feel like an early PS2 title. The overall map design deserves a praise though - each one of them feels unique, and they're a real pleasure to explore. Sometimes, it's just a joy to take a break of all of that vehicular manslaughter, take a moment to enjoy the views and search for all the hidden powerups and upgrade tokens the maps are riddled with.

Max Damage has a typical Carma driving style - that is, all of the cars feel extremely slippery. This might throw a lot of people off, but it's just something you have to get used to. I was a bit confusing for me at first, but after some practice it isn't a problem at all. It could be improved for sure, but it's not something I'm going to pick on. This isn't primarily a racing game after all, at least I don't consider it as such. Even though there are some events that can be won only by racing through checkpoints.

Unlike Carma2, which had just a few events other than classic death race, there are also many other competitions to choose from. I don't mind any of these - although to be frank, Car Crusher and Carnage Accumulator can get a bit troublesome on larger maps. You'd be driving for hours, just to be a hair too late and the new target appears somewhere far away. Irritating, but fair... I guess. They're a nice change of pace, but they're better suited for multiplayer.

Last but not least - the cars. This is where the new Carma shines. No two vehicles in this game look alike, they all have their distinct personality. You can meet a lot of your old friends again (Degory'Un <3), but there are also quite a few new contenders. I absolutely adore the creativity that went into designing them, taking real life cars and turning them into something new and ridiculous. Ever wanted to drive a combination of Mercedes SLS and a tank? No problem!
What's even better, all of the extras that the cars are equipped with can come into play. You can use any of the sharp parts of your vehicle to slash and dismember the pedestrians. While it's fun, it doesn't always work in your favor. The case and point is the aforementioned Degory'Un - it has sharp spikes on the front which can be used to impale people, but that severely compromises your auto's performance. The handling, top speed and acceleration dwindle, and quite often you can barely steer at all. A real pain in the butt, trust me.

Bottom line - if you're a Carma fan you should give this game a go, but don't get your expectations too high. It's worth giving a try when on a sale. If you haven't played any Carma before and don't know what to expect, I'm pretty sure you won't like it.

I don't know why people are complaining about the physycs and handling. It seems to me that dev's tuned it right between carmageddon 1 and 2. It perfectly recreates the feeling of the originals.

I guess this game is too "boomer" for the current gen, but to me it's a blast from the past. The things I am really missing and would like to see them implemented:

1. The reaction window (where the drivers face is)
2. Driver comments.
3. Target mood status. E.G. Target Vlad - Wondering aimlessly. Or Don Dumpster - After your blood!
4. More original power ups like Turbo Nutter Bastard Nitrous or Drugs!

1 and 2 especially, is how you get rid of that "no soul" complains.

IBETYOUCANTPRINTCUNT

Later boomers.

Bang, crash and go wild. Welcome to the murderous world of Carmageddon, where your opponents are a bunch of madmen and killing machines. You gain points by mowing the locals. Combining insane power-ups, surreal environments and different ways to win, the game guarantees endless hours of violent and hilarious entertainment!

Carmageddon is also great on the steam deck by the way: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFzoTdvFHh4

Max Damage features 30 vehicles and ten environments. The game also includes a Career Mode with six different events and a huge amount of races, an Action Replay Mode and a multiplayer mode with four types of events.
You will have to defend yourself against other racers like in all other carmageddon games and the possibilities are endless. Especially because Stainless Games knows that this is where the strength lies. With a whole arsenal of power-ups (up to 90 different ones) you can determine your strategy exactly. There are power ups to boost all possible victory.

When's new Carmageddon game?

Despite all the complaints this game has gotten and the lack of updates it's still a perfectly viable purchase. I'm at around 800 hours at the time of this review and it's still a great deal of fun!

I've had absolutely no dire problems with this game whatsoever, as a Carma fan since the original many years gone this is everything I could have asked for. The cars and drivers are even more demented as ever, the environments have been vastly improved, splitting your opponents in half is fun as ever and the damage system in this game is one of the best out there right now, close to BeamNG levels.

All the complaining thats going on is quite pathetic to be honest, most complaints come from Graphics, Optimization and Car handling.

Graphics are fine, this isn't PS2 grade or 2001 era as the millenials claim, we didn't have these graphics until late 360 era - early XBone era. In some areas like nighttime maps the graphics are pretty nice to be honest, personally hardcore photo-realism has never been interesting to me anyway.

Optimization is good, at least for me since I have quite a powerful PC, so I can't really grind to much on this. But out of my 800+ hours I've had about two crashes. Game runs consistantly at 60FPS like a charm.

Car handling, another complaint that is benign is that the cars feel like butter. They don't, straight up. The reason kids are complaining about this is because Carma doesn't hold your hand when driving. I admit in this game it took me a couple of hours to get used to the countersteer, which corrects your car if you drift. If you drive over a piece of your opponents car it might spin you out as it would for real, this complaint is just redundant and laughable because mainstream sheeple can't adapt from game to game.

The game is incredibly fun if you like smash ups and stress-relieving violence. Don't listen to the likes of IGN and all their ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, they'd compare this to Call Of Duty if guns were in the game. If it was ♥♥♥♥, I'd tell you that and not recommend it, but it's genuinely a solid game!

10/10. As a Carma fan I got what I wanted, even if the devs disappeared, I still have the game.