Clutch (0)

Clutch
First release date
2009-06-02
Platform
PlayStation Network (PS3) PC
Developer
Targem Games QLOC
Publisher
GFI Russia Targem Games
Aliases
Armageddon Riders

Overview

Drivers fight to the death in the Arena.

Clutch is a single-player racing game with vehicular combat, set in a -filled & after a accident. It includes a variety of vehicles, many with various upgrades, and an assortment of event types including standard lap races, artifact collection and zombie-killing. Game events take place on a , with a free-roam mode and challenge events available between campaign missions. All vehicle combat is 'melee' with no ranged weapons or special attacks, and players cannot exit vehicles, or (despite the game's title) drive with a manual gearbox. The game has in-game achievements with rewards such as playable vehicles and concept art, a controllable soundtrack system, and support for 'RUCAP' head-tracking.

Setting

The game takes place on a single map of several areas - city, highway, harbour, and collider. While all are technically connected, barriers prevent access to later areas for much of the campaign, and the collider entrances are only unblocked in a few specific missions, with entry otherwise impossible in free-roam. Additionally, the locations for the Arena events - a sports stadium and harbour warehouse - cannot be reached in free-roam.

Suspiciously realistic boxes.

The city is full of destructible objects from the standard crates and explosive barrels, assorted garbage (including boxes for real-world products like laptops, thumb drives and GPS devices) to traffic lights, bus stops and (some) fences. A number of abandoned vehicles also litter the roads - unlike the other objects, they cannot be destroyed, and impacts with them are actually damaging and slow the car down. In addition to the debris, two types of anomalies are present - a 'tornado' that throws cars into the air, and a 'wind' that temporarily doubles the speed of cars that drive through it. Both types are stationary and permanent, though their position and number varies between missions; Invisible walls prevent the use of either for gaining access to restricted or unexpected areas.

Spread around the map are a number of pickups, transparent spheres that confer various bonuses when driven through. The locations and types of bonuses depend on the current event. Both Repair bonuses remove all cosmetic damage.

NameBonusColorBehavior
MoneyAdds cashYellowEvent-only, non-respawning
RepairRemoves some damageGreen60-second respawn
Full RepairRemoves all damageGreen90-second respawn
Nitro RefillFills boosterBlue60-second respawn
Damagex3 Attack power temporarilyRed-pink45-second respawn

Other pickups are rarer and only appear in certain events - such as a pickup that increases the time limit in some missions.

Collecting a skin.

During free roam, AI vehicles drive around the city, playing what is effectively an unending version of the Multi Harvest event. While the player cannot take part (collecting the current artifact triggers the next, but does not reward the player) one of the AI vehicles is set to mirror the player's current car, cycling through the various available skins, and highlighted specially on the minimap. Destroying the car unlocks the same skin for use by the player.

The city includes a number of advertisements for real and fictional products, including:

  • CARBON BLACK, a movie starring 'Pruce Bayne' and 'Nam Seill', based on a novel from 'Kiepher (Kephen) Sting', from the director of 'Panic Bedroom' and '5ive'
  • COMING BACK WITH THE DESERT EAGLE, a movie starring 'Prad Bitt'
  • A movie titled CONFESSIONS OF A CRAP TAXIST
  • Advertisements for several of the soundtrack artists
  • The logos of Targem Games, GFI and GamePitStop.ru
  • A Russian FM radio station, Energy 104.2
  • Other games produced by Targem, including 'The Swarm', 'Ex Machina', and the incorrectly-spelled 'Battle Mages: Sigh of Darkness'

Zombies

The map includes an endless number of zombies spread around the map; although they will respawn endlessly once the player leaves an area, less than a dozen will ever be nearby at a given time. Once spawned, they are attracted to artifacts and vehicles, congregating at the former and attacking the latter. They pose the smallest-possible threat to the player - with a health and damage of 1, they are killed by even the lightest touch and would take minutes to destroy the player's vehicle (assuming it was stationary for long enough, which would never occur during any missions). Males and females are present, with several variations in appearance, along with a biohazard-suit-wearing scientist model. Two other types of zombies also occasionally appear but are generally much rarer - a 'scientist' variation armed with a flamethrower, who can do 15 damage but is still trivial to kill, and an explosive-vest-wearing zombie, who does up to 10 damage and explodes when hit or shortly after it notices a car.

Zombies can be killed in a number of ways:

Gibbing a zombie
  • Low-speed collisions, which result in a ragdoll but intact corpse
  • Set on fire by boosters or weapons, which results in an intact burning corpse
  • Cut by side weapons, which results in two corpse halves bisected at the waist
  • Shredded by mowing-weapons, which sprays blood on the screen but otherwise leaves no corpse
  • Other high-speed collisions, which gib the zombie into ten or so chunks

Driving over a zombie also results in a bloody tyre track for a short distance.

Events

A knockout race.

As the player progresses through the campaign, event locations appear throughout the map. These consist of both unlocked-but-unplayed campaign missions and various free-roam challenge events. Completed campaign missions can be replayed at any time, but are not given location markers to avoid cluttering the map. Events may take place at day or night, although the only difference between the two is the sky texture, lighting and whether car headlights are on when the mission starts; day will never transition to night, or vice versa, and free-roam events always take place in daytime. (Events that take place inside the collider start with car headlights on, since the sky is never visible and there is no natural lighting, but they technically take place during the day.)

There are a number of different events. Missions end immediately if the player achieves the goal (i.e. collects enough artifacts) or if the player's car is destroyed, and can also be quit or restarted at any time.

  • Gathering/Harvest: The player collects as many artifacts as possible in a given time. The artifacts appear at preset positions on a portion of the map (either the city or harbour). Collecting an artifact spawns the next artifact, and adds time to the counter relative to the distance of the new artifact and total artifacts collected. There are no AI cars or limit to the number of artifacts available, but the time bonus decreases steadily, reaching 25% of its real value after ten artifacts.
  • Multi Harvest: A variation of Gathering where the player must compete with AI vehicles. Instead of a time limit, the number of artifacts to collect is finite, although they still appear one at a time. Destroyed AI cars soon respawn, preventing the player from simply eliminating the competition.
  • Danger Harvest/Theft: A variation of Gathering that retains the time limit while adding aggressive AI vehicles that target the player. The enemy vehicles are weak enough to usually be destroyed in a single collision, but eventually respawn.
  • Fishing/Hunt: A reversal of Danger Harvest where the player must destroy other vehicles before they can collect a limited number of artifacts. Again, the AI vehicles are much weaker than usual.
  • Bodyguard: A variation of Danger Harvest where the player must protect an AI vehicle (the 'VIP') against the weaker AI cars while it collects a number of artifacts. The player is repaired significantly each time the VIP collects an artifact. The player can collect artifacts, but this provides no bonus.
  • Arena: The player and five AI vehicles fight in an enclosed area of the map, with the aim of destroying all other vehicles before a time limit expires . This is the only event where the Megrat (an unlockable bulldozer) is present. Kills count no matter who destroys the vehicle, and along with bonuses increase the time limit.
  • Race: A standard race with the player and five other vehicles, either for a set number of laps or following checkpoints from one point to another, with scoring measured by final position. AI opponents do not actively attack the player or respawn, but few races are long enough for this to matter.
  • Knock Out/Shock: A lap race with an artifact constantly chasing the last-placed car. Every 10 seconds it blasts the final car, damaging it but also filling its nitro capacity. There is no limit on laps; the race continues until all but one car is destroyed. (For obvious reasons, the artifact cannot be collected.) The game includes coding for other variations (e.g. one blast per lap) but these are not used.
  • Rescue: Several (stationary) cars are spawned around the city, each with several marked zombies in close proximity who will attack the car if not stopped. The player must kill the marked zombies without destroying the cars. No hostile AI cars are present.
  • Zombie: The player must kill as many zombies as possible within a time limit. A small amount of time is added for each kill, with more time added for combo kills (2 or more zombies killed in a short period of time) or the destruction of rarer 'special' zombies. Special zombies are only slightly more dangerous and no harder to kill, but only appear one at a time and are marked on the map. Except for the zombies, the AI does not take part.
  • Massacre: A special event used for the final campaign mission; the player must kill all the zombies within the collider as fast as possible while being chased by extremely dangerous AI vehicles. Normally the AI will drive towards the player and attempt to ram it, which does enough damage to one-hit-kill the player; however, if the player collects a certain bonus, they are given a temporary shield which will in turn destroy the AI vehicles in the single collision, and the AI cars will flee from the player. The Zombies do not respawn, and are marked on the minimap to aid tracking. The shield pickup is uncommon, and has a ten-minute respawn timer, but can only be collected by the player. Internally, the game calls this event 'Pacman' - the zombies acting as dots, the AI cars as ghosts and the bonuses as power pellets.

The availability of some event types is limited, although each event available in free-roam can be played in the city, harbor or collider and campaign missions can be replayed freely.

  • Campaign-only: Arena, Race, Knock Out, Rescue, Massacre
  • Free-roam only: Hunt, Bodyguard
  • Both modes: Gathering, Theft, Multi Harvest, Zombie

Free-Roam Event Difficulty

Artifact and mission markers.

Each challenge event accessible from free roam has ten difficulty levels, with the player progressing through them as they complete the previous level. Each location has independent events and levels, though the goals are the same. Typically, the final 'max' level is intended to be impossible to complete - for instance, collecting 20 of the 30 total artifacts on the final level of a Multi Harvest event would require incredible luck in artifact spawning locations - with the level then repeating if completed.

EventItemL1L2L3L4L5L6L7L8L9Max Level
HuntCars3579121520253040
BodyguardVIP Artifacts35911131721253040
HarvestArtifacts3579111315171925
Danger HarvestArtifacts3568101112141525
Multi HarvestArtifacts13578910121520
ZombieZombie Kills102050100125150175200250999
RewardCash$6K$9K$15K$25K$35K$50K$65K$80K$100K$150K

Campaign Missions

The campaign consists of a series of largely-standard missions, with plot information provided before and after each - with the exception of a video after completing the final mission there are few special animations, and there is no in-game dialogue or speech. Finishing a campaign mission rewards the player with 0-3 medals (failure, bronze, silver, gold, although in-game they are named "Childish", "Teen" and "Mature") which in turn unlock access to other missions, vehicles and gadgets. Although the plot is linear, doing well in previous events can result in having several campaign missions available at once, and thus it is effectively possible to 'skip' certain events.

Plot

The collider's layout loosely resembles the Teveatron, a predecessor to the LHC.

On September 24, 2006, a disaster occurs at a particle accelerator near 'Atom City'. An anomaly named 'White Ring' is formed within the accelerator, and other anomalies and artifacts appear throughout the city. Less than ten percent of the local population is able to evacuate. Within three days, the remainder are either dead (killed by anomalies or radiation) or transformed into sleepwalking, nearly-mindless beings. The UN Special Commission declares the city as a restricted area, and local military forces enforce a quarantine. The catastrophe eventually stabilizes, with effects extending over much of the CBD, the harbour, and part of a highway around the city. With the city off-limits but not longer immediately dangerous, it becomes a haven for smugglers, others hiding from the law, bounty hunters and even researchers interested in the effects of the catastrophe. The player character, a nameless evacuee, returns to the city to 'face his fears'.

Episode 1

'First Blood' (Rescue; 1 survivor)

Employed by a man named Max, he is provided with a sports car with unusual upgrades - spikes and blades - and sent into the city to rescue an artifact hunter whose car has become disabled. He is warned before leaving to never take off his sunglasses. Crowds of people rush at his vehicle, many wearing rags or with grievous injuries, and he is forced to kill them with the car to save the other driver, though he is horrified and later realises he has blanked out the memories. The situation over, Max takes back the vehicle, swapping it for a cheaper, un-upgraded car. (First Blood)

'Testosterone' (Arena; 120 seconds, 5/3/1 opponents destroyed)

The driver he saved was a woman, and she offers to help him join the Hunters within the city. As a new arrival, he is sent to the city stadium, now converted into a demolition derby arena. Pride over his success becomes guilt once he realises one of the other drivers is badly wounded, but Max explains that it is the risk everyone takes for staying in the city.

'Streetracing' (Race; 3 laps)

Accepted within the smugglers, he is convinced to take part in a street race by the wounded driver. Recordings made with the city surveillance cameras are sold and watched over the internet, and one of the main sources of entertainment within the city. He finds it exhilarating, described it as "F1 with blackjack and hookers".

'Reaping' (Harvest; 13/11/9 artifacts)

The driver is sent to collect artifacts known as "stones" or "tears of God" - sources of energy that emerge randomly throughout the city. He learns more about the remaining people, referred to as zombies; able only to walk and fight, they are attracted to the artifacts as well as cars. Seeing a black car with a strange red pattern, he asks Max, who tells him about a group of religious fanatics in the harbour who believe the catastrophe signals the end of the world. They are led by a blind preacher called Mythra.

'Guilt' (Race; 4 laps, night)

He takes part in more races, and meets more of the people who have returned to the city - gang members, ex-military, and a man who is searching for his family. He speaks with Max about all the zombies he kills, who suggests it is a form of mercy killing and they are acting as doctors.

'Endless Circle' (Race; 2 laps)

The driver, like many others, becomes trapped in the endless circle of life in the city, unwilling to return to normal life outside. He thinks about faith, and wonders if God has abandoned the city, or joined them.

'Grim Reaper' (Race; 3 laps)

Life continues as usual, but he begins to feel discontented, and wonders what Max is planning. Another race passes, and he places, but one of the other racers crashes, almost severing a leg and losing their sunglasses. He watches as the racer runs towards the nearest artifact, ignoring everything else around them.

'Revenge' (Zombie; 110/80/50 killed)

The driver snaps, and drives around the city killing as many 'zombies' as he can. Eventually he comes across someone from a different faction, a Reaper, and almost kills them too before realising they are still human. Exiting the car, he approaches the Reaper, and at the last moment saves him in the car and attempts to escape, but is immediately captured by the other Hunters.

'Escape' (Knockout; 10 damage/10 seconds)

With the driver now consider a traitor, Max suggests that he takes off his sunglasses instead of having the Hunters kill him outright. He refuses, and they surround him, but before anything happens an anomaly emerges and destroys a Hunter's car, and everyone drives off attempting to evade it. The driver survives, but fears joining the fanatical Reapers in the harbour, and wonders about rumours of scientists still working in the collider.

'Rescue' (Rescue; 10/8/6 survivors rescued)

The anomaly vanishes, and as the driver catches his breath the Reaper he saved flees. While the driver has emerged mostly unscathed he realises many of the Hunters previously chasing him were not so lucky. He tries to rescue the others, despite their previous generosity. He soon finds Max, helpless with an arm broken, who tells him to get to the scientists and find out if there is any chance for the city to survive.

Episode 2

'Autodafe' (Arena; 5/4/3 opponents destroyed)

The Reapers capture the driver and the surviving Hunters; too weak to fight, Max orders them to surrender. The driver meets Mythra, clothed in a long robe and seemingly with vision despite his obvious blindness, who sends them to fight each other to the death in an arena constructed from an old warehouse. The driver has no choice but to fight the men who he had previously fought and then saved. Managing to survive yet again, he is locked in a room and left to sleep. Mythra visits him once he wakes up, who explains that it was God's plan for him to succeed, and thus he is pure and welcome in the Reapers. (The player is given a 150% health bonus for this mission.)

'Confession' (Race; 3 laps)

The driver stays with the Reapers, and becomes used to their way of life. Eventually, 500 days after the disaster, Mythra arranges a festive race, and invites him. The driver, now very religious, describes himself as part of the 'Army of God' fighting against the forces of hell, with his fate solely in the hands of God.

'Prayer' (Race; point-to-point)

The driver falls ill for a short time, but recovers, and feels his life is filled with joy.

'Obedience' (Race; point-to-point)

Time passes in a blur. The driver races, collects artifacts, works in the garage, and prays and eats together with the other Reapers several times a day.

'Purification' (Zombie; 150/120/100 killed, night)

The driver experiences an important ceremony, 'Transformation Day', where Reapers who have achieved enlightenment are given explosive vests, have their sunglasses removed, and sent into the city. He is envious of those who are selected.

'Uncertainty' (Race; 3 laps, night)

The driver asks Mythra why they race with the Hunters instead of fighting them. Mythra compares it to shining a torch at a blind person, and replies that the Reapers must use Satan's weapon (the races) against him, which pacifies the driver.

'Crisis of Faith' (Race; 3 laps)

By chance, he discovers that Max and Mythra often talk to each other. He asks Mythra, who reveals an important race is planned for the next day, and that the driver will be nominated to take part. He wins, but is extremely exhausted at the conclusion.

Episode 3

'Moment of Truth' (Knockout; 10 damage/10 seconds)

The Reapers attempt to enter and take over the collider after finding a way past the barriers at its entrances. Mythra convinces them that they deserve their 'Promised Land' and that the scientists, the 'Devil's servants', must be killed. The assault fails and the driver is captured, waking up alone, and his escape attempt is also foiled. A scientist talks to him about a drug that Mythra uses to make people obedient, but he ignores it.

'Abstinence' (Race; 2 laps)

The scientists give the driver medicine to counteract the effects of Mythra's drug and help him recover. He reads through his earlier diary entries and realises how crazy he had become. Ashamed, he wants to leave the city, but the scientist makes a request - the artifact at stake in the next race. Despite the strangeness of meeting his previous partners and friends, including Max, he wins the race and returns the artifact to the scientist for research.

'Suicide' (Danger Harvest; 8/7/5 artifacts collected?)

The scientist attempts to explain the anomalies to the driver, describing the White Ring in the collider as only the door to the source, not the source itself, and that destroying it alone would not remove the other anomalies. He requests more artifacts for research - a hazardous endeavour as the Reapers attack the driver on sight.

'Side Effect' (Zombie; 150/125/100 killed)

The driver is sent to kill many of the zombies now roaming the collider corridors. Unlike the Hunters and Reapers, the scientists do not want to kill him, so he agrees to assist them. The energy released from their deaths have a promising effect on the collider, but the scientist states more research is needed.

'Fox Hunting' (Multi Harvest; 9/8/6 artifacts collected, night)

Needing more artifacts from the city, the driver returns, followed by Hunters who think he wants to rejoin them. The driver asks for artifacts from Max, who refuses, but permits him to take part in a hunt the next day. Max asks him for a favor - more artifacts in return for a race within the collider.

'Reception' (Race; point-to-point)

The scientists allow it in the hope of better relations, although the driver is uncomfortable allowing the Hunters inside the collider. The driver's fame means he must take part in the race as well. Spying Max and Mythra after the race, he thinks about how he had been fooled before, and wonders why they are being so polite and friendly now.

'Running in Circles' (Knockout; 10 damage/15 seconds)

The scientists work on their theory to resolve the anomalies, but the Hunters sabotage the collider and trigger another explosive anomaly within. Many are killed by it, although the driver once again escapes.

'Battle' (Arena; 5/4/3 opponents destroyed)

The driver realises that much of the conflict between Max and Mythra was a lie, and that all along they only wanted access to the collider, no matter the cost to the city and world above. Surrounded by Hunters and Reapers, he fights to reach the scientist's lab before it is too late. Despite his best efforts he finds the scientist held hostage by the other leaders, demanding his surrender. (The player is given a 175% health bonus for this mission.)

'Hero' (Massacre; 10/15/30 minute completion)

The scientist breaks free and activates the rebuilt collider before the others kill him. The driver realises his only chance is to once again clear the collider of zombies before the reaction activates, still under attack from the other factions. Just in time, he finishes and escapes the collider before it turns on. Driving through the city, he finds it empty of anomalies, artifacts and zombies. He heads to the seashore and waits for people to return.

Press Demo

An early version of the game for use in demonstrations had four alternate missions (not counting the free-roam): 'Gold Fever', a Multi Harvest event in the harbor; 'Coliseum', an Arena event in the harbor; 'Rush Hour', a standard Race event in the city; and 'Z Boson', a Zombie event within the collider.

Vehicles

The game has eight playable vehicles; three are used solely by the player and unlocked during the campaign, with the others used as AI vehicles in events and unlocked for use by completing achievements. The latter vehicles have no upgrade options and are generally less use in actual play. All but one vehicle have a selection of skins, which are unlocked by destroying rival cars in free-play. The descriptions of each car suggest that even before the disaster they were closely linked with death.

CarMax SpeedHealthUnlockedCostLink with death
Mustang190 km/h200Game startFreeUS leader in fatal accidents
Jeep1803007 medals$200,000Several owners went insane
Strawberry25015012 medals$200,000EU leader in hit-and-runs
Shark200100AchievementFreeOwners statistically more likely to die (and lose virginity earlier)
Wander185300AchievementFreeMilitary vehicle, being 'sprinkled' in blood seen as a good omen before battle
Akari220190AchievementFreeKilled rally drivers, navigators and crowd members in accidents
Nukem250100AchievementFreePopular with celebrities who drink and take drugs and then crash
Megrat150400AchievementFreeSquashed several people during a demonstration at an agricultural fair
Damage and blood on a car, with a destroyed AI vehicle behind.

Vehicles have a single damage meter, but can be repaired by driving through 'Repair' or 'Full Repair' pickups (if they are present in the event/location). In addition, they also suffer a large amount of cosmetic damage - loose or detached body panels, scratched & bloodied paintwork, broken windows and headlights, and limited body deformation. Car performance and handling are not effected by damage.

Gadgets

The three campaign vehicles - Mustang, Jeep and Strawberry - have various gadgets that are unlocked in turn through campaign progress: Boosters, Body Kits and Grill Guards. Only one gadget of each kind can be active on a car at the same time, and they can only be purchased or swapped in the garage. Although it is not necessary to purchase every gadget - the only unlock requirement is the number of medals collected in the campaign - doing so would cost $2,134,000 (above the $400,000 to purchase the other two upgradeable cars).

Swapping boosters in the garage.

Boosters increase the speed of the vehicle, and are powered by Nitro, which can be collected from pickups within the map, or other actions - destroying AI cars, receiving or giving damage, jumping & barrel rolls, drifting, and killing zombies (the latter providing different amounts for gibbing, chopping, ragdolling, mowing and igniting). AI vehicles receive boost in a different manner to the player as a form of rubberbanding, with vehicles too far ahead of the player receiving less nitro and so on. The game tracks overtakes, total nitro consumed, and cars destroyed (while boosting) for each booster gadget. Individual boosters have three statistics:

  • Boost: a temporary increase to the car's top speed and acceleration
  • Capacity: the total amount of Nitro that can be stored
  • Consumption: the rate at which the booster uses Nitro

Body Kits are side weapons, either mounted to the side of the car permanently or hidden underneath and activating automatically when a target is nearby. Each Body Kit records the number of times opened and zombies killed, and has two statistics:

  • Response time: The time the weapon takes to activate (lower is better)
  • Range: The reach of the weapon

Grill Guards are front weapons, permanently mounted to the car. Most are simply bladed weapons that increase damage, but there are also 'mowers', which vastly increase Nitro when driving into zombies. Grill Guards count the number of cars destroyed and zombies killed; their statistics depend on the type.

Cars themselves track the number of zombies killed as well as distance travelled, and each skin tracks the time it is used.

Mustang

An American two-door sedan, and the vehicle initially available to the player. Internally, the game refers to it as 'Muscle' and 'Car Hero 01' (as it is the first vehicle the player gains access to as part of the campaign). The Mustang has a numberplate reading 'THANATOS' (a mythological ancient Greek figure, the personification of death).

Skins: Lightning, Blue Indigo, Black Devil, Red Skull, Yellow Zombie

Boosters

The Mustang boosters are named after elementary particles, and described as increasingly advanced space ship engines. The Gold Quark, a gold-coloured version of the Quark booster which is not attainable in-game, is supposedly designed for the US President's 'Space Craft One'.

BoosterIncreaseCapacityConsumptionMedalsCost
Hadron10 km/h50500Default
Meson2075501$35,000
Quark30100507$250,000

Body Kits

The Mustang's body kits are bladed weapons, supposedly built from the collider's casing and security mechanism.

GadgetTime to openReachMedalsCost
Fast0.01 seconds52$75,000
Sharp0.0565$220,000

Grill Guards

GadgetTypeBonusMedalsCost
RedneckPikeDamage3$25,000
Hack and SlashMowerNitro6$60,000

Jeep

Despite its name, the Jeep is a generic four-door sedan with increased ride height. The second car unlocked via campaign missions, the game also refers to it internally as 'Car Hero 02'. The description mentions that at least five previous owners went insane and purposely caused car accidents. Like the Mustang, the Jeep has a 'THANATOS' numberplate.

Skins: Azure Metallic, Black, Bordeaux, Violet, Ochre

Boosters

The Jeep's boosters claim to be made from parts scavenged from the collider.

BoosterIncreaseCapacityConsumptionMedalsCost
Snail5 km/h50250Default
Phantom1075508$45,000
Mercury151007512$290,000

Body Kits

The Jeep has a unique form of side gadget - instead of slicing weapons, the Jeep's gadgets are manually-activated flamethrowers linked to the boost system. Triggered with the main booster, they can set fire to zombies or damage other cars. They cannot be activated without nitro, but have no effect on the power or duration of the car's actual booster.

GadgetTime to openReachMedalsCost
Flintstone0.25 seconds69$20,000
Salamander0.05711$90,000

Grill Guards

GadgetTypeBonusMedalsCost
HarvesterMowerNitro10$39,000
ExcaliburPikeDamage12$60,000

Strawberry

Star Wars-themed weapons on the Strawberry.

The most modern-looking car available, the Strawberry is the final car unlocked as part of the campaign. It has more upgrades than any other car, which in turn typically appear more advanced than the other vehicles' blades and spikes. The game internally refers to it as 'Car Hero 03' and 'Bond'. Two of the gadgets directly reference Star Wars, with the 'Obi-Wan' and 'Kenobi' both resembling lightsabers, and the description for the latter specifically mentioning Star Wars and 'laser swords'. The Strawberry is the fastest vehicle in the game (the top speed of the Buggy, while initially the same, cannot be increased further with boosters). It does not have a numberplate.

Skins: Lindworm, Wyvern, No 33, Basilisk, Amphiter (Several are named after mythological dragons, with the 'No 33' skin instead resembling a race car with that number present.)

Boosters

BoosterIncreaseCapacityConsumptionMedalsCost
A515 km/h50400Default
F2025755012$50,000
F40a351006015$100,000
F50351505018$200,000

Body Kits

GadgetTime to openReachMedalsCost
Crossknife0.04 seconds413$50,000
Kenobi0.025.516$100,000

Grill Guards

GadgetTypeBonusMedalsCost
KarmaPikeDamage14$25,000
Obi-WanPikeDamage17$100,000
ReaperMowerNitro19$300,000

Shark

The Shark is an older-style muscle car, somewhat resembling the 1965 Chevrolet Mako Shark II, and is unlocked by destroying 50 AI-driven 'racecars' in missions or freeplay. Unusually, it is the only optional vehicle to include upgrades - large rough spikes on the front of the vehicle and axe-like blades on the sides - but these can't be removed or altered by the player. The game refers to it internally on several occasions as 'corvette' instead. It is usually the only enemy vehicle in Bodyguard missions; an indestructible variant is also used in the first campaign mission, but it remains stationary and exists only to stop the player failing mid-tutorial. The Shark has a numberplate reading 'SHARK' and, in smaller text underneath, 'BLOODHAMMER'.

Skins: Calypso, Night, Blood, Tiger, Demon

Wander

Modelled after a HMMWV, but less angular and somewhat smaller, the Wander is unlocked by destroying 10 'army jeeps' in-game. Like the other vehicles, but unlike its ancestor, the Wander is two-wheel-drive on the rear axle. Internally, the game simply refers to it as 'Army' or 'General'. It does not have a numberplate.

Skins: Khaki, Black, Gold, Glamour, Sand, Urban (Other than Glamour and Black, the skins are differently-colored camouflage variants.)

Akari

The Akari is an unmistakable replica of a Subaru rally car, and internally the game consistently refers to it as 'Subaru' (except for a notification when one is destroyed, where it is called 'Schumacher'). It is unlocked by destroying 20 'rally cars' during play. It has an indentation for a numberplate, but no plate within.

Skins: Blue, Lemon, Screwdriver, Pina Colada, Mochito, Black (Most skins refer to cocktails.)

Nukem

The Nukem is a cross between a hot-rod and buggy, with wheels outside a narrow body. It is unlocked by destroying 40 'buggies' during play. The Nukem is simultaneously the equal-fastest and equal-weakest vehicle (matching the Strawberry and Shark respectively, both of which can improve their values with gadgets). The game usually refers to it internally as 'Buggy'. It does not have a numberplate.

Skins: Yes!, Pink Floyd, Lead airship, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Yellow submarine (While all the names are bands - Led Zeppelin and The Beatles merely referenced - the skins themselves are color variants of a simple pattern.)

Megrat

The Megrat is based on an articulated bulldozer, with the game internally refering to it as 'Dozer', although the version in-game is not articulated and controls like the other vehicles. It is unlocked by destroying five in-game, a challenge made more difficult by its immense health (more than twice as strong than all but the Wander) and appearance only in Arena missions. Expectedly, the Megrat is also the slowest vehicle in the game. The bulldozer on its front is cosmetic only; it cannot be controlled and has no particular damage bonus. It does not have a numberplate.

The Megrat has only one skin, which is not named.

Achievements

The game has its own achievement system, with 18 achievements sorted into five categories (Common, Destruction, Tricks, Money, Cars). With the exception of five items that unlock cars in the player's garage, completing an achievement unlocks a picture in a gallery of concept art.

AchievementDescriptionNote
GeekPlay for 10 hours
ProDrive 1000 km
BlondeDestroy 50 AI cars
ArtistCollect all skins
ExorcistKill 6666 zombies
AviatorTravel 2865m in the air
ChampionMake a single jump longer than 100m
First FlightJump exactly 37mLength of Wright Brother's first flight
GathererCollect 50 pickups
RockefellerEarn $1,000,000Sum of all income throughout game
RevelerSpend $1,000,000Sum of all purchases throughout game
CheapskateHave $500,000 cash
RollMake 3 barrel rolls
GeneralDestroy 10 army jeepsUnlocks Wander
DozerDestroy 5 bulldozersUnlocks Megrat
RacerDestroy 20 rally carsUnlocks Akari
ClubbyDestroy 40 buggiesUnlocks Nukem
HipsterDestroy 50 racecarsUnlocks Shark

Soundtrack

The game includes music from a number of artists, split between English-language rockabilly and psychobilly from Russian bands and electronic music. Song details are shown on-screen as they play. Controls allow the player to change or restart a track, and menu options allow individual songs to be removed from rotation and whether to play them in random order; custom soundtracks are also supported. The game's soundtrack was in Russia in 2009.

TrackArtist

Racing Hard

Let's Go On!

Kentucky Girl

Evil Spirits

Brieftrager

Il Ether

Cold Fusion

Fine Sexy Baby

Nobody's Looking Better Than Me

Real Cool Time

Save Me From Blues

Carbon Double Clutch

Clutch Race

1shot

The Cradle of Disarrangement

Delict

Passing An Ordeal

Garage/Menu ThemeGloom Tek

PC System Requirements

  • Windows XP / Vista
  • 3.0 Ghz processor or higher
  • 1 GB of RAM
  • Video card with 128 MB of RAM
  • DirectX 9 or 10