It has been a very long time since an impressive car combat game has been on the market, the most recent being the highly underrated Split/Second. The racing genre has often been dominated by the likes of Need For Speed, Forza and Ridge Racer, leaving the car combat field left with a pathetic number of titles. However Gas Guzzlers Combat Carnage by publisher Gamepires offered a ray of hope; a ray of hope that was quickly obscured by the dust kicked up by this disappointing indie racer.

The game is made up of three main components- a quick play mode, the campaign and the multiplayer. The campaign has you work your way through numerous races against the most fierce racing AI I have ever come across- and this is not a good thing. At the beginning of the game you start off with the most basic of vehicles with all possible customisation options locked. This not only means you have one hell of an upwards battle if you want to win but you are also only limited to the regular race mode. The most exciting bit of Gas Guzzlers, the car combat, is tantalising out of reach.

While playing the game I became thoroughly angered by my vehicle which would perform a 180 degrees spin if I turned slightly too much causing me to shoot to the bottom of the leader board where I would remain for the entirety of the race.  If you manage to stay in control of your car you still have the savage AI to deal with who, despite driving the same unattractive 50′s Fiat look-a-like, seem to be faster AND tougher than you are. If the single player campaign was just too much for you then there is also an online mode. However due to connection issues I was never able to actual find someone else to play with.

Gas Guzzlers has at its very core a very arcade like feel which may appeal to some. However it will punish you relentlessly and becomes more a test of endurance and persistence than of joy. Sadly for every one of Gas Guzzlers’ charming aspects, such as its impressive visuals, there are a dozen reasons why you may just want to turn it off and walk away, and that is a real shame. There was so much hope, so much potential but it seems that Gas Guzzlers is an indie racer with square wheels.