Road Madness

Road Madness is a vehicular combat racing game developed by Criterion Games and released in 1997 for the PlayStation and Microsoft Windows. The game is set in a post-apocalyptic world where players control armed vehicles in high-speed races across desolate highways and urban ruins. The primary objective is to finish first in a series of tournaments while destroying opponent vehicles using mounted weapons. The game features a single-player career mode, a two-player split-screen mode, and a time trial mode. The visual style emphasizes gritty, low-polygon environments and a dark, industrial aesthetic. The soundtrack consists of heavy metal and industrial rock tracks. The game received mixed reviews for its repetitive gameplay but was noted for its aggressive combat mechanics and vehicle damage system.

Gameplay mechanics center on a combination of racing and combat. Players select a vehicle from a roster of six, each with distinct attributes for speed, armor, and weaponry. Races take place on linear tracks with multiple laps. The player must manage vehicle health, represented by a damage meter, and ammunition for weapons. Weapons include machine guns, rockets, mines, and oil slicks. Power-ups are collected from floating icons on the track. The game uses a checkpoint system to track progress; missing a checkpoint results in a time penalty. The player can also perform a "ram" attack by accelerating into an opponent to cause damage.

Operation controls for the PlayStation version use the D-pad or analog stick for steering. The X button accelerates, the Square button brakes, and the Circle button activates the handbrake for sharp turns. The L1 and R1 buttons fire the primary and secondary weapons, respectively. The Select button cycles through weapon types. The Start button pauses the game. On the Windows version, the keyboard uses the arrow keys for steering and acceleration, the Z key for braking, the X key for the handbrake, the A key for the primary weapon, and the S key for the secondary weapon. The mouse is not supported for control.

Tactical techniques include using the handbrake to drift around tight corners while maintaining speed. Players should prioritize collecting weapon power-ups early in a race to establish an offensive advantage. Targeting opponents with rockets from a distance is effective, while machine guns are best used at close range. Mines and oil slicks should be placed on narrow sections of the track or just before sharp turns to maximize opponent collisions. The ram attack is most effective when the player has a speed advantage and aims for the rear quarter of an opponent's vehicle. Managing vehicle damage is critical; avoiding head-on collisions and retreating to collect repair power-ups when health is low extends survival.