The genre normally features a variety of different vehicles available for play, each with its own strengths, weaknesses, and special attack abilities.
Vehicular combat games normally follow a simple play pattern; the player must defeat increasing numbers of not very skilled enemies before facing off against a final, super-powerful, boss character.
Vehicular combat games differ from traditional racing games both in the combat aspect and in the general lack of any set path for players to follow, instead allowing them to explore each level at their leisure.
The complexity and strategy required to complete games vary, from the careful resource maintenance and intense story-driven plotlines of the Interstate '76 series to straightforward smashups like WWE Crush Hour.
Often, the primary plot will involve a contest or competition of some sort, encouraging the various characters to fight and destroy one another to obtain a reward.