History VideoGame / Interstate76

* VideoWills: The training mission features a tape made by Jade, to be played in the event of her death. She bequeaths her car to her brother, tells him the basics of car combat, and [[TearJerker says her goodbyes.]]

* NewOldWest: A lawless desert wilderness, with quick-shooting cowboys, bandits, corrupt lawmen in the employ of scheming industrialists... and muscle cars.
* NightmareSequence: There a handful of odd [[CutScene cutscenes]] wherin [[spoiler: Malochio]] does some off-screen JustBetweenYouAndMe with the VoiceOfTheLegion, with a nondescript reddish vortex in the background for good measure. It's unclear wether this is actually Groove dreaming, or it's [[spoiler: Malochio]] [[ExpositionFairy expositing ]] [[BreakingTheFourthWall directly at the player,]] as there's some details mentioned that Groove [[MindScrew couldn't possibly know for fact, and yet are.]] And then of course, there's the entire business with [[DeadAllAlong Patriot...]]

* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: Taurus suffers this at the hands of Malochio's goons. Groove saves him from becoming TheObiWan (pulling his almost-lifeless body from his bullet-ridden wreck of a Jefferson Sovereign), but he loses his car and is forced to ride with Skeeter in the van for the rest of the game. [[ItsUpToYou you are basically on your own from then on.]]
* NoKillLikeOverkill: [[spoiler: When Groove finally takes his revenge on a trapped Malochio he does it point-blank with his .45 pistol ..... ''thirteen times''.]]

--> [[spoiler: [[TheReveal Malochio: Are you surprised?]]]]

* HeyItsThatVoice: GregEagles voices Taurus, whom you may recognize as Peter Stillman and the DARPA Chief from the Franchise/MetalGear series, and Sergeant Morris from [[{{Quake}} Quake 4.]] TomKane's voice for Callisto is basically [[ThePowerpuffGirls Professor Utonium]] with a Scottish brogue; he's a bit less recognizable as Skeeter. And of course, there's John "[[Franchise/StarTrek Q]]" [=DeLancie=] as Malochio.

* CrapsackWorld: "The economy is in the throes of a deep recession. [[PowderKegCrowd Flames of riot rule the cities.]] Gas is expensive and scarce. Crime is rampant. [[SomebodyElsesProblem No one seems to care.]] [[WhoYouGonnaCall This is a time for Vigilantes.]]"

* DeadLittleSister: Older sister, but still.

* {{Will}}: The training mission features a tape made by Jade, to be played in the event of her death. She bequeaths her car to her brother, tells him the basics of car combat, and [[TearJerker says her goodbyes.]]

--> '''Malchio''': ''Muh-ney''. They pay me well, young Champion.

* BigBad: Antonio Malochio, shady businessman, [[CareerKillers hired gun]], and a ManOfWealthAndTaste. Goes by the CB Handle of "Chioto". [[spoiler: He intends to use an H-Bomb to blow up the West Texas oil reserves. His employer? [[ArabOilSheikh OPEC.]]]]

* [[spoiler:PresidentEvil: Ronald Reagan as a JerkAss MotorMouth. He is implied to have had various important figures assassinated, including [[TheGreatPoliticsMessUp Leonid Brezhnev]] and [[TheBeatles John Lennon.]] Taurus non-fatally shooting him results in a hilarious, long-winded speech on his part. [[HistoricalInJoke The event is publicly blamed on John Hinckley Jr.]]]]

* WarriorPoet: Taurus spouts some soothing verse at a mere keystroke.

* DreamSequence: Groove has one in which he races against the autovillain [[CaptainGeographic Patriot]] and his two goons, [[AffablyEvil Road Knight]] and [[CompleteMonster Gas Bandit]]. If he wins the race, the three turn on him, forcing the player to fight them all at once. Once defeated, Groove wakes up to find he apparently was having a nightmare.

* TheVietnamWar: Malochio served two tours of duty, and is stated in the manual to have signed up for the second one because [[SociopathicSoldier he ''liked'' it]]. He also had some dealings with [[CompleteMonster Pol Pot]] and the Khmer Rouge.
* VigilanteMan: Groove, Taurus, Skeeter and pretty much any good character in the whole series. It is implied in the intro that there used to be a lot more of them around, before Malochio started assembling his army of Auto-Mercenaries and deliberately hunted them all down. As Taurus says, [[EverybodysDeadDave "We're the only ones left to hold back a world of shit!"]] Referred to as "Cowboys" by the Autovillains.

* SinisterMinister: Autovillain Preacher. He and his goons are found terrorizing the defenseless town of Claremont in the mission "Peace Be With You." Spouts [[Literature/TheBible bibilical verse.]] Said to have [[CompleteMonster murdered his own family]]. May be BackFromTheDead.

* GreaseMonkey: It just wouldn't be the same without good ole' Skeeter. He's traded in his Dodge Van for a 1940 pickup and comes off as more as more of just a dumb hick then a CrouchingMoronHiddenBadAss, but he still fixes the cars and can fight as well as anybody else. Think ''Left4Dead2'''s Ellis plus about ten years.

* HeyItsThatVoice: GregEagles voices Taurus, whom you may recognize as Peter Stillman and the DARPA Chief from the MetalGear series, and Sergeant Morris from [[{{Quake}} Quake 4.]] TomKane's voice for Callisto is basically [[ThePowerpuffGirls Professor Utonium]] with a Scottish brogue; he's a bit less recognizable as Skeeter. And of course, there's John "[[Franchise/StarTrek Q]]" [=DeLancie=] as Malochio.

* ScrappyLevel: "Velocity." Also a WholePlotReference to ''Film/{{Speed}}''.

* SinisterMinister: Autovillain Preacher. He and his goons are found terrorizing the defenseless town of Claremont in the mission "Peace Be With You." Spouts [[TheBible bibilical verse.]] Said to have [[CompleteMonster murdered his own family]]. May be BackFromTheDead.

* GreaseMonkey: It just wouldn't be the same without good ole' Skeeter. He's traded in his Dodge Van for a 1940 pickup and comes off as more as more of just a dumb hick then a CrouchingMoronHiddenBadAss, but he still fixes the cars and can fight as well as anybody else. Think ''Left4Dead 2'''s Ellis plus about ten years.

Sound like a [[SeenItAMillionTimes standard old-school action film to you?]] [[{{Troperiffic}} Well, that's because it is.]] The whole game is presented in the style of a [[TheSeventies '70s-era]] action TV series, replete with [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed made-up actor names]] arrayed over a {{Montage}} intro, a ''CharliesAngels''-inspired logo and [[CrowningMusicOfAwesome one hell of a funkalicious soundtrack.]]

-> "It is 1976. A [[AlternateHistory different 1976...]]"

-> "''Never'' get out of the car."


''Interstate '76'' is a VehicularCombat simulation developed and published by Activision in 1997. It used the same graphics engine as an earlier Activision title, ''[[MechWarrior MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat]]''; when they finished that game, the team started to wonder what else they could do with the engine. Set in the American Southwest during the oil crisis of TheSeventies, the game puts you in the bellbottoms, tinted aviators and blonde handlebar mustache of one [[AwesomeMcCoolname Groove Champion]], son of a two-time stock car championship driver and a former Miss America.

[[ScreeningTheCall Groove never wanted to be a hero.]] He just wanted to race, but even in that, he lived in the shadow of his sister Jade, whom is more or less described as Daisy Duke with a set of [[DukeNukem steel spheres.]] That is, [[PosthumousCharacter until Jade was murdered in a junkyard]] outside Lubbock, Texas. Taurus, certified [[AfroAsskicker afro-sporting]] BadAss and Jade's former teammate, introduces Groove to the secret life his sister led as an [[VigilanteMan auto-vigilante]] and takes him under his wing as Groove sets out to [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge find his sister's killer and avenge her death.]]

Sound like a [[SeenItAMillionTimes standard old-school action film to you?]] [[{{Troperiffic}} Well, that's because it is.]] The whole game is presented in the style of a [[TheSeventies '70s-era]] action TV series, replete with [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed made-up actor names]] arrayed over a {{Montage}} intro, a ''CharliesAngels''-inspired logo and [[CrowningMusicOfAwesome one hell of a funkalicious soundtrack.]]

Later received a stand-alone expansion called the Nitro Pack, which introduced a series of interconnected missions that took place over the course of several years leading up to the events of the original game, new cars, new weapons and new environments, as well as a [[spoiler: secret playable villain.]]

See also ''{{Vigilante 8}}'', a SpiritualSuccessor (that was arcade-ish from the start) also by Activision.

* BigBad: Antonio Malochio, shady businessman, [[CareerKillers hired gun]], and a ManOfWealthAndTaste. Goes by the CB Handle of "Chioto". [[spoiler: He intends to use an H-Bomb to blow up the West Texas oil reserves. His employer? [[ArabOilSheikh OPEC.]]]]

* BottomlessMagazines: [[AvertedTrope Almost totally averted.]] You have a limited supply of ammo for each weapon at the start of each mission and no way to acquire more. Run out mid-mission, and you're ''hosed''.

* DirtyCop: Pretty much every cop in the Southwest is on Malochio's payroll from the State Troopers on down. They are [[EliteMooks pretty heavily armed, being cops]]. The ones that aren't are implied to be apathetic, and they never show up at all.

* DreamSequence: Groove has one in which he races against the autovillain [[CaptainGeographic Patriot]] and his two goons, [[AffablyEvil Road Knight]] and [[CompleteMonster Gas Bandit]]. If he wins the race, the three turn on him, forcing the player to fight them all at once. Once defeated, Groove wakes up to find he apparently was having a nightmare.

** It's later revealed that [[DeadAllAlong Patriot was killed by Jade years ago.]] Sharp-eyed players will notice that his name appears next to a picture of the model of car he drives in Jade's old AVG notebook, and it's been crossed out.
* EveryCarIsAPinto: Full stop. Watch out, the resulting debris and flames can damage your car.

* GeraldFord: He's mentioned briefly during an in game radio broadcast as taking part in Bicentennial celebrations.
* GlassCannon: It's fairly easy to create one of these in multiplayer by strapping a very large gun onto a very small car.

* VillainousBreakdown: [[spoiler: Malochio's cool demeanor cracks when Groove challenges him, and is gone by the end cutscene.]]

* {{Will}}: The training mission features a tape made by Jade, to be played in the event of her death. She bequeaths her car to her brother, tells him the basics of car combat, and [[TearJerker says her goodbyes.]]

* HeyItsThatVoice: GregEagles voices Taurus, whom you may recognize as Peter Stillman and the DARPA Chief from the MetalGear series, and Sergeant Morris from [[{{Quake}} Quake 4.]] TomKane's voice for Callisto is basically [[ThePowerpuffGirls Professor Utonium]] with a Scottish brogue; he's a bit less recognizable as Skeeter. And of course, there's John "[[StarTrek Q]]" [=DeLancie=] as Malochio.

It's later revealed that [[DeadAllAlong Patriot was killed by Jade years ago.]] Sharp-eyed players will notice that his name appears next to a picture of the model of car he drives in Jade's old AVG notebook, and it's been crossed out.

* GoddamnBats: The AMX Striders. They're little more than a stripped-down version of the Volkswagen Beetle. They can only mount one forward firing weapon and can't take much damage at all. However, the tiny size makes it hard to hit, allows it to go places your car can't, and the people driving them have an annoying habit of ignoring you and destroying your mission-critical objectives instead, meaning entire missions can be failed because you didn't take out that one almost insignificant little dune buggy....

* BlandNameProduct: The names they have are rather amusing, such as Courcheval in place of Chevrolet and Phaedra for Ford. This also extends to gas stations such as [=Gas4Cash=] and Gas Parade, as well as Fletcher & Sons self-storage, Red Deacon fireworks and Fasty-Freeze ice cream.

* DirtyCop: Pretty much every cop in the Southwest is on Malochio's payroll. They are [[EliteMooks pretty heavily armed, being cops]].

* DreamSequence: Groove has one in which he races against the autovillain [[CaptainGeographic Patriot]] and his two goons, [[AffablyEvil Road Knight]] and [[CompleteMonster Gas Bandit]]. If he wins the race, the three turn on him, forcing the player to fight them all at once. It's later revealed that [[DeadAllAlong Patriot and Gas Bandit were killed by Jade years ago.]]

* GlassCannon: It's fairly easy to create one of these in multiplayer by strapping a very large gun onto a very small car.

* TalkingToHimself: When Callisto is captured, Skeeter handles the interrogation. Tom Kane voices both characters, though all the latter does in this scene is giggle.

* TheVietnamWar: Malochio served two tours of duty, and is stated in the manual to have had some dealings with [[CompleteMonster Pol Pot]] and the Khmer Rouge.

* VoiceWithAnInternetConnection: Many characters, primarily Taurus. However, since this is TheSeventies, it's not high-speed internet but good old Citizen's Band Radio. Everyone has a callsign, Groove is "Swinger", Skeeter is [[MeaningfulName "Monkeywrench"]] and Taurus is [[IncrediblyLamePun "Stampede"]].

* {{Will}}: The training mission features a tape made by Jade, to be played in the event of her death. She bequeaths her car to her brother, tells him the basics of car combat, and [[TearJerker says her goodbyes.]]

* BottomlessMagazines: [[AvertedTrope Totally averted.]] You have a limited supply of ammo for each weapon at the start of each mission and no way to acquire more. Run out mid-mission, and you're ''hosed''.

* CupHolders: An optional extra. [[TruthInTelevision Stated in the manual to eliminate the annoyance of having to hold your drink in one hand while you drive.]] Actually does confer an in-game benefit.

* BriefcaseFullOfMoney: A minor MacGuffin early in the game, critical to the BigBad's plot. The theft of said briefcase by our heroes from the bad guys results in a NoHoldsBarredBeatDown on Taurus. [[IGotBetter He gets better, though.]]

-> "It is 1976. A [[AlternateHistory different 1976...]]" -Game manual

-> "''Never'' get out of the car." -Skeeter


Interstate '76 is a VehicularCombat simulation developed and published by Activision in 1997. It used the same graphics engine as an earlier Activision title, [[MechWarrior Mechwarrior 2: 31st Century Combat.]] Set in the American Southwest during the oil crisis of TheSeventies, the game puts you in the bellbottoms, tinted aviators and blonde handlebar mustache of one Groove Champion, son of a two-time NASCAR championship driver and a former Miss America.

[[ScreeningTheCall Groove never wanted to be a hero.]] He just wanted to race, but even in that, he lived in the shadow of his sister Jade, whom is more or less described as Daisy Duke with a set of [[DukeNukem steel spheres.]] That is, until Jade was murdered in a junkyard outside Lubbock, Texas. Taurus, certified afro-sporting BadAss and Jade's former teammate, introduces Groove to the life of an Auto-Vigilante and takes him under his wing as Groove sets out to [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge find his sister's killer and avenge her death.]]

Sound like a [[SeenItAMillionTimes standard old-school action film to you?]] [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Well, that's because it is.]] The whole game is presented in the style of a [[TheSeventies seventies-era]] action-heavy TV series, replete with [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed made-up actor names]] arrayed over a {{Montage}} intro, and the game features [[CrowningMusicOfAwesome one hell of a funkalicious soundtrack.]]

The game billed itself as an auto-combat ''simulator,'' and it went long way towards living up to that claim. The game featured a range of authentically-rendered seventies-era American vehicles ([[BlandNameProduct fictionalized names notwithstanding]]), with all the associated roaring engines, fishtailing and cornering like a garbage barge involved. It also had an intricate location-based damage system and you had to salvage weapons and car parts from the field between missions.

The game later received a {{Prequel}} in the form of The Interstate '76 Nitro Pack, a series of stand-alone scenarios starring Taurus, Jade, mechanic Skeeter, and [[SecretCharacter unlockable]] bad guy [[ScaryBlackMan Natty Dread]], that took place in the years just prior to the events of the original game. It added some new cars and weapons as well.

Later received a sequel, Interstate '82. It had a new setting in TheEighties, a soundtrack by Devo, and featured the original cast plus newcomer Skye Champion, but did away with the location-based damage, realistic physics and salvage system, making for a much more arcade-ish experience overall. It also added the ability to exit your car, [[CatchPhrase something you should not do.]] [[{{Sequelitis}} Suffered from a massive degree]] of TheyChangedItNowItSucks, which spelled the end of the series. [[GameMod Officially, at any rate.]]

'''Interstate '76 provides groovy examples of'''
* AbnormalAmmo (Mostly [[AvertedTrope averted]], no [[EnergyWeapon lasers]] here folks. Not until the sequel, anyway. However, in addition to landmines, oil slicks and ''napalm'', one of the availible droppables is ''cinderblocks''. Unique in that they deal damage to a car's chassis reinforcement rather then its armor.
* ActionGirl (Jade, to hear Taurus tell it. She becomes a playable character in the prequel. Skye too, in the sequel.)
* AllThereInTheManual (And there's quite a bit there, as a matter of fact. The manual is brilliantly presented as an official document published by the Auto Vigilante's Guild of America, or [[FunWithAcronyms AVGA]], with attached notes, exposition, tips and maps from Jade. Read it, it's good fun.)
* AlternateHistory (It's the gas crisis in TheSeventies, [[CrapSackWorld only things are so bad]] that the criminals are using [[WeaponizedCar Weaponized Cars]] to raid gas stations for fuel, and [[DirtyCop the cops can't or won't give a damn.]] [[VigilanteMan So ordinary folks must take matters into their own hands]].)
* AncestralWeapon (Groove inherits Jade's 1970 [[BlandNameProduct Picard Piranha]], which you use for most of the campaign. Qualifies as a CoolCar due to all of Jade's modifications and well... the ''guns'' that are bolted onto it. It performs remarkably well for a seventies car.)
* BattleCouple (It's heavily implied that there was something between Jade and Taurus. This is as much revenge for him as it is for Groove.)

** CoolShades (Groove, Taurus ''and'' Malochio.)
** CrouchingMoronHiddenBadAss (Skeeter, who is actually a competent driver and auto-combatant. He is also narcoleptic.)
** CulturedBadAss (Taurus, who was once a poet in New England.)
** BadAssDriver (''Everybody''.)
** BadAssMustache (Groove. He's got the HulkHogan thing going on. Malochio sort of qualifies, though his is more of an Alex Trabeck.)
* BigBad (Antonio Malochio, shady businessman, [[CareerKillers hired gun]], and a ManOfWealthAndTaste. Goes by the CB Handle of "Chioto". [[spoiler: His employer? [[ArabOilSheikh OPEC.]] [[TheReveal Are you surprised?]]]])
* BigBrotherMentor (Taurus clearly has a soft spot for Groove, him being the little brother of his dead love. Even if he talks to him like SamuelLJackson [[ClusterFBomb on a bad day]].)
* BigDamnHeroes: The introduction, though Taurus arrives too late to save Jade.
* BigLippedAlligatorMoment (During one cutscene, Groove watches a flying saucer crash into a nearby cliff side. After a brief amusing exchange with Taurus, he drives off, whereupon the camera pans to a nearby road sign that indicates he has just entered [[CrowningMomentOfFunny Roswell, New Mexico]].)
* BlackDudeDiesFirst ([[AvertedTrope Narrowly averted]]. Taurus nearly becomes TheObiWan.)
* BlandNameProduct (The names they have are rather amusing, such as Courcheval in place of Chevrolet and Phaedra for Ford.)
* BondOneLiner (Playable characters sometimes deliver a pithy quip upon defeating an enemy. "Man. That's heavy.")
* BottomlessMagazines ([[AvertedTrope Averted]] ''hard''. If you run out of ammo during a mission, you are ''screwed''.)
* CallForward ('''Taurus:''' Damn, I'm so good they should name a car after me.)
* CloudCuckooLander (Skeeter, although he occasionally says [[ObfuscatingStupidity some pretty deep shit.]] The second quote above is his CatchPhrase.)
* ClusterFBomb (No F-bombs, but there was quite a few shits for this being a T-rated game.)
* CodeName (Everyone has a CB Handle. Groove is "Swinger" while Taurus is [[AWorldwidePunomenon "Stampede"]]. Jade was "Vixen". Little sister Skye [[LegacyCharacter takes up this codename in the sequel.]] It works, spooking a few {{mooks}} into thinking ''the'' Vixen is alive.)
* CoolCar (Most of the vehicles in the game, but especially the Piranha and Taurus' custom [[BlandNameProduct Jefferson Sovereign]], [[ICallItVera Eloise]].)
* CherryTapping (It's possible to kill the driver of an enemy car by shooting him with your .45 pistol, though generally only when his armor is severely depleted. Doing this ensures better salvage after a mission, since you didn't outright destroy his car.)
** This can be exploited due to the odd way the game handles damage. The driver is vulnerable once the car has taken structural damage (as opposed to armor damage). So one quick spray from a flamethrower -- which bypasses armor -- and five pistol rounds out the driver's window will kill anything.
* CupHolders (An optional extra. Having them reduces the probability of taking damage from an attack by 10%. Described in the manual as "eliminating the annoyance of having to hold your drink while you drive.")
* DamnYouMuscleMemory (This game had some weird controls, such as using the ''numpad'' for movement. Try going from that to virtually anything else.)
* DarkAndTroubledPast (Jade mentions in the manual that Taurus once lived in New England with a wife and daughter, but they were killed by criminals. He came to the desert to clear his head and never left. [[BerserkButton Don't ever bring it up.]])
* DeadpanSnarker (Taurus, though Groove gets in on the action later.)
* DeadLittleSister (Older sister, but still.)
* DirtyCop (Pretty much every cop in the Southwest is on Malochio's payroll. They are [[EliteMooks pretty heavily armed, being cops]].)
* DreamSequence (Groove races against and then fights an Auto-Mercenary named Patriot and his flunkies whilst taking a nap. Taurus later reveals [[DeadAllAlong Patriot was killed]] by Jade several years ago. Groove's response? "Oh. Weird.")
* EnemyDetectingRadar (Interestingly, the radar can only detect vehicles with running engines. Shutting off your engine instantly fools the radar-guided missiles.)
* FlunkyBoss [[spoiler:(Malochio.]] He starts off the fight man-to-man, but summons Cloaker and other autovillians as the battle turns against him.)
* FunWithAcronyms (The single-player campaign is referred to as the TRIP, or "Total Recreational Interactive Production." The other option, Melee (single-player instant action and multiplayer modes) is "other stuff that's not the TRIP."
* GuideDangIt (The levels in this game are pretty big, and you must navigate them realistically using a compass, landmarks and crude, hand-scribbled maps made by Groove.)
* GreaseMonkey (Skeeter. "He fixes the cars.")
* InterfaceScrew (Just try fighting effectively after losing a tire.)
* JiveTurkey (Surprisingly [[AvertedTrope averted]] by the main cast, this being TheSeventies and all. Played painfully straight with Autovillian Disco Kat, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin who talks exactly as his name would suggest]].)
* {{Mooks}} (The various Auto-Mercenaries, regular bad guys who took to their cars and now work for Malochio. Referred to as "creepers" by the vigilantes.)
* MacrossMissileMassacre (Possible, if you mount enough dumbfire rocket packs.)
* MoreDakka (Some cars have more weapon mounts then others. The Courcheval Manta, for instance, has two forward mounts and two on top, making it possible to have four fire-linked machine guns or [[MoreDakka automatic cannons.]] One of which is [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill turreted]].)
* NitroBoost (Nitrous Oxide is an optional extra you can install. It is a must at one point in the story when you must jump a particularly wide chasm.)
* NoFairCheating (The game has built-in cheat functions accessible from the menu, but using them prevents you from progressing in the campaign. It basically says "Good job, now how about not cheating like a JerkAss?"
* [[spoiler:NukeEm (Malochio intends to blow up the Strategic Oil Reserve with a hydrogen bomb in order to totally destroy the US economy. Why? He's being paid a whole lot of money.)]]
* OilSlick (First available "dropper" weapon. Useful for making those already skid-prone muscle cars go for a real spin.)
* PsychopathicManchild (Skeeter, possibly. More evident with his battle taunts in Nitro Pack.)
* RammingAlwaysWorks (Well, sure. But it won't do your chassis reinforcement any favors.)
* RedShirtArmy (The other vigilantes, if the prequel is anything to go on. This would probably explain why there are none of them left. Referred to as "cowboys" by the Autovillians.)
* ScaryBlackMan (Taurus. Initially, anyway. You'll come to like the guy.)
* SinkOrSwimMentor (Early on, Taurus sends Groove out to tackle a small band of autovillians on his own, whilst pretending to have radio trouble. Groove cleans house, but is none-too-happy when he gets back.)
* TechnoBabble (Skeeter, while attempting to explain nuclear fusion to Groove.)
* TheDragon: (Autovillian Cloaker, who speaks with a smooth, deep voice and drives a blue cab-over semi truck.)
* TheVietnamWar (Malochio served two tours of duty, and is stated in the manual to have had some dealings with [[CompleteMonster Pol Pot]] and the Khmer Rouge.)
* VanityPlate (Groove's reads "Champ".)
* VehicularCombat (This is why you were invited to the shindig.)
* VigilanteMan (Groove, Taurus, Skeeter and pretty much any good character in the whole series. It is implied in the intro that there used to be a lot more of them around, before Malochio started assembling his army of Auto-Mercenaries and deliberately hunted them all down. As Taurus says, [[EverybodysDeadDave "We're the only ones left to hold back a world of shit!"]])
* VillainBall (Leaving a suitcase containing [[spoiler:the schematic for an H-Bomb and the scads of money required to buy said bomb]] in a deserted roadhouse guarded by low-ranking {{Mooks}} was a bit of a dumb idea.)
* VoiceWithAnInternetConnection (Many characters, primarily Taurus. However, since this is TheSeventies, it's not high-speed internet but good old Citizen's Band Radio.)
* WarriorPoet (Taurus, who lays out some pretty deep verse at the merest push of the C key.)
* WeaponizedCar ([[CaptainObvious Well, duh.]])
* {{Will}} (Jade's tape, which doubles as a crash course in auto-combat for Groove. A bit of a TearJerker.)
* WhatTheHellPlayer (Shooting your teammates provokes annoyed responses from them. Also, it's possible to drive off the edge of the map, but instead of looping back around or just stomping into infinity as in [[MechWarrior Mechwarrior 2]], you simply exit the mission, resulting in a NonStandardGameOver with Groove thinking aloud that he'd like a popsicle or Taurus asking where in the hell he's going.)

----
'''The Nitro Pack provides supercharged examples of'''
* AnachronicOrder: Each mission is dated by year, month and day, but they are not presented in any particular order.
* BigDamnHeroes: The introduction, again, but with Taurus and Jade's roles reversed. It ends better, as well.
* CatchPhrase (Skeeter chastises Taurus for exiting his vehicle in a combat situation.)
* CoolCar (Unlike the original game, you can choose to use the current character's default set-up, or any car-and-weapon set-up you want. Go ahead, create the battle wagon of your dreams.)
* CompleteMonster (The game provides a few examples, such as insane, possibly high autovillian Whirlwind.)
* CorruptCorporateExecutive (Taurus assassinates one who has been using Auto-Mercenaries to commit evil acts.)
* DoomedByCanon (Jade, and Natty Dread, who is killed by Skeeter before you even unlock him. Also Patriot, whom makes his canonical debut only to be taken out by Jade in the mission Stop 'N Go.)
* EscortMission (A few. Taurus' first mission has him protecting a pair of vigilante-owned tanker trucks as they make a delivery. You have Jade for backup.)
* ForeShadowing (Several missions indicate that the autovillians are slowly gathering strength just as the vigilantes' numbers dwindle. One mission, Two Days Before, has you raiding a well-guarded weapons depot strongly implied to have belonged to Antonio Malochio. There is also something implied to be "going down with the Army" but this is never explored.)
* ExpansionPack (Adds new cars, weapons and map settings. However, as it functions it is more of a [[MissionPackSequel Mission Pack Prequel]].)
* EvilArmy (The US army in this game are a bunch of [[JerkAss assholes]].)
* MyNameIsNotDurwood (Skeeter's reaction to Natty Dread referring to him as Monkey-Boy, rather then his CB Handle of [[MeaningfulName Monkeywrench.]]
* SinisterMinister (Preacher, an autovillian who spouts [[AsTheGoodBookSays Bibilical verse]] as he and his flunkies gleefully drive around destroying the defenseless Southwestern town of Clermont. Is said to have [[CompleteMonster murdered his entire family.]] May or may not be BackFromTheDead.)
* SlippySlideyIceWorld (Nitro Pack adds some snowbound missions, presumably in Colorado, though this terrain does not seem to adversely affect your handling.
* TalkingToHimself (In the mission where Skeeter and Natty Dread face off, they engage in a conversation over the radio. Both characters are voiced by TomKane.)
* TimeTravel (Skeeter at one point expresses the desire to build a device capable of this.)
* TheDragon ([[JiveTurkey Disco Kat]] makes an appearance as Natty Dread's number-two guy.)
* VillainProtagonist (Playable autovillian [[ScaryBlackMan Natty Dread]].)
* ViolentGlaswegian (Radiator Mother, an auto-vigilante who teams up with you or at least appears in several missions. Suffers from a mild case of BluntMetaphorsTrauma.)