In Combat Cars, the player races against other cars and can use various kinds of weapons and gadgets to damage their opponents. At the outset of the game, the player can choose one of the eight available characters: Jackyl Sadie Ray Mekmac Metro Growl Mama Andrew Each character has his/her own strengths and weaknesses (speed, car handling, etc.), as well as unique weapons. The weapons include a shotgun, glue spots that they can leave to slow other cars, homing missiles, mines, and others. There are 24 different tracks available in the game. The player earns money for winning or placing in races, and this money is used to calculate their score. As the player spends this money on upgrades for their vehicle, their score lowers accordingly. The player must complete the 24 tracks in a linear fashion, and once they run out of time or fail a race, the game is over. The player then must enter their name onto the scoreboard, the background being the type of environment the last race took place. After entering their name, the game resets to the SEGA introduction screen.