Twisted Metal Review

Posted By Nobunaga about 2 months, 1 week ago

Twisted Metal Review

The longest running series on PlayStation consoles returns with what might well be considered a “reboot” of the whole series. Twisted Metal has always been a huge draw for many gamers who have become addicted to the relentless car combat and dark style. But can the team at Eat Sleep Play pull off a revival of such a highly anticipated title? Will MY destructive and sadistic eccentricities be tailored to?! Lets go ahead and find out….

First things first, if you’re a fan of multiplayer car-destruction with a multitude of unlocks and power-ups and fast-paced gameplay and blurring-fast graphics that just won’t stop… you need to stand up and go buy this game. Don’t even bother with the rest of this review, you’ll love it.

Now, second things second, if are you simply a fan of Twisted Metal‘s style, humor, the storylines of its eccentric characters, and hearing how Calypso is going to twist and rend the winner’s every wish? Then you need to continue on. I’m afraid we have some things to discuss.

The graphics in Twisted Metal are about what you’ve come to expect from the series, as well as a few new setting-types to slip in with the game’s various modes. Mountain-twisting highways lined with lethal plunges to the rooftops of New York to the trap-laden car combat stadium all support a cast of 15 vehicles ranging from tanks, super-sport cars, and even a helicopter.

The game modes bring a lot of new life to the series, as every level is no longer in the style of Last Man Standing. Across the game as a whole you’ll encounter about a dozen different modes of play including Demolition Race (where the first one to cross the finish line blows up the remaining contestants who’ve survived till then), Juggernaut Match (where a heavily armored and high-healthed semi-trailer towing truck will continue to spawn enemies until destroyed) and All for One (which sees everyone versus one player, meaning you of course) as well as the many classic modes you’ve come to expect such as Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch and so on.

The story mode plays out in sequence much like Mortal Kombat 9‘s story mode. You play a character over a linear course of levels of progressive difficulty with a variety of stages. Unlike all other previous Twisted Metal games however, before each match you’ll have a choice of vehicles to take into battle and on many levels you’ll select more than 1, as the game allows you to switch between those cars (including their own loadouts of weapons, armor and health) by driving into the nearby garage. Thankfully enemies do not have this luxury.

This warped new approach to the Twisted Metal methodology comes by the multiplayer-centric idea of Eat Sleep Play’s quote, “The vehicles have always been the characters in Twisted Metal.” This new direction brings not a slew of characters new and old, but a simple collection of 4. From the iconic Sweet Tooth, to the masked femme-fatale Dollface, to the ever-dark Mr. Grimm, and the character no one ever played (I kid), Preacher. Each character now has a ‘faction’ associated with them, groups of people who for one reason or another, have dedicated themselves to the character.

My first and pretty much only contention with the game beyond a few minor gripes is based around that very premise. The Twisted Metal series was never about a small cast and their followers. Twisted Metal was about a contest held by a mysterious, all powerful and sadistic man who would seek out only the most maddening and crazy characters to participate. Hilarity and destruction would ensue as the cast of characters revealed what made them tick over the course of a story. Here in the new Twisted Metal we are given 3 playable storylines (Sweet Tooth, Mr. Grimm and Dollface… Preacher only makes a few brief cinematic cameos). Now agreed, these storylines are perfectly in line with what we’ve all come to expect, and some cinematics even give nods to the games of old from this series… but for me, 3 characters just isn’t enough.

A scene from Story Mode, which took me hours to get through.

Each character’s journey through the story is narrated by Calypso, some characters even talking back to him at times before each level. As is standard for the series each storyline plays through with a cinematic in the middle that explains the background of each character in more detail. In total you receive 3 cinematics per character story, and also unlike many previous games they are live-action and not cartoons, still-images. or CGI. Honestly the scenes come out quite well and I didn’t mind the blend of CGI settings and live action actors. Though the voice of the new Calypso did kinda bug me at times.

The story mode is alive with the usual destruction and mayhem we love, but seems to almost be over too quickly. Each storyline ends with a many-phased boss that will test your endurance as a driver. Bosses are rarely over within a few minutes, and some will take you downright hours of learning and perfecting your techniques. The final cinematics are rewarding in the usual Twisted Metal style, and other than the limited cast of characters, I’ve really nothing bad to say of Story Mode. Car unlocks are progressed through at a timely pace, and remain unlocked when you decide to go through the game again at the higher difficulty levels to unlock Warthog.

It should be noted however that surprisingly Twisted Metal allows multiplayer (split screen couch co-op, baby!) as an option to tackle the single-player story mode. Needless to say this can lead to hilarity but can also lower the difficulty significantly. The vehicle Juggernaut seems almost designed to abuse this very mechanic, as a team mate can drive into the back of Juggernaut and take control of 2 different mega-damage turrets mounted on its roof. Capable of killing any vehicle in its sights in seconds while the driver simply plows through opponents with the vehicle’s monsterous armor, health levels and fatal ramming damage, Juggernaut finishes levels in no time at all and is likely how you’ll unlock Warthog by finishing Story Mode on the highest difficulty.

Co-op Storymode Car Selection.

But the multiplayer of Twisted Metal is far deeper than couch co-op and deathmatch madness. Twisted Metal’s online play is based on either a custom-match lobby system (though it can be a bit unwieldy at times with all the various game modes and levels available) or a simple Quick Play option for those of us who just want to jump straight into the carnage. In multiplayer you progress along up a “Skill Level” score that will unlock more vehicles in the same manner as story mode, with the exception that vehicles in multiplayer are tiered. This allows more powerful or specialized vehicles to be removed from your custom-made match by limiting which tiers of vehicles can be selected. This is a welcome feature as Darkside and Juggernaut (the two largest vehicles) can literally 1 or 2 shot most lower tier vehicles simply by accelerating into them, let alone firing a weapon. Reaper (Mr. Grimm’s trademark motorcycle) being one such example, as Juggernaut’s ramming will deal nearly 200 points of damage, almost the vehicle’s max health.

Each car comes with its own feel and special weapons. Weapons can be fired normally or in an “alternate” mode, which differs by the weapon. Regular pick-up weapons can be fired forward or backward in most cases, some even going so far as to be more effective when used one way or another. Special weapons and their alternates are vehicle-specific and will be a large determining factor in which vehicle you pick on a regular basis. From Sweet Tooth’s special which will travel through walls, floors and other cars to hit its target to Juggernaut’s rolling minefields, specials will often make or break your chances for survival. Alternate versions of a vehicle’s special weapons usually are vastly different and far more complex than their “regular fire” counterparts. Sweet Tooth’s transforms the ice cream truck into a walking mech of destruction which can fly high above the map to rain death from above for a time, while Juggernaut’s activates the turrets mounted on its roof for a few seconds, firing at anything that dares come close.

Using each map’s unique terrain and destructible environments to their fullest along with having a complete command of your vehicle’s special weapons will certain give you a leg up on the competition. Never forget that dropping a building or water-tower on an opponent during a desperate moment can give you the cover you need to make it to a health pack or health-refill truck in the heat of the moment.

Juggernaut, about to make this car's life very, very painful.

Of particular note is Twisted Metal‘s soundtrack. In addition to all the sounds of rockets, destruction and gunplay, you’ll be hearing familiar tunes licensed for the game. These include fan favorites by Rob Zombie, Iggy Pop and Wolfmother, amongst others. I was a little disappointed at the lack of familiar Hard Rock musicians (long-time series staple AC/DC comes to mind here), but while you’re blasting through quiet suburbia or a chaotic theme park at screen-blurring speeds with weapons tearing up the scenery around you, the game plays seemingly just the right blend of metal and hard rock to excite you and keep you on your toes. It wasn’t a rare moment to find myself gently nodding my head to the familiar beat as I tried to ram my truck head lone into my tiny pathetic little opponents.

The new Twisted Metal is a fast, polished and dark car-carnage game that in many ways lives up to it’s heritage. Over the years many companies have produced the Twisted Metal series and Eat Sleep Play is the first to truly change up the formula or style. This new entry into the series took a lot of risks and tried to hit the multiplayer market hard and to a degree it certainly succeeded. Games can be found running at all hours of the night with a variety of skills levels to compete against. What has left me and many fans wanting however is the lack of characters and the new “Vehicles as our Characters” method Eat Sleep Play decided to take. We miss the cast of characters, their stories and how in almost every aspect Calypso gets them in the end.

But all in all, Twisted Metal hit all the right buttons, but I just hope to see some new characters as DLC. While I feel a bit let down on the small cast, I wouldn’t mind paying a few bucks for a few more characters, cinematics and maybe a vehicle to go along with them. Chances are slim, but I’ll keep my copy close at hand just in case….

This game was purchased and played mercilessly by the reviewer with a time of over 50 hours played through the game’s various difficulties and numerous multiplayer configurations on the Playstation 3.

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