When you think of car combat, you should be thinking of Twisted Metal 2. On the Right Trac Twisted Metal 2 was one of the last games released by SingleTrac, a talented developer that greatly influenced the early and rapid success of the PlayStation system. After all, SingleTrac was the company behind both the original Twisted Metal and the excellent flight combat game Warhawk, and these were two of the best first-generation games for Sony's console. For better or worse, the end of SingleTrac didn't mean the end of the Twisted Metal series. Twisted Metals III and 4 were developed by a different studio, but they were clearly a step backward from the superlative second installment. Fortunately, years after the release of Twisted Metal 2, some of the game's original developers regrouped under a new company, Incog, whose first project was Twisted Metal: Black for the PlayStation 2--another remarkable game that seemed like the true successor to Twisted Metal 2. The game featured a surprising number of secrets and surprises, as well as plenty of sheer depth.

Twisted Metal 2, more than any other game like it, including its predecessor and its sequels, has done an excellent job of combining the wonderful world of cars and the wonderful world of guns into one outstanding game. A perennial favorite of the GameSpot staff, Twisted Metal 2 is one of those games that defined the Sony PlayStation as the undisputed champion of the 32-bit console era. It was also one of those games that proved definitively that polygonal graphics could make for uniquely entertaining gameplay experiences, at a time when many gamers were still skeptical about whether 3D games were actually superior to the 2D classics.

Admittedly, Twisted Metal 2 stuck closely to the formula defined by its predecessor, though it featured much more depth. In the game, you'd choose from a dozen different tricked-out vehicles, ranging from a police squad car to a motorcycle to a tractor, each with its own unique handling and special weapon, and then take on all the other vehicles in a series of international deathmatches. The game had a great sense of style to it, most notably in the drivers of each of the vehicles. These characters seemed as though they had come straight out of a graphic novel and had their own motivations for being part of the proceedings, as well as their own unique and sometimes shocking endings--all suitably satisfying rewards for finishing the game.

The beauty of Twisted Metal 2 was in how it combined the thrill of an arcade racing game with the complexity and challenge of a top-notch fighting game. Twisted Metal 2 could also be likened to the popular first-person shooters of the era, namely Quake. As in any classic shooter, in Twisted Metal 2 you'd find yourself memorizing all the intricacies of all the different levels, figuring out where best to ambush your opponents, where to pick up all the best power-ups, where the secret areas were, and more. And as with any great fighting game, you'd learn to respect each of the different vehicles--essentially the different characters--of Twisted Metal 2, just as you'd learn to exploit their weaknesses.

The vehicles offered a great amount of variety. Some were slow and tough and could inflict tremendous damage simply by ramming their enemies. Others were fast and powerful, requiring great precision and handling. Still others were best suited to damaging multiple vehicles at once--the perfect party crashers.

Yet what really distinguished Twisted Metal 2 from its predecessor was the addition of fighting-game-style special moves. By rapidly but precisely inputting a combination of directional motions, you could cause your vehicle to leap into the air, drop land mines, fire an ice bolt that would freeze enemies on contact, create a defensive barrier, and more. This is what really gave the game its lasting appeal--it gave Twisted Metal 2 a very deep learning curve, making it perfect for many, many months of grueling and incredibly fun split-screen multiplayer battles.

I played Twisted Metal 2 regularly and often for well over a year. I quit cold turkey after a while, because by then I'd seen absolutely everything in the game hundreds of times over--and then months later, when I'd moved in with a different roommate, we both got way into the game again. The split-screen mode was just awesome. When I think of games that I could go back to as often as I want without ever feeling bored, Twisted Metal 2 immediately comes to mind. Long after I'd stopped playing any other PlayStation game, I'd still play Twisted Metal 2.