"Car combat heaven ... or hell rather, but either way this game owns!!!"
User Rating: 9.5 | Twisted Metal: Black PS2
INTRO Twisted Metal has been around since the dawn of the Playstation and many awaited the first Twisted Metal game on the Playstation 2. Four Twisted Metal games appeared on the Playstation and although the last two aren't very good games, the first and second in the series are great. Nobody had too much hope for 989 studios to make a sequel, and thankfully they stopped at number four. Incognito, the company which made the first one (with a different name) decided to take back control of the Twisted Metal name and produced what is now known to many as Twisted Metal: Black. The reason it is called Twisted Metal: Black instead of Twisted Metal 5 is because the term black describes the mood of the game perfectly. The whole point of the game is that all the contestants are deranged and twisted, and it makes the game freaky. Some of the stories are just unbelievable, but despite the very creepy and twisted background of the characters, the game still remains to be insane car combat just the way many like it. Anyway, Twisted Metal: Black (TMB from now on) was released last year on June in 2001. Very much to my surprise, this game surpassed the second, which in my opinion as well as many others the greatest in the series. Keep on reading to know why TMB is the best Twisted Metal. STORY: (9/10) There are a total of fifteen characters and there are separate stories for each. Some stories intersect, but not very many do. Some characters are in other character stories but they don't have the same story lines. About the only thing all the original characters have in common are that they are in an insane asylum. What a cast we have, boy let me tell you this has got to be the most f'ed up cast of characters to play as. I don't want to say anything about them, but believe me you just have to see it. Another thing about the characters is that they are all different. Some vehicles may have the same name, but the drivers are different. The only original character that is the same is Sweet Tooth. Mr. Grimm is in the game as well, but he's not the 'grim reaper' to which we associate him. He's a bit worse (In a good way). There are three sections to every characters story, some secret characters may have two or one sections, but every original character has three sections for their stories and they are all in movie format. It's kind of hard to tell you guys about the story, but the main thing for every person is that Calypso *who looks very different* is having a contestant and is asking the character to join and if he/she wins they can have whatever their hearts desire. Sure, it's the same story but when it's mixed with a very dark atmosphere and a bunch of crazy people it becomes a bit different. Basically, it's all about survival and it's going to be very hard to do so. GAME PLAY: (10/10) We all know Twisted Metal is about crazy car combat, and this game definitely delivers that and much more! The first level I played, despite the darkness of the level, was insane. I mean it too, there was so much going around that it is even hard to describe it. Missiles flying everywhere, cars all over the place, civilians running around, and the level has it's own things going on. Believe me, this game is crazy, and hard too. Let me guide you through how the game is. When you pop this in to your Playstation 2 eventually the company name will appear. Then a very short entrance into the menu supported with Rolling Stones music. Then through the menu you can choose the following; one player, multi-player, options, movies, or load data. From one player, the menus accessible are story mode, challenge, and endurance. Through multi-player, there are three options: 2-4-player death match, 2-player co-op story, and 2-player last man standing. The main mode is of course, the story mode. Here, the character you choose advances through his/her story and after eight vicious levels which you may pick *some at least* the game for them is over. Do this with all fifteen characters, which include the secret characters, and you are almost fully done with the game. The challenge is in a way similar to a training mode, which allows you to get used to the game and the controls. Endurance mode is another mode you may spend some time in. Basically, as the name implies, you keep fighting against a single character until you are dead. Some levels are locked for two-player mode and can only be unlocked through defeating a certain amount of opponents. And then, for multi player, death match is basically a brawl to the death. Then last man standing is where two players choose a list of characters to play as. When one car is destroyed, the other picked vehicle is switched in and the winner is the one who destroys all their opponents’ cars. Whew, sounds like fun, eh? If you remotely enjoyed any of the other previous Twisted Metals, you'll enjoy this. How about if you've never played a Twisted Metal game? Well, apart from me asking where've you been for the past six years, I'll be nice and try and tell you how it works. There is a battle stage; you choose a vehicle of some type. There is a good variety of what types of cars there are, big and powerful, but slow and bad handling, while some have great handling, and are fast but aren't too strong. Anyway, a bunch of cars are on the screen, and by using special weapons found in the level and the machine gun on the car (which every car has) you have to destroy all opponents. You can nearly blow up everything in your way and the levels are designed to have a lot of stuff to do. Most levels, that is. Many are very large with some very powerful weapons and secret areas while some are kind of small. Oh yeah! That reminds me, another great thing to this Twisted Metal game is that there are items you have to find in levels to unlock secret characters and secret levels. They are very hard to find, they are black cubes and they are in many levels. Well, that's the game. Interested on playing? Hope so, but there is more that you should know. CONTROLS: (10/10) To anyone who has played any of the previous games, the controls are nearly 100 percent similar. I personally enjoy the controls in terms of configuration because it's easy to use my index fingers and middle fingers for shooting. As you may already know, the top buttons are the most important buttons in the game. These buttons are for shooting your characters machine gun and special weapon pick-ups. Then the other two are for scrolling through the menu of items you have. The only button that is different from other Twisted Metals is the turbo button. Normally, it is the triangle button but in TMB the player must double tap the square button to initiate turbo. The most important aspect of this section is not the configuration, because that can be altered. However, the actual handling of the game and the way the controls handle while actually playing such as sharp turns, scrolling through menus, or shooting straight. Well, all I can say is that these are the perfect controls possible for a car combat game. It doesn't matter if you are Darkside (which is a semi), you can still perform smoothly and make good turns. There are different types of handling for each car, but ultimately every car can be controlled without much difficulty. Characters such as Mr. Grimm, Crazy 8, or Spectre have such perfect handling that it makes the game even more enjoyable than it already is. There is absolutely no problem with the controls and I can't even think of a way they could be better. MUSIC/SOUNDS: (10/10) What would you expect the music to sound like when knowing that the atmosphere of the game is totally dark and demented? Dark and demented music you say? I guess so. It's not satanic worshipping music or anything so I wouldn't know how to consider it dark and/or demented, but it definitely fits well with the whole game. I can't describe it, but it's kind of creepy music. The thing is the music stays mellow when your surroundings are tranquil, or calm. Then when tons of enemies or even a couple are shooting at you the music gets really fast paced and is like emotions. When it's calm, you’re relaxed, but when it's all out mayhem around, you feel tense. Anyway, the music fits in very well with the whole mood of the game and a song that is actually licensed is the ending song for the credits. That song is Paint it Black by the Rolling Stones and this being the first time I've heard the song I think it's awesome. Now the sounds aren't much different than the music. Sure it doesn't rise up and down or anything like that, but it's excellent. The missiles sound realistic although I've never heard one to be knowledgeable about, but what I assume sounds like a missile are in the game. When going through the stage it's easy to hear a missile whirling behind you and you just have to get away. Also, mines, machine gun bullets, screeching tires, turbo, and some characters voices are some other sounds that one can hear while playing the game. Every sound is very accurate and some of the sounds are even creepy. The voices of the characters are excellent and for some characters, the dialogue they speak and the way they speak makes them even sound like crazy maniacs. Overall, the sound quality in terms of music and sound effects are top notch. This definitely stands out over the other Twisted Metals. Even though there are no cool Rob Zombie tracks, this games music does not need it. GRAPHICS: (10/10) All I can say is “WOAH!” like Joey from that stupid show Blossom. The graphics are perfect and exceeds everything I expected from it. The first aspect of the graphics where you can judge it by is from the small intro screen that goes through all these car wrecks to get to the main menu. It all looked great and creative as hell too. Now since all the characters are sadistic psychos the graphics help them look pretty creepy. Everything is clear and very smooth. Nothing looks sloppy or out of place. The backgrounds show just how much work was put into the visuals. There are so many things to see and use in each level that it can pass by unnoticed. The characters and the cars look awesome too. They are all decked out with cool gadgets and weapons and best of all you can see them while driving. For example, if you are going to shoot a gas tank, you can see a little compartment open in the trunk of the car and out comes a little gas tank ready to fire. Little things like this are what show all the unique things that the game shows. Also, the cars look very good and even though you can't see the characters in the game you can in the movies. The movies do have the best looking graphics, but that is expected in most games with cinema scenes. This is where they really make the characters look creepy but that also includes the sound. There isn't too much left to say about the graphics. You have to see it, because in my opinion I think these graphics are perfect. The dark atmosphere of the game results in having darker levels but that can be changed if you want it. Some may think it's not as good as how I'm describing it, but that's what they feel I guess. Overall, the graphics are amazing! CHALLENGE: (10/10) The challenge is definitely there and you will notice it. Compared to the other Twisted Metals, this game requires more maneuvering and more tactics. You cannot be a big car and run over people like you can do in some of the previous games, which I was able to. It takes quite a while to actually kill someone with machine guns so you have to balance between your specials and other ammo along with the machine gun and importantly use both simultaneously and at the same time. The bosses in this game are tough so even a Twisted Metal veteran could be killed a couple of times. The difficulty adds a lot more zest to the game and makes it truly shine because it takes time to develop skill and to actually play on harder modes. You can’t pick up this game without having played any previous Twisted Metal titles and blaze through it; my friends have proven this. To many old school fans who loved the first two, the difficulty in this will make you jump for joy because it will add so much fun to your experience with this game. Fans of the later installments with 989 will still enjoy the game but it will be different. It won’t be too different though and you may even see how Twisted Metal is when done right. Regardless of all that, I feel that the challenge in this game is great and while it’s not too difficult to play on normal, players will not escape the fate of dying many times. The challenge is essentially perfect. REPLAY VALUE: HIGH Grab three friends of yours because this game supports the multi-tap and while the screen is strange being split into four it’s very fun. Other than being able to play with up to three other friends, this game gives you tons of characters to play and beat it with. Also, throughout the stages there are items that you can find in the large levels, which will allow access to secret levels as well as secret characters. Doing all this along with beating the game, as well as mastering it, will take some time. You can always play a quick round with a friend by going one on one in a death match or you could try your hand at endurance mode, which I think is very difficult, or challenge a buddy to a last man standing match to see who truly rocks the road on four wheels. You could even just play the story mode over many times by yourself or with a friend so there are plenty reasons for you to not leave the game to collect dust (unless of course you don’t like the game). Many players will enjoy this game immensely, and have because this game is a Greatest Hits title and runs for only $20, which leads me to … OUTRO This is a great multiplayer action game and I personally love the series. I immediately pounced on the game and bought it off the shelves for $50 but now anyone can buy this game for $20 or less. The game was definitely worth it for $50, so I think this is a must own game for Playstation 2 owners. It is one of the many cheap games available in my opinion, but all I can say is that Incognito better work on the next one if another Twisted Metal game is going to be out because they sure as hell know what they are doing. For the people who skim through this, the scores are indicated below. Do yourself a favor and at least play this game. STORY – 9.3 GAME PLAY – 10.0 CONTROLS – 10.0 AUDIO – 9.8 GRAPHICS – 9.9 CHALLENGE – HARD (10.0) REPLAY VALUE – HIGH (8.7) RENT/BUY? – Definitely, recommended BUY OVERALL SCORE = 9.5/10 Twisted Metal Black is a great game and it seems Sony has recognized it as well. Enjoy the game if you get it and thanks for reading. Have a nice day!
