This is the true Twisted Metal 3. The classic characters you know and love are back for even more destructive combat.

User Rating: 8 | Twisted Metal: Head-On - Extra Twisted Edition PS2
In my opinion, SingleTrac (formerly Incognito, now Eat Sleep Play, Inc.) should have never passed the creation of Twisted Metal over to 989 Studios. What resulted was two similar but unrelated games with the same name, not sequels. This is the true Twisted Metal 3, with the classic characters you know and love back for more destructive vehicular combat.

The game is pretty similar to Twisted Metal: Small Brawl. The cars are not toys and the levels are not playgrounds and houses, but the game doesn't seem like it takes place in the real world. Though, the levels are big and the combat is as massive as ever, it doesn't quite seem all that it should.

The basic premise is here: you choose a vehicle and you fight to the death through multiple levels in order to be granted your one ultimate wish. The gameplay has been upgraded from other Twisted Metal games, and for the better. You can now collect the "souls" of destroyed combatants to upgrade your vehicle. These upgrades will make your weapons and machine guns more powerful, increase your armor, the amount of health and turbo you can hold, and stay upgraded until you get destroyed. This is a nice little addition to the game that make it not seem like it's a game you've played many times in the past.

The graphics are okay for a PS2 game. It's not the greatest, but it is better than what you're used to (unless you're used to Twisted Metal Black, in which case the graphics seem cartoony like Small Brawl). I haven't had any problems with lag or frame rate drops, so the graphics seem to run smoothly. The animation of the car opening a different "slot" to use a different weapon is a nice touch borrowed from Twisted Metal: Black instead of the classic under-the-car attack.

The sound is what you'd expect fro any other Twisted Metal Game. The sound effects for the weapons and explosions are as good as ever. The music you don't really notice unless you're trying to pay attention to it, but it's nice to have in the background. It's no Twisted Metal 3 or 4 soundtrack, with licensed songs that you have probably heard before, but it's a nice touch to make it unique.

All-in-all, this is one of the best Twisted Metal games I have played in a long time. It's classic vehicular combat. While Twisted Metal: Black seemed dark and mysterious, this game seems dark and up-beat. It really can't be compared to any Twisted Metal after 2, since those were all their own game. But this is the one that fills you in on everything you missed out on after the formula was changed. Think of it as Twisted Metal 3. Twisted Metal: Black did for Twisted Metal what Resident Evil 4 did for Resident Evil, reinvented it. But this one is true to the name, old-school, and I'm proud to have it in my collection.