We discuss on our Twisted Metal Review why you should buy it
Twisted Metal is the longest running franchise in PlayStation history. Featuring crazy car combat with even crazier weapons and power-ups, Twisted Metal is back after so many years of absence and it's better than ever.
I am pretty sure that every gamer has heard at least once something about Twisted Metal in their life, but for those who haven't (shame on you :p), Twisted Metal feature insane, twisted and over the top car combat and in this latest installment they are better than ever. The devil aka Calypso here, hosts a competition that goes by the name "Twisted Metal", where contestants have to kill each other in a variety of modes using crazy weapons. The winner gets a wish from Calypso, but what they wish isn't always what they get!
In story mode there are three chapters, or let's say three different storylines to complete. Each one features one of the playable competitors: Sweet Tooth, Mr. Grimm and DollFace. Each character has a different story and a special wish for Calypso. Sweet Tooth, the big scary clown who drives an ice-cream van, wishes to find the girl that got away. He wants to murder this girl and this motive keeps him going through this whole competition. Mr. Grimm, a biker with his face painted like death (that's where his name comes from as in Grimm Reaper) wishes to go into the past and stop his father from doing a motorcycle stunt which caused his death. And then there is DollFace. A beautiful super-model who wanted to be always the best and to achieve it? She killed all the other girls so she could be the best! But her face got scarred in a car accident and to fix it she wore a magical mask. But now the mask won't come off her face. That's her wish to Calypso. But as I said before what they wish isn't always what they get, cause you can never trust the devil !
All these story bits come by live-action cut-scenes and they are all awesome. A lot of work was put into those and in the end they all look amazing. But some cut-scenes really strange and felt out of place. In some they show the Preacher, a priest sent by God to stop Calypso. But where is he in the game? Why doesn't he have it's own chapter, cause you can use him in the multiplayer. Maybe he is coming as a DLC? No one knows...
But enough about the story, let's talk about gameplay. Yes the crazy and over the top car combat is back. You fight in big maps set in giant stadiums, cities, sky scrappers etc. in a variety of modes. Deliver destruction to strategically change the face of the level, or just cause incredible chaos. The maps are full of weapons which you can pick up and use to destroy the opponents. Weapons such as missiles, shotguns, napalm, bombs, rockets and so much more. These weapons create unique scenarios in every stage.
A big change that was made in this game is that it doesn't matter as which character you play, they can use all the vehicles. For example Sweet Tooth can use Mr. Grimm bike or DollFace the clown's van. In every stage you can use a variety of vehicles such as a bike, cars with different, jeeps, truck, a strange two wheeled vehicle and even a helicopter. Each vehicle has two unique special weapons which deal crazy amounts of damage. They all feel and handle differently, which is kinda cool.
The difficulty scales as you move through the levels. At the end of each chapter you must fight a boss. These boss encounters are well designed with a lot of cool gimmicks, but sometimes they can get really frustrating.
Other than story mode there is also a training mode where you well, train and the multiplayer. Split-screen and LAN support join the online suite, and these local options make for instant fun. Even in the most chaotic match, the framerate stays at a steady 60 fps so kudos to the devs for achieving it. The matches are really fun and the variety of modes create really cool gameplay sessions. As you play you earn experience and unlock new cars, sidearms, and even skin packs. Play enough and you can even earn augmented techniques to employ in the field.
An advice I give to you is that you should really play the single player first. This way you will learn the controls and car physics, which are difficult and very strange at first to understand for newcomers, but if you are a veteran in Twisted Metal games you won't have any problem.
Visually the game looks really good. The graphics are sharp, the cars and character models looks good too. The sound design is great. Bullets flying everywhere, missiles and rockets hitting the target and the clinging of the metal, everything is just as it's supposed to be. Also the soundtrack is great and creates the perfect atmosphere for the game.
But this games has also its problems. In the story there are some plot holes like the one of the Preacher. Also different bugs and glitches are frequent. Some texture pop-in from time to time and some audio problems. During my gaming sessions the game also freezed a few times. Also matchmaking doesn't work properly from time to time. These problems doesn't break the game, but they exist!
Overall Twisted Metal is a great game. The single player isn't that long, but the multiplayer will keep you hooked for some time. The twisted minds of the legendary David Jaffe and the other guys at Eat Sleep Play have done an awesome job. If you want crazy, chaotic and over the top action, Twisted Metal is the way to go.
9/10-Editor Choice
