RipTen Review: Twisted Metal (PS3)

In the videogame landscape, promises are made every day. On one end of the spectrum, there are people like Peter Molyneux, making grand assurances that never quite come to fruition. On the other, despite being so outspoken, is David Jaffe. And, lo, there is no crazier mother f&*%er in gaming than the man behind Sweet Tooth and Kratos.

If you were able to parse out all the f-bombs and caught a quote from him a while back (no, not the one where he was talking about blowing shit up… or that other one where he was talking about blowing shit up. No… not that one. He was still talking about blowing shit up.) you might have heard him warn that Twisted Metal wouldn’t be an epic on the scale of Uncharted or an experience as deep as Skyrim. Many people misinterpreted that to mean that he was downplaying the quality of the solo mode. Rather, he was simply assuring it would be the most brutal, intense and exciting car combat game ever made, standing on its own and not to be compared against titles with more lofty visions.

Well, Mr. Jaffe, mission accomplished. A lot has changed in the gaming world since Twisted Metal: Black’s release back in 2001. This latest outing retains all of what made past entries great, adding thrilling multiplayer, offering and updating the presentation to create a package with style.

For those that haven’t played a Twisted Metal game, the story is both simple and sinister. Each year, embodiment of evil, Calypso, invites contestants to a battle to the death. Each brings a vehicle equipped with guns, missiles and some very special and unique tricks. The prize for the winner is one wish granted. Of course, it’s never that easy. Calypso has a history of distorting the winners’ dreams such that even the victor meets his untimely end.

Run, Sweet Tooth, run!

In past entries, the single-player was laid out like a fighting game; pick a driver and vehicle pair and fight your way through the stages, destroying your competition and big bosses to reach Calypso. Every driver had his or her own story and unique ending. Of course, this was before the advent of online gaming, which now plays as large a role as the revamped one-player mode. Yes, it’s called “One Player.” How delightfully retro. Now, the campaign portion plays out in three separate stories featuring Sweet Tooth, Mr. Grimm and Dollface, all returning characters with newly rewritten back stories. With the availability of the PlayStation Network, the development team at Eat Sleep Play had to split its time between offline and online, which is likely what led to the changes in the campaign.

Instead of animated cutscenes, the developers decided to take a cue from Sin City. Well-acted action sequences play out in front of computer generated backgrounds, creating an effect that is one part comic book and one part grindhouse feature. The stories are compelling, sinister and everything you remember about the old days of Twisted Metal. While fans of the series will, no doubt, lament the diminished number of drivers and stories, it’s hard to feel disappointed once you experience the great care that was taken in the production of the three tales that are present.

Behind the wheel, whether it’s in the One Player mode, the Challenge setup (which is essentially just offline multiplayer with bots), or online, you’ll find that the controls haven’t changed much. Twisted Metal’s button layout is uniquely its own with acceleration/turbo, emergency break, break/reverse and the weapon modifier on the face buttons. The D-pad is reserved for energy-based freeze blasts, mines and shield, along with rear-firing secondary weapons. The L2/R2 buttons are your guns and pickups respectively. L1/R1 cycle available weapons and, in combination, trigger a gravity-defying jump. Twisted Metal isn’t about accurate physics models. It’s about moving fast, taking sharp turns and blowing stuff up. Each vehicle is rated on three statistics: speed, armor and a unique special weapon. A fourth category, energy regeneration, should have been included. Had I not seen a loading screen tip informing me that each vehicle regenerates this resource at a different rate, I never would have known. For most solo levels, you’ll have the opportunity to choose three different vehicles, which can be switched out at a garage on the map. Be smart, make your strategic advancements to the rear and live to fight another day in a fresh set of wheels.

Axel's back!

Twisted Metal is a third-person shooter that takes place in motor vehicles, not Gran Turismo with guns. The physics are loose and you’ll frequently find yourself ejected into the air by a poorly-avoided attack. In most cases, this is just fine, but for some reason Eat Sleep Play decided to throw in at least one race during each story. These take full advantage of the vertical nature of the fully destructible maps and all require you to pass under gates or through checkpoints. This leads to controller-throwing madness, with frequent restarts. Miss one checkpoint or get off the path due to the minimal guidance that’s provided and you’ll find yourself unable to retake the lead. They are, without a doubt, the weakest addition to the series.

On the flip side, the introduction of cage matches, which make full use of the large maps, but require you to dart from safe zone to safe zone every minute or so, are absolutely brilliant. I particularly enjoy that mode in Metro Square, as you will inevitably be forced to fight on the ice rink. It’s good for a laugh since everyone is slipping everywhere. Of course, this is another reason to disallow Talon, who will just hover over the battle and pick you off. Juggernaut matches, with giant semis that spawn new enemies on a timer, change the dynamic from a straight deathmatch, giving you a priority target before mopping up the stragglers. Endurance matches, which appear both in challenge mode and in the campaign, replace every defeated enemy with a fresh one. The different types of combat, along with medals and three difficulty levels, will give you reason to come back to the campaign after you’ve defeated it. I appreciated the effort that was made to connect each battle to the stories through pre-combat Calypso voiceovers. Even though it’s difficult to connect with the demented characters, the care in the narrative immersed me in the story.