PlayStation 3
Published by Sony Computer
Entertainment Europe
Developed by Eat, Sleep, Play
Twisted Metal is the latest in a series of
vehicular combat games which began on the original PlayStation console
and PC. Whilst the series initially appeared on the PC however, it was
one of those original game experiences that helped define the
PlayStation brand. Over the years the series has garnered a hardcore
following and in many respects it’s surprising that it’s taken this long
for the series to debut on the PlayStation 3.
In Twisted Metal the sinister Calypso and his
wild and destructive tournaments have returned after more than ten years
away. The tournaments, which involve all kinds of strange characters
such as the demonic, murderous clown known as Sweet Tooth, Mr Grimm and
Dollface are back to create havoc and mass destruction. Both the driving
and the range of weapons on offer here are impressive and if you’re a
fan of the Twisted Metal series and vehicular combat in general, there’s
a lot of fun to be had as long as you’re enjoying the game with friends
or playing against opponents online.
Whilst Twisted Metal mostly remains true to
the earlier games in the series, there are some differences this time
around. Probably the most notable difference is that the game’s
characters are not tied to their signature vehicles. If you select Sweet
Tooth for instance you don’t have to use his rather disturbing ice cream
van and are free to choose to use the other vehicles in the game. In
some respects this is good thing, as the range of vehicles is rather
pleasing and you can take advantage of their special weapons and
abilities, however, it seems rather odd and doesn’t feel as though
you’re playing with your chosen character in the correct fashion.
There are a handful of game modes in Twisted
Metal but essentially they all more or less boil down to simply trying
to obliterate your rivals with whatever weapons you have at your
disposal. The multiplayer modes - LAN, split-screen and online play are
all supported - include game types such as Death Match, Last Man
Standing, Hunted (there are team variations of these three types too) in
addition to Nuke and Story where two players can play through the story
mode together via split-screen. Nuke mode is a little bizarre in that
you have to capture the enemy leader and then take them to a launcher
and sacrifice them by firing a nuke at your enemy’s statue. As an online
experience Twisted Metal hits the spot and will thrill fans of vehicular
combat games.
Whilst Twisted Metal is on the mark as a
multiplayer title, I don’t think anyone could argue that the
single-player content in Twisted Metal isn’t disappointing and it
definitely comes across as nothing more than an afterthought. The
single-player story mode doesn’t feature a story for each of the game’s
characters this time around. Instead there are three stories, which are
comprised of six chapters each. These chapters are essentially
challenges — with very little in the way of storyline — for three
characters only, Sweet Tooth, Mr Grimm and Dollface. Only having stories
for three characters and not much in the way of storyline feels both
lacklustre and disappointing and gives the impression that it was
something that was added late in the game’s development to bulk out the
single-player content which also includes a challenge mode. The story
mode has some balance issues with a couple of infuriating difficulty
spikes that feel unfair and designed to simply slow your progress down.
That said however, the story mode doesn’t last that long and most will
be finished with it in a day or two.
The controls in Twisted Metal are actually
impressive and all of the vehicles are extremely responsive and easy to
manoeuvre. The control scheme itself does have a significant learning
curve however. Practically every function of the controller is utilised
as you’ll steer, fire weapons, switch between weapons, perform turbos
and reverse turbos, fire weapons behind you, jump, raise shields and
perform special attacks. I certainly found that it took me a while to
stop hitting the wrong buttons. The upside of this however is that once
you’ve passed through the initial learning phase you’ll be impressed
with the depth of the game’s control scheme.
Visually Twisted Metal is a decent looking
PlayStation 3 game but it’s certainly no more than that. Probably the
most impressive aspect of the game is how smooth the frame rate remains
when there is a lot of action taking place on screen. Many of the
objects in the environments that you compete in are destructible. As
with most games where there is a strong focus on destruction, the damage
modelling is unrealistic and exaggerated for effect but at least it’s
never distracting. The game’s live-action cut scenes are just as twisted
and disturbing as you might expect from the series and are in keeping
with the general mood of the game.
Fans of the series will be pleased to learn
that the game is subtitled although by default the subtitles are not
enabled. You’ll be able to follow the small amount of storyline in the
game without any problems. The game also features a training mode as
well as general hints and tips to help you get to grips with the various
gameplay concepts and modes. The training messages and hints and tips
are in text so you’ll be able to get to grips with the game without any
problems. In short, the single-player experience at least represents no
problems for deaf gamers but your mileage may vary with the multiplayer
experience due to the use of voice communications.
As long as you’re simply looking for a gripping multiplayer vehicular combat game, and don’t expect much of the single-player experience, Twisted Metal will definitely appeal. Those hoping for a quality single-player vehicular combat game experience should definitely look elsewhere however as the single-player content on offer here is rather limp and won’t keep you busy for long. If multiplayer is what you’re after however, you will definitely appreciate what Twisted Metal has to offer.
