Twisted Metal Review

Synopsis:
High atop his penthouse office, a mysterious ringleader named Calypso lords over the contest of vehicle combat known as Twisted Metal. He returns again to host the ultimate contest of skill and destruction. Contestants have been chosen to compete and, should they emerge victorious, win whatever prize their heart desires.

Pros:	Cons:
Chaotic Multiplayer Excellent Controls Plenty of Vehicles	Connection Drops Terrible Story Dated Graphics

Review:

After a very long hiatus from the major console market Twisted Metal returns, bringing with it the chaos of car combat we all love so much. In a world filled with the same old first person shooters, Twisted Metal offers an amazing breath of fresh air. The single player campaign is played through the eyes of 3 competitors, Dollface, Mr. Grimm, and Sweet Tooth. It is presented in live action with CGI backgrounds like most horror films nowadays. There are roughly 16 characters to choose from all of which have their own specials and benefits. Multiplayer is a blast with almost entirely destructible environments and some interesting modes to choose from.  It is everything you would expect from a next generation Twisted Metal and never failed to impress me on every front. Co-op has also returned making this a four person split screen experience if you want to brutalize your friends within the confines of a living room. Add to all of this the pinpoint controls and this is the making of a huge revamped franchise if the studio wishes to pursue such endeavors.

Now for the bad things, though they are very few and far between. Even with purely refined controls it is very tough to utilize everything to its fullest, there should be a 30 page manual for all the controls alone. Multiplayer suffers from some major dropped connection issues, hopefully to be resolved soon. Graphically the game is kind of junky, but considering all the mayhem that is being unleashed it is understandable. The biggest grievance is probably all to do with the single player campaign. Only getting to be 3 characters certainly limits the story, but that does not really matter considering the plot holes being so vast. The narrative is entirely broken considering I can be playing Axel…but getting Sweet Tooth’s Story. It certainly makes the other 10+ combatants seem pretty much useless. The humor is very dark and thought this game is not as disturbing as Twisted Metal Black was, I would still recommend caution to the squeamish.

Twisted Metal is a welcomed change to the gaming genre being stuck in the Action/RPG and FPS rut for the past 2 years. I loved the new ideas that were introduced this time around and all of the stages were excellent. I wish they focused more on a concrete single player and story so that this franchise could be taken a bit more seriously. The controls can get frustrating at times, but the mappings for the controller were solid. If you are looking for a different style of game there is fun to be had, though it will take some time getting used to Twisted Metal. If you are at all squeamish or sheltered from reality then it would be best to avoid this game, because at times it can definitely warp the mind. My personal opinion is that Twisted Metal Black overall was a better game, but this is a great next generation replacement.

4/5

ESRB: M Developer: Eat Sleep Play Publisher: SCEA

Genre: Vehicle Combat Released: Feb 14, 2012

Article by: Zipper