RETRO – Twisted Metal is not an unknown name for fans of brutal car killing games, as it has been a real refreshment for young and old…or rather, only for adults since its days on Playstation 1. Twisted Metal, released in 1995, was severely criticized that year, but the game still managed to sneak into the hearts of players: more than 1 million copies were sold.

 

To the joy of this, fans were enriched with additional parts on PS1 and then on PS2. The extent to which the success of a given title is not decided by the critics, but by the players, is better demonstrated by nothing than the eighth episode of the third generation of the PlayStation With Sweet Tooth, the serial killer clown with a flaming head, as a participant in another crazy tournament.

 

Insane race

 

Of course, don’t expect a big story. A multi-billionaire jackass called Calypso organizes a car wreck derby championship, in which several popular figures take part, including the already mentioned Sweet Tooth , Mr. Grimm, a lookalike stuntman, and Krista Sparks, aka Dollface a narcissistic, doll model. Calypso promises everyone to fulfill their seemingly unattainable desires if they win the race. The single part of the game is divided into three different parts, in which we can control these three different characters fighting in different car arenas. It is true that we meet in the story with a twist or two, but there is no “story” in the classical sense of the word here.

 

We clown a lot, but there is hardly any story

 

In the Twisted Metal single, we simply have to stand with our heroes from track to track, and stories and guides rarely interrupt this routine. Those who tackle Twisted Metal on their own, it’s better to tie up the clown rope carefully, as the game in this mode is very difficult. Our opponents are not particularly smart, but they are all the more aggressive and, moreover, prefer to attack us instead of each other.

The twelve rival vehicles almost never harass each other when we are nearby, but they prefer to attack the driver we control. The simple deathmatch-type tracks are not that dangerous, but when we have to compete, our enemies want to pass to the wall at every moment, so it is almost impossible to break into the lead and keep our position. Moreover, these tracks are in open terrain, so finding the right route is a real Sisyphean task.

However, this is still nothing compared to the parts of the game in which we have to deal with huge trucks (“juggernautss), which are not only mammoth in size, but also constantly pour their smaller counterparts of yourselves. If we don’t manage to deal with them in time, then we have to face an entire army of “small soldiers”. Juggers cannot be seen on radar, so they are quite frustrating to fight.

 

Smoking wrecks, crazy duels

 

So the game doesn’t have a big story and there are times when we would prefer to bang our heads on the TV if we were sitting right in front of it, but what about the variety of the game? Fortunately, Twisted Metal deserves recognition in this area. Some of the tracks are simple deathmatches, in others you have to pass through a given number of enemy vehicles and shoot them into smoking wrecks, but my favorite track was , where you have to stay within a limited area, which the game constantly changes.

If you get out of here and don’t get back to this area quickly, your health will continue to decrease. This presents the player with a real strategic dilemma: should I take the risk and occasionally dash across the border to get ammo and health packs, or should I stay inside and try to draw from the reserves there? In addition to the levels, the boss fights are also enjoyable. You have to face huge, nightmarish monster machines and you always have to find the right strategy to deal with them, because you simply can’t just shoot them to pieces.

 

Make clown ice cream! With a nice red dressing!

 

Similar good things can be said about the multi, in which we have to use the special abilities of our vehicles much more than in the single. When you realize that you can no longer blame your failures on the cheating AI, for example, the ability to transform Sweet Tooth‘s ice cream truck into a flying robot becomes more of a for a simple good idea.

Unfortunately, the tight multiplayer and varied single tracks cannot completely forget the shortcomings of the game. Controlling the vehicles, for example, is quite annoying at first and can only be experienced sufficiently after a long learning process. The game’s graphics aren’t too bad either – we feel as if we’re dealing with a thoroughly enhanced PS2 graphics. OK, a game like this doesn’t need to be beautiful, but a little more effort on the part of the graphic designers wouldn’t have hurt.

 

True, the graphics, which are not very proud of the visual elements, are improved by the fact that we can destroy a lot of buildings and landmarks in addition to the vehicles, so we can fully use our destructive tendencies. Anyway, that’s what this game is about, isn’t it? If you want to destroy, trample, kill, destroy in the role of an aberrant clown with a flaming head and other similarly deranged characters, you won’t find anything better in this category for PS3.

-BadSector-(2012)

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Publisher: Sony

Developer: Eat Sleep Play

Style: Vehicle combat

Publication: 16/03/2012