TwistedMetal: Black (Playstation 2)

Okay ya'll, here we go. I started school this week (last week of August) and I’ve been totally swamped with homework, so my brain is rather addled right now. Plus, I was originally going to do this game for last month’s review, so its been a while since I’ve played it. As another note, I have no idea what I'll review next month, so I'm open to suggestions. One of my friends here has EVERY system ever made, except an Atari. It’s truly impressive. So anyway, I’m open to suggestions and I can do most near any game on any system. And what all that has to do with anything, I’m not quite sure right now... check back in with me in a week. Umm... let’s start with a history of Twisted Metal, shall we? Ok, Twisted Metal (TM from now on) started off as a Playstation game. I never played it. Then TM 2 came out, and my friends had it, and it was a really awesome game. There are several types of cars, and you are in a demolition derby type match, trying to destroy all the cars to advance to the next level. As your arsenal you could use machine guns, missiles, power- ups and each vehicle had its own unique special attack. Also, if you were of greater mass than the poor victim in your sights, you could ram them. It was much fun, and I highly recommend it if you don’t have a PS2. A while later, TM 3 came out for the Playstation, and I didn’t play it either. I did, however, hear that the game sucked immensely. Then along came PS2 and shortly thereafter followed TM: Black. Thus ends the history lesson. Plot: The plot is fairly simplistic. Every vehicle has a driver. Every driver is insane for one reason or another, and each has one burning desire. Then along comes this guy named Callipso who can get you out of the funny farm, and can give you that one thing you really, really, really want. Can give it to you, that is, if you participate in his little contest and defeat everyone else. Successfully completing levels unlocks clipscenes that more fully explain why or what caused your driver to be a few cards short of a deck. Graphics: Typical PS2 eye candy. Some levels are really neat, and by destroying parts of them in a certain way, i.e. ramming a particular pillar on a building, or making a jump, can give you access to hidden, extra spiffy parts. Some levels are really good, a few of them I didn’t care for at all, like this one level with nothing but gentle hills, trees and houses... no good terrain for laying ambushes or dodging. Sound: Good sound effects and goo-- you know what? I never really pay attention to the sound and music. The sound effects were realistic when they happened, and the music didn't suck. Maybe I should either pay more attention, or quit rating things for sound, no? Gameplay: Excellent game style. The controls can be changed to several different styles, changing control to analogue, or not, and arranging the firing controls to however seems logical to you. This is the same style as TM 2, so if you have played it, then you wont even have to learn any new controls. While playing, there are a number of ways to do in your opponent, be it ramming, shooting, tactical air strikes, or pushing your opponent off a cliff or into a trap. Difficulty: I recalled myself being pretty good on TM 2, so the first thing I did was select my favorite character from it and start to play. (Yes, some of the characters are the same and there are some new ones too, and also several that you have to unlock). After having my head thoroughly handed to me, I decided that either my memory was off, or the game was harder, because I was flying all over the place (very nearly literally; I was in a small, light, fast, maneuverable car). So I switched to a big, not so maneuverable monster called Darkside (the name appealed to me too; I’m a big Star Wars fan). Darkside is this huge Semi-truck with an entire police car chained to the front as a bumper. Darkside’s special attack is a warp speed ramming attack. So in my new truck, and in easy difficulty, I set about trying to slaughter everyone again. After about 5 more deaths, I was starting to get the hang of it. To beat the game with a character, you must defeat the 7 other cars in each level, and there are 8 levels (I think; don’t hold me to this). After each level, you get the choice of two maps to go to next. At level 4, you have to fight Minion who was the endboss of TM 2, I believe. At level 8, you fight an Apache Helicopter on a very small rooftop that you can fall off of (not a good place to have a special as a ramming attack). I got as far as level 8, but couldn't beat it in the time allowed for my rental. So in summation, the game is challenging. Spiffyness: Like I said above, there are secret parts in levels, secret characters to unlock, and lots of guys to choose from, and many different maps, from large maps to tiny maps. The game has a story-line mode, a practice mode, and multiplayer modes from competitive to co-operative. Overall this is a fun game, it’s a lot like TM 2, but updated for the PS2’s power and graphics. It is fun in single player, and multiplayer, and the game has enough secrets to unlock to keep the game amusing for a long time. Final Ratings: Plot: 7.5 Graphics: 9.2 Sound: 7.5 Gameplay: 9.5 Difficulty: 8 Spiffyness: 8.5 Overall: 8.366

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