So, for a game with a pretty weak story, Twisted Metal has a pretty amazing ending. Or, rather, just what one would want out of an ending for a game like this. It's completley ambiguous, but at the same time definitely seems to be saying something about the franchise as a whole.

What do you think is going on in the game's ending?

If you haven't been following along with the plot of the Twisted Metal Series so far, Twisted Metal is a competition dreamed up by a long haired man in a suit with a burned face known as Calypso. Anyone who wins his competition is granted their greatest wish. But Calypso, being somewhat evil, will always grant the wish in a way that leads to death and misery even if that wasn not the wishers intent. Twisted Metal Black featured a new version of Calypso, but with the same modus operandi. In this game, however, all the contestants were from the same mental institution. Calypso was missing an eye and featured a bald head.

Twisted Metal 1 and 2 featured a comic book artstyle and a certain amount of sillyness. Twisted Metal Black featured an industrial look and feel that seemingly was inspired by Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails.

Twisted Metal Head On for the PSP returned to the look of the originals and added in a key story element. The game intimated that the Twisted Metal game was all a dream in the mind of Sweet Tooth, aka Marcus Kane.

SO, the story of Twisted Metal seems to revolve around the Kane family. Charles, the father, driver of Yellowjacket in Twisted Metal 1, Marcus aka Sweet Tooth, and his children in TM PS3.

The Twisted Metal Black universe is said to be a construction of Sweet Tooth's. Everyone is inside his head.

So here's where it gets interesting. In Twisted Metal Black, Calypso is missing an eye and has a bald head. In Twisted Metal PS3, Sweet Tooth has his eye stabbed out and has a bald head.

Is Calypso in Black, Marcus Kane from Twisted Metal PS3?

And what of the line from the radio that says quite explicitly that Twisted Metal PS3 is not real? What are the flashes of another reality at the end of Twisted Metal PS3? Is TM PS3 all in the preacher's mind? as he was shown to be in an asylum at the end of the game? Is that an asylum, or is that hell? Is calypso the devil, as has been suggested from the start? What about the scenes in Twisted Metal Head On when Calypso is shown to be less than in control of his powers as the Wish Granter of Twisted Metal?

@JazGalaxy said:

So, for a game with a pretty weak story, Twisted Metal has a pretty amazing ending. Or, rather, just what one would want out of an ending for a game like this. It's completley ambiguous, but at the same time definitely seems to be saying something about the franchise as a whole.

What do you think is going on in the game's ending?

If you haven't been following along with the plot of the Twisted Metal Series so far, Twisted Metal is a competition dreamed up by a long haired man in a suit with a burned face known as Calypso. Anyone who wins his competition is granted their greatest wish. But Calypso, being somewhat evil, will always grant the wish in a way that leads to death and misery even if that wasn not the wishers intent. Twisted Metal Black featured a new version of Calypso, but with the same modus operandi. In this game, however, all the contestants were from the same mental institution. Calypso was missing an eye and featured a bald head.

Twisted Metal 1 and 2 featured a comic book artstyle and a certain amount of sillyness. Twisted Metal Black featured an industrial look and feel that seemingly was inspired by Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails.

Twisted Metal Head On for the PSP returned to the look of the originals and added in a key story element. The game intimated that the Twisted Metal game was all a dream in the mind of Sweet Tooth, aka Marcus Kane.

SO, the story of Twisted Metal seems to revolve around the Kane family. Charles, the father, driver of Yellowjacket in Twisted Metal 1, Marcus aka Sweet Tooth, and his children in TM PS3.

The Twisted Metal Black universe is said to be a construction of Sweet Tooth's. Everyone is inside his head.

So here's where it gets interesting. In Twisted Metal Black, Calypso is missing an eye and has a bald head. In Twisted Metal PS3, Sweet Tooth has his eye stabbed out and has a bald head.

Is Calypso in Black, Marcus Kane from Twisted Metal PS3?

And what of the line from the radio that says quite explicitly that Twisted Metal PS3 is not real? What are the flashes of another reality at the end of Twisted Metal PS3? Is TM PS3 all in the preacher's mind? as he was shown to be in an asylum at the end of the game? Is that an asylum, or is that hell? Is calypso the devil, as has been suggested from the start? What about the scenes in Twisted Metal Head On when Calypso is shown to be less than in control of his powers as the Wish Granter of Twisted Metal?

Doesn't Calypso have a daughter that one of the endings of Head On shows he actually cares a lot about? I think 1,2 and Head on take place in the same continuity. Black is in Sweet Tooth's head, and this... I have no idea. I didn't play the previous games.

Why was preacher even in this game? All of the post credit stuff was kind of crazy too. Sweet Tooth's son is taking over for him, but so is his dead Daughter kind of? Maybe Sweet Tooths son will be the Sub-Zero brother that wasn't as evil.

It's hard to say why the preacher was in this game, but I feel like that makes his appearance that much more important. At the end he seemed to be incarcerated in an asylum with other inmates. So maybe this version of Twisted Metal was all in HIS head?

Calypso did have a daughter in Twisted 1 2 and Head On. Krista Sparks. A teenager in those games. Dollface in this one.

I really don't know how the Twisted Metal story continues after 2, but I really like the idea of everything after that game being a crazy dream of a lunatic, while the world was actually completely destroyed by the Twisted Metal competition. 

I thought the ending was very awesome and satisfying
 
But i thought there wasn't really anything canon about the series and that each iteration basically existed in it's own universe?
 
Does anyone know why they decided to focus on these three characters (that don't even really have interconnected storylines) vs the traditional everyone has their own ending?

yeah TM PS3 doesn't seem to follow any story arcs in any of the other games. TM 1 and TM 2 followed each other sort of, and TM: Head On Jaffe admitted was pretty much TM 3 (brought back dark tooth as tower tooth or whatever)...

but TM black and the PS3 version seem to stand alone. The ending videos pretty much suggest that calypso is the devil as much as possible, while still not saying it. The scene with the preacher and it panning out over a minute or so, showing calypso's tower is pretty much a jail in hell or something. Him ressurecting Sophie Kane, the little radio saying 'you're not where you think you are', etc...

My only disappointment is the complete lack of Minion. In TM 2 they made it clear that Calypso was actually afraid of Minion, and that he was just a puppet...with Minion running it. In TM Black, minion's story, which had no cut scenes, translated that everything was happening in Sweet Tooth's mind. The PS3 version doesn't even touch on him, but refers to some enemies as 'Sweet Tooth's Minion' in the ending boss fights...

I guess he was left out simply because the game now has independent vehicles and drivers, with relatively few drivers. Juggernaut is very similar to what Minion was in Black...but can't lie it would have been cool to see a story arc involving a guy wearing a goat head with the skin still intact...again...

My buddy and I just wrapped the story on Normal difficulty in two-player split-screen co-op.

Question for the community: does anybody know if there are different storylines for the different levels of difficulty, or does the whole thing pretty much end with Dollface's ending?

@bwmcmaste:

I haven't got far on twisted yet, but the first video for sweet tooth is identical to normal...they might throw some twists in there (absolutely no pun intended whatsoever...at all) later on on the higher difficulties, but i doubt it...

you did watch the videos after dollface's ending though, right? There are vids that start before and after the credits, in case you missed them...if you finished the story it should have unlocked them in the options, even if you never bothered to watch them.

@bwmcmaste: If you wait after the credits there are two epilogue videos. So, yes Dollface is the last actual story you play through but her ending cut-scene with the airport runway isn't the last scene in the game.

My biggest gripe was why they didn't do the old method of every character has their ONE specific vehicle and their back story as to why they want to win. I suppose it would of taken a lot more time with all the characters. As well as the garage system in general. It seems they wanted to focus on the MP more so or were just rushed to get the product out. I never played Black as I more or less abandoned console gaming for a while; so I will finally be able to get around to that now.

I've yet to touch the MP and will probably not play it on any harder difficulties but to be honest I am a bit disappointed with the game. The gimmicky races and "boss fights" just didn't do it for me. However it was a bit of a nostalgia trip, especially being I played today all day with a cold and reminded me of my early Junior High School years of being sick and with no one home playing video games in my underwear.

@Subject2Change:

that is why i bought it; nostalgia. i'd suggest at least trying the MP though, its pretty well done and a lot of fun. I've been looking for a less serious competitive multiplayer game lately, as i'm pretty wrapped up in BF3...which is great, but its hard not to get too in to it...where with TM i just aimlessly drive around trying to blow stuff up...like the originals, its just relaxing...

Agreed though on single player. It falls in the category of frustrating more so than challenging. I ended up not liking the boss battles, but sort of remember that i NEVER liked the boss battles anyway. The original titles just put you up against a horribly over powered opponent (minion, dark tooth, tower tooth, etc.)...and i like that the new version tries to get away from that...but it still falls pretty short...hell the third part of the final 'boss' with you having to drive through that gauntlet thing, was just...stupid...

and those races? Like you said, no idea who thought they were a good idea...