I don’t really like Twisted Metal 2. I want to establish that right off the bat. It’s not even a case of having enjoyed it at the time but it aged poorly for me or even not having played it at release so I approached it with inappropriate expectations…I played it in 1996 or 1997 when someone brought it to my house and even though I liked it conceptually I didn’t think the game was fun then. I thought the controls were bad and hard to use and the graphics had that “this game is falling apart while you play it” look that some early PlayStation games did, and while the idea of a guy strapped into a weird wheel of death and forced to fight a deranged clown in an ice cream truck is STILL a cool concept, frustrating controls and shoddy graphics are a pretty tough combination to overcome.

I did enjoy Vigilante 8, which I thought had better levels and controls, and then I really liked Twisted Metal: Black on PS2 so it’s not that I dislike car combat or even the Twisted Metal Series, I just personally think that Twisted Metal 2, specifically, is not a fun game.

But just because I don’t like Twisted Metal 2 doesn’t mean I have zero nostalgia for it, so back in January 2015 when Sony was running a bunch of blowout digital sales for the PS3 I picked up both TM1 and TM2 for $2.40 each, on the theory that they’re the sort of games I might want to check out at some point in the future. I never actually downloaded the PS3 versions, though I did end up spending a fair amount of time playing other PS1 games I picked up for the same reason, so taken as a whole buying that library wasn’t a bad idea.

After totally ignoring the PS1 during the PS4 generation, except for the release of the kind of sad PS1 Classic mini console, Sony has now decided to re-release a bunch of PS1 (and PSP) games for the PS5 (with PS4 versions included) and, in a move that’s very unlike modern day Sony, you get those versions for free if you bought the PS3 digital versions (this was NOT true for the PS2 games they put out on PS4, which you did not get even if you owned the PS3 digital versions.)

This month (July 2023) Twisted Metal 1 and 2 were the re-releases, probably because of the upcoming TV series, and I flagged to myself that I should pick up my free copies once they came out. I did so for Twisted Metal 1 with no issue; I just went to the PSN webstore page and clicked the “free” button under the game, I even downloaded it and messed around with it a bit. I don’t know if I ever played Twisted Metal 1 before but I was surprised at how bare bones it is compared to the later releases. But it was easy to tag it to my account.

Twisted Metal 2 was another story. When I went to it on the web store it gave me a “not available for purchase” error. There are a few PS1 classics that actually aren’t available to purchase and only as part of PS+ (like Ridge Racer 4 for some reason) but they don’t give you a “not available for purchase” error they just tell you to subscribe to PS+. The “not available for purchase” error is generally for content that has been delisted, which Twisted Metal 2 hadn’t. It also WAS available for purchase, which I could see by logging out and going to the store page, where it sat there taunting me by being available for purchase.

So this was just Sony’s webstore having errors, because why would a multi-billion dollar company run a functional webstore in 2023? The Internet is a fad and e-commerce is brand new, right?

My first step to trying to get around this was booting up my PS5 to see if I could get the game there. When I searched for it I saw it as “free” but when I actually tried to grab it it showed as full price $9.99. I could get it into my shopping cart at that price but I did not want to buy Twisted Metal 2, a game I don’t like, for another $10. I wanted it for free, which the console said I should be able to get. Incidentally, even though it showed as “not available for purchase” on the webstore I could put it into my cart on the console and it would show up in my cart on the webstore, which I found amusing because, well, Sony.

I’d had this issue before with Herc’s Adventures, which took a couple days to pop as “free” for me after it released so I waited for a bit, but despite Twisted Metal 2 showing as “free” when searched for in both the console and web stores it continued to show as “not available” or for full price. Even though I had no intention of playing the game immediately this bothered me enough that I searched for other people having similar problems (there were some) and any solutions (none of what worked for other people worked for me.)

The somewhat anti-climactic solution turned out to be using the webstore on my PS4 (which is still hooked up, even though I really don’t use it at this point) which both showed the game as free AND allowed me to claim it. It’s now in my library on my PS5 with no PS+ logo so it appears to have been properly claimed, even though it still shows “not available for purchase” on the webstore.

Why even write about this? Well for one thing I continue to be annoyed at how bad Sony’s webstore stuff and support are (for a normal company I would just send an email to support asking them to fix the issue but dealing with Sony support is a torment not worth dealing with for Twisted Metal 2) and wanted to vent. For another this could actually help someone else get their game. But I also think this reveals my somewhat dysfunctional relationship with digital game collection.

I don’t like Twisted Metal 2 and I already had my digital PS3 copy so why did it bother me that it took awhile for me to claim my “free” version? I also could have played it via my PS+ subscription so even if I had wanted to play it immediately that wouldn’t have been an issue. Sony does generally fix this stuff on their end eventually and, again, there was no practical difference for me. I think it’s a combination of wanting the security of knowing that even after I drop my PS+ sub I will be able to access it and also just a feeling of wanting what I’m owed. The funny thing is that if Sony just didn’t offer the free upgrade that probably wouldn’t bother me, but announcing that it’s available and then leaving me unable to access It even though the console told me the game should be free really irritated me.

Since getting my “free” Twisted Metal 2 digital copy I have not played the game but I have messed around a little with Twisted Metal 1. I don’t like it. The controls are awkward and the upscaled graphics don’t feel like they’re falling apart but are still pretty ugly. This is not a general dislike of PS1 games; I have enjoyed the PS4/5 re-releases of Hot Shots Golf 1 and 2, Ape Escape, and Wild Arms. I just don’t like Twisted Metal on PS1. At least now I’ll be able to revisit the game in 10 years and confirm that yeah, I still don’t enjoy it. So that’s something.

I can see Twisted Metal 2's AI difficulty appearing to be unfair and the control response feels stiff for today's standards plus I'm not into that franchise these days since I lost interest in death games in fiction, especially Hunger Games. I wish Ridge Racer Type 4 (PS1) and Ridge Racer 2 (PSP) were purchasable games instead of just paying for PS Plus Deluxe subscription.

I can tell that not everyone would like to use video game subscription services regardless of the gaming platform, so they personally prefer to purchase games instead.

I much prefer Vigilante 8 series and Interstate '76 & '82's plot, because instead of taking place in death game matches, it features protagonists that appear as vigilantes who are here to stop the antagonists from succeeding in their ideals.

Until I figured out a reliable direct URL (https://www.playstation.com/en-gb/ps-plus/whats-new/#monthly-games), every month I would go around in circles and get lost trying to figure out how to claim the monthly PS+ games on the website. I would start at the Subscriptions page and go to PS+ and that would just take me to a promotional page for it which showed the games sometimes, but clicking them would just take you to a different list of PS+-associated games and it was very difficult to navigate.

I just find the rollout of PS1 stuff on the new service to be really baffling. Beyond the content list itself, I've had a hell of a time finding a way to sort through NuPS+ to simply find a list of all PS1 games on that service. Like you, I intend to upgrade/redeem every one of my PSOne Classics onto the new service as they become available. Nice to know the process will be very stupid.

I've yet to play any Twisted Metal games during my life time, even though I've own almost all the PlayStation consoles. PS3 being the only one I don't own as I was heavy into PC gaming during that era. Twisted Metal 1 and 2 have been recently added to PS Plus and I'm wondering if I should finally give those games a go, or if they are outdated.

@av_gamer: I've played some Twisted Metal 1 on PS5 and I'd say it is...horrible. Close to unplayable at this point. If you have a PS+ subscription tier that gives you access you can find out for yourself but I would NOT spend $10 on it. I half want my $2.40 back from 2015!

Twisted Metal: Black is also on PSN and while I haven't played that recently it's also $10 (and goes on sale regularly) and I would just try that if you're interested in "classic" Twisted Metal. It will probably cycle onto PS+ at some point too.

@jeffrud There are a number of lists of releases such as https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_downloadable_PlayStation_games_(North_America) (you need to sort by PS4/5 releases but i think everything there, though not everything has a redeemable 'permanent' copy, some are PS+ only.)

I have given up on Sony's web store not being a mess. It's 2023 and they still don't have screenshots for most games even though they do exist on the PS5 version of the store. Their PS+ landing page is a disaster if you are a current subscriber. The whole thing is baffling.

@bigsocrates This Wikipedia list has been updated with PS5 dates! Rejoice. Now to comb through my PSOne library. I have Japanese and North American releases so I wind up in some weird buckets where my copy of IQ is the Japanese version, so updating/upgrading that will keep it locked to my JP account. But at least I know what to fuck with now. That plus the Namco stuff not being updatable means my copy of Mr. Driller doesn't want to migrate. Sad bears.

This whole fiasco is a conspiracy by Jim Ryan to provoke a negative response to any game older than The Last of Us.

I wanted to play Ridge Racer Type 4 a few weeks ago and I rembered hearing it was ported. But then I saw you have to be a subscriber. Forget that noise. I was willing to buy the game again - instead, I ended up plugging my PS2 into a tiny handmedown CRT and sitting on the floor which unexpectedly went a long way to reviving nostalgia.

I am very well aware that my love of RR4 is fueled by the slobberiest of nostalgia, but goddamn why not allow me to pay you for the privilege of a warm nostalgia bath? Goes back to "piracy as a service problem".

@jeffrud: Good news! Namco has released its games for purchase. I got Tekken 2 and Ridge Racer Type 4 for "free" because I had them on PS3/PSP/VITA. Mr. Driller and Ridge Racer 2 (PSP) are also available.