Old School
Pros:
-Insanely fast and fun paced game play
-Great old school feel
-Weapons are all fun and unique and feel powerful
-Game runs at a sweet and smooth constant 60 fps
-AI is great and provides a brutal challenge
-Multiplayer is addicting (when the online portion works)
-One of the best game soundtracks out there
-A good variety of different game play types
-Vehicles control great and feel unique (once you get used to them)
Cons:
-Online has matchmaking and server issues
-Campaign is a bit short
-Storyline isn't the best
Twisted Metal returns and this time it's on the PS3, and overall it's great! The game boasts some of the most fast and chaotic game play around, and it's some of the most fun I've had in a long time. This time around however there are some changes, unlike past TM games you only have 3 drivers now, however they are capable of driving all the vehicles.
The lack of characters may seem confusing but it's not too bad as you can still drive whatever vehicle you want to. You play as Sweet Tooth, Mr Grimm, and Doll Face over the course of the single player, all with their own unique (and disturbing) story lines.
Although some story lines are better than others, it still does a good job at keeping you entertained, in the story mode you'll fight bosses and unlock vehicles and participate in new game play modes in the series such as races as cage matches. They may seem a little out of place in a Twisted Metal game (it is car combat after all) but they are actually pretty fun and handled quite well.
The story line is short however and can be beaten in about 6 hours, so if your looking for just a single player game and not interested in MP you should look elsewhere to spend you money, however all this isn't much of an issue as the game play is top notch!
To start off with the vehicles are REALLY fast, and they control great! It might take some getting used too at first because the control set up is a little different than most driving games, but they work great for this game and your going to love it once you get used to it.
Each vehicle handles a little differently as they have different stats, but at their core it's the same. Now the goal in this game is simple: Kill the other cars! Each vehicle has different ability's and specials, for instance one vehicle is capable of turning into a giant robot while another is armed with a flame thrower!
Each vehicle has two specials and has it's own way of handling that make each one feel unique, but each vehicle is better at certain things. Some vehicles have more armor than others, which is perfect for closed quarters combat, while others are more faster which is good for chasing down enemies and doing hit-and-run style game play.
And this is Twisted Metal's strongest point: The game play! It is in a word, AWESOME! Nothing is better than chasing down an enemy through a busy street while shooting missiles at high speed as you hit the turbo with hard rock music playing in the background! Nothing comes close to this high intense game play!
This is also even more fun as the AI is great as well, they will pick up items, use and find health, and will run and retreat when low on health. These are not just dumb AI bots, they are pretty intelligent and provide a good challenge for the player. However if you get tired of playing with AI you can play the game with others in MP and the fun really starts (sometimes, more on that later).
There are several different styles of MP in this game, you have your standard free for all type matches like death match, hunted ect... but there are several other types of modes too such as Nuke (kinda like CTF but more chaotic and more to it) and king of the hill type matches, all of which are available on all the (very awesome) maps!
The map design in this game is great and provides a lot of variety from desert canyons to crowded city streets and subways to giant stadiums of death, Twisted Metal has it all. And nothing is better than playing this game with your friends in either split screen or online (when it works).
When it comes to the online world, Twisted Metal is iffy, the game has a number of matchmaking issues that hurt it. Sometimes getting into a game is easy and quick, other times it can be a nightmare, they have released a couple patches so far but they haven't fixed the issues completely, so let's hope they do soon. But once you actually play an online match the game is flawless, it runs smooth with no lag whatsoever and I haven't been dropped from a match once it starts.
However none of these issues hurt Twisted Metal's core, which is a great fast paced game that is fun with an old school feel. The core game play it' self is such a blast it's addicting, and you'll keep coming back to it. It's also a great game to introduce you friends to as your all going to be laughing from how much fun you have.
Final Verdict:
While the SP may be short and spotty in it's story, and the online may have a few issues, it doesn't hinder this game too much. You do NOT want to miss out on this game, if your a veteran of the old Twisted Metal games, or simply a fan of crazy and fast paced game play, you owe it to yourself to pick this game up!
Twisted Metal get's a 4/5
