At long last, the clowns have come to the PS3 with the arrival of Twisted Metal. The video game mixes cars, carnage, and an array of ordinances that would make even the most battle-hardened general or defense contractor envious.
I got a chance to play against the developers at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas and sadly I did better against them than the real flesh and blood challengers I faced online. With an arsenal of chain guns, rockets, mines, and an assortment of power-ups to acquire and deploy, I had thought I was armed for anything on wheels. Imagine my shock when I was mixing it up with a helicopter, and caught between a semi and a phalanx of sports cars all dealing death.
The maps are highly diverse with everything from cities to arenas as fair game and they are very expansive. I took great amounts of glee in kicking in the nitro and really zooming along the roads while making an escape or closing on a target. One bridge map was a great challenge as it effectively narrowed the field of play and made me very aware that recoil from rockets and bullets as well as fenders can give you an up-close view of the scenic canyon floor far below.
The game also has a solo play mode where the real gold in the game can be mined. You get a real look into the twisted menagerie of characters in the game and their complete and utter lack of any sort of redeeming social graces. The solo portion of the game has players taking on challenges in various locales to defeat all those who stand in your way until you are the only one left. Players can select three vehicles, each with their own unique features which can be accessed when players enter a garage. This involves slick strategy because when you’re banged up, you have to get to the garage and get a new car before your dead. A new vehicle allows you to keep the fight going while the other cars in the garage are getting repaired, but each one will have its own pros and cons from speed, handling, armor, weapons, etc.
Naturally you can unlock new vehicles and such as the game unfolds but there will also be traps and more to contend with as each challenge is tough and tougher to master. You can also have a friend join you in co-op which is a very nice and welcome touch.
But that is the joy of Twisted Metal in a nutshell Cars, carnage, action, and metal, lots of metal. From flaming wrecks, and Sammy Hagar this game has it all. Graphically it gets you into the action and never lets go. The framerate of the cars is amazing as you move at a fast and frantic pace which requires even the most skilled players to really learn their controls to make split second decisions.
I have played many auto combat games such as Interstate 76, Interstate 82, Carmageddon, and RAGE, but for my money, Twisted Metal for the PS3 was, to quote Judas Priest, “freewheel burning.”
4 stars out of 5.
