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The Twisted Metal Games You Might Have Missed
RyanDJ
August 6, 2010
O
ne of my favorite games has always been Twisted Metal. With the new game on the way for the PS3, this is definitely something that may make me break down and finally get the PS3. There is a bit of history to this series, though, that people who joined in with Black on the PS2 may not know, and therefore you are missing out on some quality games that currently have a low price point on Goozex along with a few offers.
Twisted Metal 2 was, is, and may very well always be the pinnacle of the series for me. My friends and I ran it into the ground, playing two New
Year's Eves in a row, and nonstop between, during, and after. The slick, tight controls, the true multiplayer co-op mayhem. . .it was gaming
perfection for us. If you don't know the story behind the game series, though, you may notice a difference if you just Gooz Twisted Metal 3 or 4,
looking for more of the same. I agree with David Jaffe, one of the TM original creators, when he said they are good games, just not good Twisted
Metal games.
The short story is this: SingleTrac worked on Twisted Metal 1 and 2. Copyright issues sent them their own way, while Sony officially owned the TM license. They handed the series off to 989 Studios, who made 3 and 4. The group, under a different company, ended up coming back to the series later, hence the newer games have the old feel to them.
The developers weren't sitting around doing nothing during that time, though. A couple of quality games came out of that time period. Using the gaming engine they created and still owned, the developers put out two spiritual successors: Rogue Trip: Vacation 2012 and Critical Depth. Given they didn't have the rights to their own creation, the developers had to make up new scenarios. Both games have characters, combat, and humor that would make any Twisted Metal fan feel right at home.
Rogue Trip is the more familiar game. Still a vehicular combat game, their characters will ring familiar: from the Weeniemobile that pulls the hot dog from the bun and slams the person in front of them (like Mr. Slam the construction vehicle) to the ambulance that has a familiar control feel and special move to Outlaw, characters may not be the same. . .but they feel right. Added into the regular chaos is a "capture the flag" mode of sorts. You see, in the "far flung" future of 2012, the world is decimated, but there's still people wanting to sightsee. So there's one tourist in the level, and everyone's actually not out to kill each other, they're out to make money! Pick up the tourist and take them to photo op locations. Sit there long enough to get a picture taken, and get cash. However, once you get the tourist, you become the target of everyone else.
Critical Depth is a bit more out of familiar territory, but it still ranks #2 in my favorites (right under TM2). The developers took the vehicular combat under the waves. Again with familiar character models (a guy with a handheld scuba cruiser that plays like Mr. Grimm, a big yellow submarine that grabs and shakes you like Slam, a children's show pirate host who is reminiscent of Sweet Tooth) and familiar combat, the third dimension adds a lot to the game. Being able to go up, around, and into places allowed new styles of ambush and attack patterns. This game was slower than the others, but I feel rightly so, as if it had the speed of TM2 you couldn't keep up with the. . .depth. Another twist was the "pods." The basic storyline is that humans are finding alien "Thresholds" under the sea that are activated when one individual finds all five "pods" in a level. You actually don't have to kill everyone, it's "capture five flags and RUN!" Each pod you got granted you an enhanced ability: stronger weapons, a larger health bar, etc. Again, the more pods you got, the more of a target you are.
As I noted with most of the games from this company, they know how to focus on gameplay over graphics. While effective, these two games definitely don't ramp up the graphical quality from Twisted Metal 2, but the gameplay is tight, responsive, and fun. I didn't personally own Rogue Trip, so I didn't get to finish it, but Critical Depth had a huge single player campaign with tons of characters that you wanted to see the full story for, and there were quite a few unlockables. And, to top it off, the music was top-notch. I really liked that Rogue Trip had the Mighty Mighty Bosstones in their soundtrack, and Critical Depth had an epic sounding song list appropriate for epic sea battles. Rogue Trip also had some unique unlocks, such as a helicopter and a UFO.
These two games are true gems that may get missed by a newer gamer, thinking they were competition for the Twisted Metal series, when in effect, they are more Twisted Metal than 3 or 4 ever could be. The enemies are truly out for victory, not just "kill the human player" like Twisted Metal was in those two games. Cars (or subs) are tight and responsive, where Twisted Metal got rather slippery. There were inventive levels and enough twists to the gameplay to keep it fresh. If you enjoyed Twisted Metal: Black and are looking forward as I am to another game by the people who KNOW car combat, download or Gooz Twisted Metal 2. But also don't miss these two gems of the car combat crown.
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