Isaac Newby
The Broadside
Twisted Metal has it all: an insane story, vehicular carnage and a throwback to the late ‘90s throughout. What more could you want from the undisputed king of the action/fighting race series? Not much, as this game is pretty much unique and knows it.
In its design, Twisted Metal has no learning curve, it has a learning cliff. The controls and objectives are explained and you are immediately thrown into the chaos. For those unfamiliar with the series or the game play, be prepared for a steep jump in difficulty very early on. The control scheme reaches the limits of complication from the very beginning, but really provides the only area for complaints. Once you get comfortable however, the controls will rarely cause issues.
The multi-player is—and has always been—the best part of the game. The four-player split screen gives the perfect balance of crazy and fun for those wanting an atypical party experience. The main story can be played either solo or split screen, and is a much better experience as split screen. Split screen outside of the story lacks the type of party play, close-quarters match ups that made games such as Halo or Goldeneye nearly perfect to play with friends.
With a great multi-player experience, a fun and engaging story, and true re-playability from the online or split screen game modes, Twisted Metal offers a compelling package for the price. With some tweaks to the game mode options offered in split screen and simplification of controls, this would be a nearly perfect action racer. The maps are huge and well designed, the cars are as ridiculous as their drivers but frankly, none of this is as important as fact that Eat, Sleep, Play has brought back the mid-’90s and made it both fun and relevant for today’s audience.
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