VIDEO GAME REVIEW: 'Twisted Metal' worthy of the name
The popularity of vehicular-combat games was at its height in the late '90s, and “Twisted Metal” was one of the most beloved series representing the genre.
Those heights are long gone, but that hasn’t stopped developer Eat Sleep Play from releasing a game simply called “Twisted Metal,” which integrates classic vehicular-combat into the modern gaming landscape.
The game does a phenomenal job creating fast-paced chaos that doesn’t leave players confused about what’s happening. The player never feels lost, even with 15 other players shooting in every direction and debris falling.
Crazy weapons and destructible environments help add to the jovial madness of “Twisted Metal.” Want something better than mere rockets? Players can use the Sweet Tooth ice cream truck to transform into a huge robot, or use the Reaper motorcycle and hurl flaming chainsaws at opponents.
Is there an enemy behind a house? No problem; just plow right through the building and continue pursuing the opposing vehicle.
The stages are massive playgrounds where everyone can just have fun blowing up each other and the environment. The larger levels can also be split into smaller sections for different match types or smaller player counts.
There is a single-player story mode that is pretty fun, along with a challenge mode where players can fight bots, but everything really comes together with the online multiplayer.
“Twisted Metal” offers many of the basic competitive modes such as deathmatch and team deathmatch, but Nuke Mode is the stand-out, which is basically a combination of capture the flag and assault.
When everything goes properly, the multiplayer is exhilarating. Even players in dead last will be hard pressed to find matches unpleasant.
Matchmaking doesn’t always work properly at the moment, but it’s a testament to how good the game is that it’s worth wading through some of the problems just to find a good 10-minute match.
“Twisted Metal” comes at a time when vehicular-combat games are almost nonexistent, but solid game play mixed with good single-player and phenomenal multiplayer content makes the temporary resurrection of the genre worthwhile.
