Twisted Metal - PlayStation 3

Twisted Metal Review: Car Combat's Explosive Return

2012-02-14T17:00:00Z

The Twisted Metal series will always have a place in PlayStation history. In the early years of the PSone, the successful vehicular combat game brought attention to a console trying to establish its identity. After creator David Jaffe left, the series floundered with two disappointing 989 Studios installments before returning with the hit Twisted Metal: Black. After a 10-year hiatus from consoles, how does the series stack up in a vastly different gaming landscape largely devoid of vehicular combat games?

In terms of classic Twisted Metal gameplay, this is the best the series has ever been. When the game drops a handful of vehicles into a gigantic, destructible playground littered with weapons, it’s a blast. Most of the classic weapons are back, although developer Eat Sleep Play altered some things slightly. Each vehicle now has two special attacks, remote bombs can be shot forward, and new weapons like the stalker and swarmer missiles operate with a simple charge mechanic and deal massive damage if timed correctly. Abilities like reverse turbo and alternate sidearms also help mix up your strategies.

Perhaps the most convenient change to the gameplay is the way players access energy attacks. In previous games, sequences of three to four d-pad presses were required to access secondary abilities like the freeze, landmines, shields, and rear fire. In this new installment, you access all of these with one simple press of the d-pad. Firing an EMP at an enemy is as easy as pressing up, while your missiles can be fired behind you with a quick press of down on the d-pad. This simple tweak significantly improves ease of use.

Twisted Metal saves its most notable changes for the single-player story mode. Previous titles typically featured over a dozen characters with unique endings. This new title ditches this approach in favor of a single linear story featuring Sweet Tooth, Mr. Grimm, and Dollface. Each of these segments follows the formula established in Black: You first learn their motivations for entering Calypso’s tournament, receive a story update halfway through the game, and then witness the results of their granted wish when they finally confront Calypso. Told through stylized vignettes that mix live action and CG visuals, these stories are campy at times, but each is interesting and well produced. Given their decent quality, it’s disappointing to have such a limited selection of narrative perspectives.

The lack of character variety is disappointing, as are the moments in the story mode when Twisted Metal deviates from its strengths. Classic deathmatches are always fun, and a couple of the boss fights are great. However, things go awry when the game introduces checkpoint races and non-traditional boss battles. One race is completely unwinnable if you fall off any one of numerous skyscrapers, and two poorly designed multi-stage bosses really tested my patience.

Thankfully, the multiplayer is pure Twisted Metal. Deathmatch modes place you in one of the game’s numerous massive maps, and it doesn’t take long for things to turn into an all-out warzone. Nuke mode is chaotic and entertaining, with two teams capturing their enemy’s leader and launching him or her at a massive effigy of the opposing team. Hunted and Last Man Standing are also fun, but can’t compete with the insanity of Nuke. Gamers irked by the “die five seconds after you spawn” experience from titles like Call of Duty should enjoy the longer lifespans of Twisted Metal’s online play. On the other side of the coin, shooter fans used to extensive progression systems may be disappointed with Twisted Metal’s bare-bones ranking system. Though it has an XP system, all you can unlock are sidearms, vehicles, and skins that are already offered in the story mode.

When Twisted Metal embraces the series traditions, it delivers the best action ever seen in the franchise. When it departs from convention, however, it becomes a hit or miss affair. Whether or not vehicular combat can strike a chord with gamers in 2012 the way it did in 1995 remains to be seen, but Twisted Metal is a blast when it’s firing on all cylinders.

Mr. Grimm Stars In The Latest Trailer

2011-12-16T23:31:00Z

The latest Twisted Metal trailer looks at the backstory of Mr. Grimm sung to the rocking tunes of Rob Zombie's Dragula, a song that released in 1998.

There isn't much narrative to be drawn from the trailer, but you do get a decent helping of gameplay footage.

Twisted Metal is set for release on February 14.

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Get To Know Dollface And Juggernaut In New Clip

2011-08-26T18:10:00Z

Twisted Metal creator David Jaffe revealed Twisted Metal's Valentine's Day release date yesterday, and also gave a sneak peak at an upcoming trailer. Guess what? Now we've got it.

The clip shows off how Dollface came to be such a maladjusted young lady, as well as plenty of footage featuring the marauding semi truck, Juggernaut. Gasp as spiked murder balls careen toward their victim and explode. Watch as the meat grinder fires a steady stream of hot lead at its target. Cry when the clip is over.

That last step is completely optional.

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Everything You Need To Know About Twisted Metal

2011-07-25T22:04:00Z

With its October 4 release date quickly approaching, fans of car combat should have their calendars marked for the return of Twisted Metal. It’s been ten years since the series has seen a full-scale console release (Head-On for PS2 was a PSP port), and the overall vehicular combat scene has been a ghost town in the last decade. Things are about to change thanks to the franchise’s imminent return, and we’ve got all the info you need to get you up to speed.

Rough Drafts

Despite repeatedly stating on Twitter that he was not working on a new Twisted Metal title, David Jaffe and Eat Sleep Play co-founder Scott Campbell appeared at the Sony E3 2010 press conference with news to the contrary. Flanked by Sweet Tooth and his iconic ice cream truck, Jaffe announced that there would indeed be a new Twisted Metal, and it would be arriving on the Playstation 3.

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Once the cat was out of the bag, Jaffe began to speak about previous incarnations that didn’t get much further than the concept art phase. Twisted Metal: Apocalypse was set in a gritty post-apocalyptic world, but was eventually scrapped thanks to the numerous games on the market set in similar environments. Another idea made the car combat series resemble Rockstar’s Midnight Club. On the topic of this version, Jaffe stated “The original version of this game was much more urban and Midnight Club. None of the crazy characters were there, they were much more normal. As we went through production we got our Twisted vibe back.”

Even with the team getting their “Twisted vibe” back, they didn’t forsee it becoming the full-scale retail release that it eventually turned into. In an interview I conducted last year, Jaffe told me that it was initially planned as a $9.99 or $12.99 PSN title. "As we started development, there was a sense of ‘hey, we could entertain a lot more people with this, but it means we’re gonna have to have more levels, more cars, more modes.’ Every four or five months we’d have meetings with Sony and be like ‘We really need a single player now, and we really need some more multiplayer modes.’ By the end of it, it kind of evolved into what it is now. I think it evolved because what we saw so early seemed to have so much potential,” said Jaffe.[PageBreak]

A Psychotic Cast

Previous entries in the series featured numerous characters, each with their own reason for entering the tournament. Upon winning, Calypso typically granted their one wish by twisting their words in an unfortunate fashion. Rather than following this oft-repeated formula, the new Twisted Metal will focus on four factions rather than an assortment of individual characters.

Each faction will be led by a familiar character - Sweet Tooth leads the Clowns, Preacher leads the Holy Men, Mr. Grimm leads the Skulls, and Dollface leads the Dolls. You’ll play as one of the faction leaders, and various live action cutscenes will tell the story as you progress. “The new [videos] aren’t CG, and they aren’t 2D Flash cartoons. They’re live action, sort of a cross between full-motion video and comic books come to life. In terms of comparing it to the other two games’ tone, I would say these aren’t as dark as Black in the sense that they’re really pushing boundaries of taste. We don’t have a preacher crucifying himself to a wall or drowning a baby, we’re not going to that level. But the actual stories themselves and the characters themselves are actually more sad and darker and twisted and the stories are a little more psychological Twilight Zone than they were in Black...I think it’s got a bit more psychological creepiness to it than the full-blown gorefest that Black was,” says Jaffe.

That quote comes from last year, before we heard the news that Twisted Metal would scrap its Teen rating in lieu of a violence-embracing Mature. Jaffe said "Without blood, it felt a little weird, frankly.” Whether we’ll be treated to Black’s “full-blown gorefest” or simply seeing a little more blood isn’t known yet, but it should give Eat Sleep Play a little more breathing room in terms of content.

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Series fans are used to a small-scale mid-boss and a larger final boss encounter, but this entry promises three huge boss battles throughout the campaign. I battled the Iron Maiden at E3 this year, and it was a multi-stage ordeal featuring a gargantuan robotic doll. Racing through a canyon while this monstrosity launched barrages of explosives at me felt more action-packed than any boss fight in series’ history, and it certainly makes me excited to see what the other bosses have in store.[PageBreak]

The Lineup

A large variety of vehicles have been turned into scrap metal throughout Twisted Metal’s 16-year existence, and this new entry will be no different. Here are the vehicles we’ve seen so far:

Meat Wagon - Ambulance that launches a TNT-strapped patient on a gurney. One firing mode fires him like a missile, while another allows you to remote-control the terrified patient into your enemies.
Vermin - This exterminator van features an animatronic missile-mounted rat on top. As you might expect, this rat rocket can be fired and directed towards enemies.
Motorcycle - Mr. Grimm’s favorite mode of transportation will grant its driver a throwable chainsaw. If simply throwing chainsaws at people is too vanilla for you, you can pop a wheelie and drag the blade across the ground, setting the weapon on fire.
Junkyard Dog - Tow truck that launches taxis at foes.
Roadboat - Old sedan that comes equipped with a giant magnet. This can pull in enemy cars, allowing you to ram them into walls or launch them anywhere you choose (even into other enemies).
Juggernaut - Semi truck. Allies can hop into the trailer and control mounted turrets.
Death Warrant - Muscle car with vulcan turrets. These can be charged to fire a series of swarm missiles.
Axel - Two giant tires with the driver strapped in the middle. This vehicle debuted in Twisted Metal 2.
Talon - Helicopter equipped with miniguns.

Unlike previous entries in the series, your driver in multiplayer won’t determine your vehicle. You can swap between modes of transportation after you die, so you won’t be stuck with an unfortunate vehicle choice for the entire duration of the round.

The Weapons

Many of Twisted Metal’s trademark tools of destruction will be returning this October. A handful of attacks will be new, such as the ones that involve a passenger-side driver leaning out the window. In addition, each vehicle will feature two special attacks instead of the trademark one. Here are the confirmed weapons as of this writing:

Fire Missile
Homing Missile
Power Missile
Homing Power Missile (can be charged)
Gas Can
Napalm
Zoomy Missile
Molotov Cocktail
RC Detonator
Shotgun
Sniper
Ricochet (now appears as an RC car)

Players will also have access to an energy bar for a handful of other abilities. Rather than having to memorize a series of d-pad inputs like in the past, you can now activate each of these with only one press of the d-pad. Land mines, shields, EMP blasts (replaces freeze), and rear-fire are all one touch away, and will be moderated by a constantly-recharging energy bar.[PageBreak]

The Battlegrounds

Whereas some entries of the series (2-4) featured a “world tour” theme that took the tournament to various real-world cities, others (the first game, Twisted Metal: Black) opted for an “Anytown, USA” vibe. This new edition will fall into the latter’s camp, with unspecific environments just begging to be ripped apart. “The battles are in places that you can relate to. They’re not exotic locations, they’re all places that you’ve probably driven your car before is kind of the idea,” said Jaffe. “If you haven’t driven your car through it, you’ve probably looked at it and said ‘man, that would be fun to drive a car there.’ Places in your own backyard for the most part is the mantra.”

Not all of the locations will be something you’d see on your drive to work, however. Blackrock Stadium is specifically built for the tournament, and features lava pits and other obstacles. Jaffe stresses that the areas won’t get too insane, however. Speaking on Blackrock Stadium, he said “Well, it’s not set on a pirate ship going through outer space.”

Few locations have been confirmed as of this writing. We saw an urban stage during several demos, as well as a small town location featuring houses, churches, and a movie theater. Knowing the series, we’re willing to bet at least one area will see us ramping our vehicles across rooftops.

While the series attempted to bring the carnage online with Twisted Metal Black: Online, the time wasn’t right. Most PS2 owners didn’t own a network adapter, and online multiplayer wasn’t yet a console gaming phenomenon. Because of this, the new Twisted Metal will mark the first time many of the franchise’s fans will take the action to the internet. Its campaign can be played four-player either locally or online, and 16-player multiplayer modes are sure to extend its replay value significantly.

Multiplayer staples like deathmatch and last man standing will be available, but the most intriguing mode we’ve seen so far has been Nuke. Shown off at E3 last year, it combines many different objectives into one ridiculous mode. Your initial objective will be to capture the rival faction’s leader and drag them to your team’s missile launcher. From there, you have to launch them (along with the nuke missile) towards a giant effigy that symbolizes your enemy. As it soars through the sky, your rival team will need to do everything in their power to shoot it down before it reaches its target.

A New Generation

Twisted Metal 1 and 2 were huge hits for the PSone, and Black followed up on its success on the PS2 in 2001. Things have changed in the last ten years, however. What we’ve played of the game seems fantastic, and we’re hoping it resonates with multiplayer-focused gamers in 2011. Jaffe has expressed concern over people within Sony that “don’t really get it,” but gamers will ultimately decide how much success this car combat revival sees when it releases this October.

Twisted Metal Looking Better Than Ever In PS3 Debut

2011-06-08T01:31:00Z

Plenty of people look back at the Twisted Metal series as a bit of a cult classic. Despite how it's viewed by many gamers, I consider it to be one of my favorite games of all time. Something about its gleeful silliness, comic violence, and wicked sense of humor grabbed my full attention as a kid, and I've been wanting a full-scale new version since 2001's Twisted Metal: Black. David Jaffe, Scott Campbell, and Eat Sleep Play have done just that with the new Twisted Metal, and I got a chance to check it out today at E3.

The first level I saw was a boss fight against Iron Maiden, a gigantic robotic doll with a rotating head and tons of missiles. She flies around the level launching projectiles at you, while her lackeys drive around in cars and try to take your vehicle out. These lackeys can actually help you out however, as destroying their vehicles allows you to run over the driver for a quick health bonus.

There are several phases to the boss fight, and one involves launching a giant missile at the monster. After she takes enough damage and starts fleeing, a red circle appears around the Iron Maiden that you have to stay within. Keep up with her and launch a steady stream of missiles, and she'll eventually crash through a bridge for the final section of the battle. Boss fights such as these appear three times during the campaign, and they should be larger ordeals than the Minion fights from the series' past.

After watching the boss fight, the controller was handed over to me for challenge mode. Like in the past, this plops you down in an area of your choosing with the car and enemies of your choosing, and a free-for-all breaks out. The first thing I noticed is that veterans of the series will immediately pick up on the controls. Other than a switch of the L2 and R2 functions, controlling the various vehicles feels as smooth and natural as ever.

All of the series' trademark weapons are back, but some are slightly altered. The freeze attack is now an EMP of sorts, the remote bomb can now be shot instead of placed, and the ricochet bomb is now a remote control car. Some weapons can be charged, such as the swarm missiles and homing power missiles. The sniper and shotgun weapons allow a gunner to lean out of your passenger window and fire at the enemy while you drive.

Eat Sleep Play has created a new Twisted Metal that will feel right at home for longtime fans, while still delivering new thrills to keep it relevant in 2011. Online multiplayer for this series has never been featured in a proper manner on consoles, so this should be great for hours upon hours of PSN fun. Keep an eye out for it when it releases this October.

Jaffe Talks About Twisted Metal's Balance, Story, And XP-Based Progression

2011-04-14T16:13:00Z

We had an opportunity to pick the brain of David Jaffe, director of Twisted Metal and founder of developer Eat, Sleep, Play, at Sony's press event in Hollywood, California. The outspoken developer explains how balancing Twisted Metal is akin to tweaking fighting games, touches on the creepiness of the game's story, and offers a glimpse into how the game's experience-based progression will work.

In the past you’ve compared balancing the combat in Twisted Metal to the fine tuning that occurs in fighting games. Can you expand on this?

I think there’re two things – when I say fighting game – that we’re talking about. The first one is the amount of layers that we feel the weapons and the player abilities have. So if you take a fighting game, you’ve got a punch. Everybody can do a punch. Then you’ve got a special move. Then you’ve got a counter or block. Then you get into a lot of these that are way too hard for me like “super-combo-**** that,” I don’t do it that way. But it’s really similar in that what we want out of this game is two things in that regard. One is for the player to feel that they can jump right in and have an experience that is instantly satisfying, very surface, very shallow, a lot of destruction, a lot of fantastical characters and weapons. That’s our punch. But we also want – we talked a little bit tonight about the Meat Wagon, the ambulance – take that for example. If you launch that guy [strapped with explosives, on a gurney] out of the back he’s just a missile – that’s a punch. If you launch him and you do a remote-controlled attack, you can basically detonate him at any time and do a splash damage radius effect. That’s great for two reasons. One, if you’re like “you know what I just want to get a bunch of guys at once, I’m going to have to steer and risk a little bit to get in there, but I don’t have to be so close and so accurate, but I have to work a little than just launching him like a missile.” Or I can also use that specifically if I say “I want to go after this group of guys because that particular blast radius knocks guys back and we’re fighting on a rooftop, I want to use it that way.” Or you can say “I’m going to risk a lot. I’m going to risk the fact that when this guy is out in the level on the gurny, he can get shot and taken out and I can lose my special.” We also haven’t decided if you’ll be vulnerable while you’re controlling this guy. We’re shielding you for now, but we’re not sure if we want to make you vulnerable while you’re attacking with the remote controlled gurney. If you can get a direct hit, imagine chasing the guy through traffic, weaving in and out of traffic because anything you hit blows you up. If you get a direct hit without detonating it, it’s devastatingly more powerful. That’s one of the things I mean when I say fighting game. Which is a punch or a button in a fighting game can become that single punch or throw. I love the idea of giving players places to go with the basic mechanics over the months or years or whatever – however successful this game ends up being – there’s more to learn. When you throw that into online with the team play, where I can learn some stuff and you can learn some stuff and we’re doing that together, that’s pretty cool.

The other fighting game thing I mean is that so many online shooters are very quick when you die. You take a few steps, you get shot, you’re dead. I hate that cadence. And I love fighting game cadence where we can get into a battle and it is a ****ing slugfest sometimes where we form that relationship. I come back from a weakness and I get you or we trade pixels back and forth, and it feels like we’ve had a relationship. In Twisted Metal we’re doing the same thing. Given, we’re dealing with 15 other cars, we can’t let you survive that long, but it’s substantially longer than most shooters. I can have you down to almost nothing then you drive into the health semi or learn that part of the map really well and suddenly you go get that health and I’m like “**** don’t get the health, don’t get the health!” and I’m hoping that my energy recharges fast enough that I can launch an EMP at you to stop you from getting the health before you get it. That’s also what I mean by fighting game, where we want to build those kind of moments in the moment-to-moment battles which we don’t see a lot of in online shooters.

What is it like dedicating time to developing well known characters like Sweet Tooth and Mr. Grimm while driving forward the new features of the gameplay?

It’s been a really fun challenge for a lot of reasons. Our single-player, our campaign – which you can also play co-op online or splitscreen locally – is deeper and more varied than any we’ve done. And the bosses are awesome. We love the bosses. The fiction, if you like Sweet Tooth, you get to learn more about his history, his origin. A lot of **** happens in his world that really pays off in growing him as a character. Preacher, Dollface, Calypso. Definitely for people who like Twisted Metal for the single-player and the stories, these will be the best stories. I keep saying I can’t wait to get back to my hotel because I want to see what the press thinks about some of these live-action shots we’ve started showing over the last couple of weeks, because we were always afraid that people would think our stories were cheesy. We’re not moviemakers, we don’t have that skill set that a lot of people are used to. But I look at these and I love the stories and I love the visuals of how we’re telling these stories. That’s a big part of this game, but it’s very important that people understand that if you’re looking specifically for some great single-player adventure that can compete with Uncharted 3 or Dead Space 2, that’s not what this is about. We have a great IP, great fiction, we’re going to have a great single-player campaign and multiplayer campaign, but at the end of the day this is a game you buy because either you love local splitscreen gaming with lots of different modes for 2-4 players, or you love going online. If you’re looking for a great single-player game and that’s all you’re looking for, this is probably not the game for you.

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One disturbing live action shot in the new trailer shows Sweet Tooth attacking a girl. This segment attracted some criticism suggesting that it might imply something more sinister than a simple slasher-style kill. How exemplary is that moment of the vibe we can expect in Twisted Metal’s story sequences?

These were written to be creepy, effective, good stories. They were not written with the shock value of Black in mind. I was honestly surprised by that shot. Some people saw it as more than it really is. If you were to see it in context you very quickly realize that it’s part of a cool story that no one would find offensive unless they find Freddy, and Jason, and Michael Myers offensive. What I will say is that we’ve been doing these movies with animatics, and green screen, and rudimentary 3D for almost a year. Now we’re starting to get the visuals in and it is amazing. The story hasn’t even changed. You’ll never see a blood or a knife hitting anyone. It’s amazing how just the visual treatment of a couple of seconds can send a message that has nothing to do with the story that’s being told. I will tell you that the visual style and the stories we’re telling are going to be very reflective of these things you’re seeing [in the trailer] today. A lot of things – I won’t go into them, I’m sure you know and your readers can find out – certain things people have said about these images they’ve seen are way off the mark and certainly not what our stories are about.

Perhaps you can chalk it up to people being interested in learning more about the game.

I hope so, because we bend over backwards to make good stories that are horror stories, and fun, and good, but they’re not meant to be shock value for the sake of shock value. Some of the stuff people are talking about – it’s like “no, we’re not putting that in Twisted Metal.” Does that have a place in a video game? Yes, as a serious video game, just like a serious film. Not in a game like Twisted Metal.

You’ve previously mentioned that most of the levels in Twisted Metal will be sort of Anytown, USA type locations that you could imagine driving in. Blackrock Stadium’s electric tracks and lava pits is something more fantastical. How many of these types of these more far-fetched levels can we expect?

Well, we like to think that they’re all grounded in reality. I look at Blackrock Stadium and say “well, it’s not set on a pirate ship going through outer space.” But it is in the fiction a stadium built specifically for the Twisted Metal contest. I’d buy that in the world of Twisted Metal. I would say Blackrock is – if you call it fantastical – the most fantastical that it gets. I think we are doing a lot with this that we learned from Twisted Metal: Black. We’re doing a lot of varied color palettes. We don’t want to just be grunge. We don’t want to be in the world of Twisted Metal: Black. We’re also allowing gameplay to rule, not visual style. In the last one there was a lot of imaginative game design that would have benefited that title but it didn’t fit the vibe. We’re not going to put magical weapons in the game and ****, but we’re going to make sure that if we’ve got a great gameplay idea that’s going to make the game better, then we’re going to find a way to couch it in reality as best as possible. But end of the day gameplay rules, whereas in Black we were a little bit too slavish to the vibe and the style, and that did come at the expense of the gameplay, I think.

You stated earlier how hopeful you are that Twisted Metal fans grasp onto the new Nuke mode. Are there any other surprising modes coming down the pipe?

Yeah, there are variations on the modes that you’ve already learned about. Certain wrinkles based on the level design. For example one particular mode – Nuke is a great example of a mode that when you learn of this new level in a couple of months you’ll go “wow, to play Nuke in that level is even a cooler twist.” There are some new modes that we haven’t announced yet. Then there’s also in some of the unranked modes - and maybe in some of the ranked modes - lots of host settings that change up how you play them. There’s a lot of variety and there are tons of levels in this game. I look at this and I’m so proud of the value that players are going to get for their money in terms of if you like Twisted Metal – and I hope a lot of players do – there’s a lot on that disc to keep you entertained for a long time.

Twisted Metal is a resurrection of the car combat genre on consoles, and the Mortal Kombat reboot is returning that series to its roots in a familiar fashion. Why do you think now is the right time for previously deceased genres and franchises to receive makeovers?

There are so many ways to answer that question. There’s the cynical way, which is games are getting more and more expensive and you basically are dealing with “well we know this works…” and that’s not why we did it. I don’t think that’s why Ed [Boon] did it. But there’s more of the positive way to look at it, which is with today’s technology we can go back to the essence of these games that I think are still relevant, and give them not just and HD update but sort of a total fresh coat of gameplay paint, and still keep that heartbeat really beating strong that it’s still relevant. I think you’re also looking at a window of time like the 90s when a lot of people – it wasn’t a conscious effort – but we look at the internet and market research response and the nostalgia people have for this brand has been really surprising. Because for us it never felt like it went away. We were just busy making other games and living our lives. We were like “maybe one day we’ll go back to Twisted Metal,” but it hits at such a sweet spot that we got a lot of people who say “man I loved that game.” That’s even harder, because you don’t want to let those people down. I grew up loving Indiana Jones, he was my childhood hero, and I thought Crystal Skull was a piece of **** because I had such high expectations that never could have lived up to even if that movie had been half good, which it wasn’t. So that’s sort of a dangerous place to be, but that’s part of it as well. Honestly for us specifically, we came together as a team and said “you know what, we miss this world.” It’s like coming home to our old friends, these characters, and we have a lot of cool ideas that we think are fresh and new. We’re taking the fantasy that we had about Twisted Metal originally in 94 and getting closer to giving players what we were seeing in our heads that we could never actually execute on PlayStation one. For us that’s why we’re doing it, but there are a lot of zeitgeist-y things that affect the logic and reason and I think you could spend a long time dissecting “why” when it comes to Mortal Kombat, or our game, or any decision.

Can you reveal any more about what experience points do in the game?

All I can tell you is that you don’t make an online multiplayer game without XP these days. It’s a very important part of the meta-game. Players expect, as they should, to have that. Our game supports that. It supports persistence. It supports unlocks that players, I think, will appreciate. However, let me make this very clear – this is not a game about getting better because you’ve got more XP. Everything we give you does not **** up the balance of this game. We’re not giving you thousands of things, by the way. It isn’t like you get this list of a thousand things. But what we give you is relevant, it matters, and it is built around maintaining the fighting game philosophy that every single character – no matter what they’ve unlocked – should be able to compete one to one with every other character. So specifics are coming, but we can’t go into the details yet.

Twisted Metal’s Nightmarish Vehicles Handle Like A Dream

2010-06-17T20:03:00Z

Few games revealed at E3 raised as much commotion as Twisted Metal. Having the father of the series, David Jaffe, at the helm only makes the deal sweeter. I recently got a chance to sit down with the game’s team deathmatch and learn about Nuke Mode. Also, this preview contains talk of helicopters, giant Sweet Tooth effigies, and flaming chainsaws.

Immediately upon grabbing the controller I grabbed the settled into the driver seat of a souped up ambulance. Cars in the game drive a lot like the vehicles in Twisted Metal Black, which is a very good thing. Having the gas and e-brake mapped to the face buttons frees up the shoulder buttons for weapon management. While speaking with Jaffe he said that the team tinkered with more traditional racing controls, but this legacy format just feels right. I have to agree, as I felt right at home firing and steering the ambulance’s special weapon – a terrified patient on a gurney strapped with explosives.

While getting back to car combat feels like getting back on a bike (strapped with barbed wire and flamethrowers), controlling the helicopter took a little getting used to. The right analog stick is used to adjust the choppers verticality. Managing elevation while keeping a bead on enemies with the machine gun can be challenging. Thankfully, players can jump into a first person turret view, allowing precision shooting. The helicopter also fires missiles and comes equipped with a junkyard magnet to transport friendly cars. This whirly bird from hell is a fun and welcome addition to the vehicle selection.

Plenty of other twisted rides will be appearing in the game as well. Old favorites like Sweet Tooth’s robot-transforming ice cream truck are back, as is Mr. Grimm and others that have yet to be confirmed. Online, players have access to every vehicle, like the missile-equipped sports car, taxi-hurling tow truck, and murderous motorcycle. The horrific hog comes equipped with a throwable chainsaw, which starts on far for triple damage after the player pops a wheel and drags it along the road. My favorite is the roadboat, a huge luxury sedan with a powerful magnet strapped to the front. The magnet scoops up enemy cars, allowing drivers to ram them into walls or toss them off ledges, often to hilarious results. The assortment is wide and twistedly entertaining so far.

Sony is being quiet on the game’s story-driven single-player campaign while pushing team-based online play into the spotlight. The mode I played was team deathmatch, and the action was more frantic than any game in the series. The map is so massive that it makes Black’s largest maps look like kiddie pools (filled with blood) by comparison. The HUD displays a radar, weapon inventory, and highlighted players without distracting from the carnage. Prowling the skies in the powerful but vulnerable helicopter yields tons of options. Blasting the turret into the fray is a fun way to dole out distant damage, and if coming under enemy fire can be handled by a few well-placed missiles. Players get much more gameplay time per spawn in Twisted Metal, and not dying every ten seconds is a refreshing change of pace for online play.

Another online match time, called Nuke Mode, requires players to capture rival faction leaders (Sweet Tooth or Dollface), and drag them to a missile launcher. Tension builds with desperate car chases to stop the capturer in their tracks before reaching the missile launcher. Teamwork is imperative, as the kidnapper is defenseless while the timed missile launch ticks down . Once the opposing leader is launched into a grinder a nuke is launched, which propels towards a towering statue of the recently murdered martyr. The opposing team then scrambles to shoot down the nuke before it reaches the humongous icon. Though I didn’t get to play this mode myself, it looks like a crazy and *** way to experience Twisted Metal online.

As a huge fan of Twisted Metal Black, I’m already pleased with how the game looks. My initial disappointment that Sony is shooting for a gritty teen rating was blown to bits by my hands-on time with the game. Throw in local and online splitscreen, and you’ve got one of the first solid reasons to own four PS3 controllers since LittleBigPlanet.