Twisted Metal: Black

The Good
First, there was Twisted Metal. And it was good. Then, there was Twisted Metal 2. And it was better. And then the series was given to 989 Studios, who almost ran it into the ground with the inferior Twisted Metal 3 and 4. But then the original developers, once SingleTrac, now Incognito Inc, got the franchise back for its PS2 debut. And it's the savior of the series. Graphically it's the best of them all, but that's to be expected when it's PS2 vs PS1. Gameplay-wise, it rivals 2, although I'll let you decide your favorite. There are three types of play in single player, challenge mode, where you just pick a car, a level, your opponents and go, endurance mode, where you pick a car and an arena and fight a never-ending series of opponents trying to get a high score, and the main single player mode, story. In this mode you pick your car and driver and go through a series of levels until you reach the end and your character gets his/her wish. The difference between this game's story mode and the one in the Playstation titles is that in the earlier games, you didn't give a damn about the person you pick, or what fate awaited them at their ending, Characters just weren't very important. It's entirely different in Black, however, as each contestant's story plays out in three cutscenes along the course of the game, a Prologue, Middle, and Epilouge. There is a lot of detail in their lives, backstories, how they ended up in the asylum Calypso recruits from, and such. And, except for a few totally evil characters like Sweet Tooth and Cage, as you get to know them you actually care about the people and their fates. An example is when playing through John Doe's story, I experienced happiness along with him when he got his memory back, and sorrow when I found out what happened to him. The characters are a well made, demented lot, and I consider the storytelling of the game to be one of its best points. One of the best points about this game (in my mind) is that they finally made an M-rated Twisted Metal. Incog Inc did a good job making this game as dark and disturbing as they did. The cutscenes that tell the contestants' stories are full of violence, as that is the nature of the game. Seeing shots of the psychotic clown serial killer Sweet Tooth in action might turn some younger or more sensitive players' stomachs, but I'm fine with it. Violence is good... Anyway, moving on to the gameplay, it's quite good, and balanced. All the cars accelerate and handle differently, and have different special attacks, but there is no best car and, with practice, you can win with any of them. They look really good, with many nice touches like the makeshift bumper for the semi truck Darkside made out of a wrecked police cruiser, or the way, unlike the other titles, you actually get to see the missles pop out of the bays on the side or top of the vehicle before firing off. The weapons are very mixed, with various missles with different ratios of damage vs homing ability, ricochet weapons which rebound off walls, and the versitile gas cans, which can be catapulted or dropped as a mine. Add the many energy attacks and you get a lot of different weapon startegies. The levels are all graphically very good, with plenty of stuff to destroy, lots of secrets, and with such a large selection for multiplayer (most need to be unlocked in single player), you'll be able to find ones you like. Which brings me to multiplayer. It's really configureable, with straight free for alls, team battles, and the 2 player co-op game through the single player story. it's improved with the multi tap for three or four players, and as for playing it online, that's a different review.

The Bad
Well, some people might be too squeamish for the blood of the story cutscenes, but hopefully not. The other thing that might turn people off to this game is the difficulty. The computer players kick your ass, even on normal, and it doesn't get much better on easy. I really don't mind it though, because although it was frustrating in the beginning, I got better, I learned the tricks of the game, and can now storm through easy with not too many deaths, normal's still a challenge though... Also, the middle and final bosses seem impossible when you first meet them, but you get better and learn their strategies, and it's a rush when you finally beat them, a real sense of accomplishment, like when you beat the next difficulty level. If you can suffer through learning the game, it'll pay off.

The Bottom Line
Twisted Metal: Black is a quality car combat game with good graphics and a better story. It's also really evil and dark which is a big plus in my book. And with a greatest hits price of twenty bucks, why not buy it?