One of my coworkers said they were getting "Twisted Metal". Then another. Then they ganged up on the new guy and coerced him to buy a copy. It was then up to me to complete the brotherhood that would converge online to form "The Mighty Four Horsemen of Christopher's Pizza", and I humbly obliged. It's been a while (Halo 3) since so many people I know were buying the same game, and I looked forward to teaming up with them online and dishing out the carnage.
And that's what makes this blog so ironic - it's been almost 2 weeks now and we've yet to play a single online match together. TM's launch wasn't very smooth as far as online servers go, and to Eat, Sleep, Play's credit they've been very transparent about it, relaying informationing regarding impending fixes and patches. The most recent patch, which landed Friday, reportedly solved many issues and helped disgruntled multiplayers to be. My friends and I haven't had an opportunity to coordinate since then, which is fine, because I really needed to brush up my TM skills. Hopefully, it's obvious by now that opinions about online multiplayer are not included in this blog.
In full disclosure, I haven't played a TM game since the TM demo that appeared on a PSX multi-demo disc way back when PSX initially launched. I liked the demo, it was a lot of fun, and really packed that wow factor so prevalent back when 3D became gaming's visual standard. So, suffice to say, I was a bit rusty.
Looking back, jumping into the new TM without reading the instructions or playing through the tutorial was a mistake. The controls in TM are complex. Every button on the Sixaxis has a function mapped to it, and the standard configuration bucks the trend of having an R-Trigger accelerator. That notion alone took me a while to grasp. Then I had to conform to the function of each weapon, many of which are manipulated beyond a mere pressing of the button. Some are charged by holding down the button. Some are launched and then detonated, requiring mutiple button presses. Some are more powerful at close range. About the only thing I did right when I started was choose normal difficulty.
Once I mastered the controls I began to really appreciate this game. I would describe it as Mario Kart battle mode on steroids, at warp speed, with blood, guts, fire, and Bullet Bills replaced by real bullets, Bob-ombs replaced by napalm, and Goombas replaced by sadistic mask-wearing psycopaths. In other words, this ain't no mushroom kingdom. There are times when the action is so fast, environmental objects are crumbling all around, and the barrage of ammo being lobbed is so plentiful that all you can do is sit back, let it happen, and hope you survive. The amazing part is that despite the immense volume of in-game moving objects - hundreds, maybe thousands - during heated battles, the frame rate never skips a beat. And, IMO, other than really nitpicky stuff like a few building model pieces looking flat to save on the polygon count, the graphics are very impressive.
After some trial and error, due to his balance of armor and speed, I latched onto Outlaw as my main character and used him for all of the battle stages. For the most part it worked out well, save the annoying auto locking target that gets a bit distracted when multiple enemies are nearby. Locking onto different targets is possible by pressing R3, but I found that a bit much to ask when considering the sheer speed of the action and that my right thumb is already reserved for accelerating/decelerating. I terribly wanted to swap the mapping of the circle (brake/reverse) and R3 buttons, as the demand to re-target drastically trumped my desire to brake, but alas there are only 3 preset button maps to choose from and I was stuck with cumbersome R3. In all honesty, I'm just not an R3 kind of guy, and I'm still frustrated by this inconvenience.
One thing I absolutely love about TM are the epic boss battles. It's been a while since I came upon a boss and wondered just how the crap I'm supposed to defeat it. And, thankfully, Twisted Metal respects your intelligence by not holding your hand and outright explaining the proper course of action.
Another cool feature is the custom skins editor located at twistedmetal.com. It's very user-friendly and allows players to customize practically every virtual inch of a car's body. You can make your own, or browse through other user's creations and select ones you like. Here's a couple I created:
The last part of TM that I need to touch on are the racing levels. This is the first time TM features racing, and just as battle stages are fast, furious and somewhat spastic, so are the races. The path is not laid out like that of a race track in a set repeating pattern, but by gates or checkpoints that lead a player around the map through buildings, up hills, over rooftops, etc. The first 2 race levels aren't too bad - frustrating, but manageable. The third race, however, is a freaking nightmare. I can't remember the last time a game raised my blood pressure and induced a temporary case of Tourette Syndrome like this racing stage did. Apparently, I'm not the only person who feels this way and found a YouTube video of someone who shared the sentiment. Having beaten it and moved on, I'm now a bit relaxed about it, but I still think it's hard in the wrong way. Maybe it's just me. I consider myself a pretty good gamer, and this was the first time in a very long time I got that gut feeling that I was up against Nintendo Hard. Check the video to see what I mean. I completely empathize with that guy's state of mind, because I felt the exact same way when I played.
I feel this man's pain. *NSFW*
Overall, the Checkpoint Race is the only blemish on what I perceive to be an excellent campaign. The campaign seems short at first glance, but it easily sucked over 15 hours of my life. I should also mention that I had a blast working my way through most of Story Mode (until getting stuck at that blasted Checkpoint Race) in coop with a friend.
After beating Story Mode, I think I'm warmed up enough to join my coworkers online and hold my own. "Under the dead of night... we the four horsemen ride..."
What I liked:
Complex controls that really challenge hand/eye coordination.
Great graphics with lag-free fast pace.
Epic boss battles.
What I didn't like:
Wasn't able to fully customize the controls to my liking.
Checkpoint Race is Nintendo hard.
image links:
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