Twisted Metal
From Free net encyclopedia
Twisted Metal is a vehicular combat series made for the PlayStation, PlayStation 2 and PSP. The series is published by Sony and developed by the game studio Incognito Entertainment. It is the longest-running PlayStation-exclusive franchise.
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Overview
In basic concept, Twisted Metal is little more than a demolition derby with weapons. The player selects a vehicle and an arena (or plays through a series of arenas in the story mode) and battles opponents with weapons obtained by gathering pick-ups.
Although each individual game features its own storyline, they all revolve around the same basic theme of a man named Calypso holding a vehicular combat tournament called Twisted Metal with the promise of granting the winner anything they ask for. There is a general "careful what you wish for" theme, as many of the contestants wind up with not-so-happy endings. The games in the series usually contain a healthy dose of black humor.
Twisted Metal and Twisted Metal 2: World Tour (1995/1996)
Image:Twisted Metal 2- World Tour screenshot.jpg
Format: PlayStation, PC
The first two Twisted Metal games were developed by SingleTrac. Twisted Metal 2 is regarded by most fans as the best game in the series and a PlayStation classic in general. After developing these two games, along with WarHawk and the first two games in the Jet Moto series, SingleTrac left Sony and signed with GT Interactive, using their Twisted Metal game engine to develop other vehicular combat games such as Critical Depth and Rogue Trip.
An IBM PC version of Twisted Metal 2 exists. It features slightly cut-down graphics compared to the Playstation version (minor details of some levels disappeared) but it doesn't require a 3D accelerator video card and plays well on weak computers. It also features multiplayer mode over a modem line or Internet.
Twisted Metal characters:
- Crimson Fury: Red Lamborghini type sports car driven by Agent Stone, who fights to obtain a certain object. His special was a weak laser and while his car was the fastest, it also had the least armor and was relatively easy to destroy especially if he crashed into you several times.
- Darkside: Black semi-truck driven by the mysterious Mr. Ash. A monster of armor and size, Darkside players typically drove around ramming into people, for his special weapon, a white laser similar to Crimson Fury, was quite weak.
- Hammerhead: Green monster truck driven by two high-school dropouts. Their special attack deals damage to any car that they drive over; it is triggered automatically upon driving over the intended victim. Although it was slow, the armor was above average and the handling was decent.
- Minion: Armored battle tank driven by the winner of the previous Twisted Metal contest. Non-playable character. His special is a combination of three powerful homing missiles and a freeze attack.
- Mr. Grimm: Black motorcycle driven by the Grim Reaper himself, out for Calypso's soul. Most devasting special in the game, but would take a long time to recharge and Mr. Grimm's armor was nonexistent. Still, if the player darted in and out of combat he was a very successful fighter.
- Outlaw: Police car driven by an officer who wished an end to this tournament. His special was an electric tazer that would automatically hit anything nearby. Often regarded as one of the best cars, it is announced that he is the winner of the contest and shot into space in Twisted Metal 2.
- Pit Viper: Dune buggy driven by Angela Fortin, a woman with a mysterious past who is competing to win a millon dollars in cash. Her weapon is a green acid blob which does a good amount of damage
- Roadkill: Armored, scraped-together, 4-wheeled vehicle driven by Captain Spears, a Vietnam veteran who enters the contest in hope to go back and save the friends he lost in combat.
- Sweet Tooth: Ice cream truck driven by homicidal clown Needles Kane, who is on a quest to find his lost friend. His weapon is Flaming Ice cream Molotov, one of the strongest special weapons in the game.
- Thumper: Purple low-rider driven by Bruce Cochrane, who seeks to stop the violence in his neighborhood. His weapon is a flame thrower.
- Warthog: Military vehicle driven by an army commander determined to capture something for the government. His weapon is a triplet of homing missiles.
- Yellow Jacket: Taxi driven by Charlie Kane, an old man looking for his son whom he lost 20 years ago. The game's staple-average car. His weapon is similar to Sweet Tooth's, being flaming Molotov cocktails. It is later revealed that if he wins he finds out that his son was Sweet Tooth, and having winning the tournament he killed his own son.
- Spectre: White Corvette-like sports car, his weapon is a ghost missile, He's competing to become whole again.
Twisted Metal levels
- Arena: Seedy underground demolition derby-like environment, complete with spectators. One opponent.
- Warehouse District Warfare: A battle on the street around some buildings. Three opponents.
- Freeway Free For All: Littered with the bodies of fallen vehicles. Five opponents.
- River Park Rumble: Town in the Christmas spirit, complete with ice skaters. Six opponents, multiplayer consists of just the park area.
- Assault on Cyburbia: The largest level in the game, contained surburban neighborhoods, freeways and canals. Nine opponents, multiplayer consists of just one of the canals.
- Rooftop Battle: Being a skyscraper, vehicles can easily fall off and plunge to their deaths. Survive and do battle with Minion. Six opponents not including Minion.
- Fight For Your Live: Arena with five opponents.
Twisted Metal 2 characters
- Axel: Strange two-wheeled contraption which has imprisoned the driver for many years.
- Dark Tooth: Gigantic black ice cream truck driven by a mysterious force. It rises out of the sewers of Hong Kong for brutal revenge for the surviving car's actions and challenges the survivor to one last battle. (Non-playable)It is belived to be Yellow Jacket from Twisted Metal 1 in another form.Due to fan demand, Darktooth was unlockable in Twisted Metal: Head On.
- Grasshopper: Dune buggy driven by Kristina Sparks, a teenager looking to find her father. Who turns out to be Calypso.
- Hammerhead: Monster truck driven by Mike and Stu, two punks looking for the power to fly.
- Minion: Armored tank driven by a dark demon on a mission for revenge. Boss of the Amazonia stage.
- Mr. Grimm: Red motorcycle with sidecar driven by the Grim Reaper again, this time with a great hunger to feast upon human souls.
- Mr. Slamm: Payloader with a grapple fork driven by Simon Whittlebone, a former engineer who dreams of building the tallest tower of them all.
- Outlaw 2: Police car driven by a female officer searching for her brother, the original Outlaw, who disappeared in last year's contest.
- Roadkill: Orange scraped-together car driven by Marcus Kane, a homeless man convinced this whole world is one big nightmare.
- Shadow: Hearse driven by Mortimer, a mysterious man out to seek revenge for his even more mysterious clients.
- Spectre: White sports car driven by a single man with dreams of fame and fortune.
- Sweet Tooth: Ice cream truck driven by the ever-psychotic Needles Kane is back for more and even more dangerous!
- Thumper: Pink low-rider with white hood driven again by Bruce Cochrane, who is now fighting for himself.
- Twister: Formula 1 Car driven by Amanda Watts, who has a great desire for superspeed.
- Warthog: Military Humvee driven by a 105-year old army general who wishes for youth.
Twisted Metal 2 Levels
- Quake Zone Rumble: The remains of Los Angeles, devastated from the effects of last year's tournament. Holds six opponents.
- Suicide Slide: A secret base in Moscow resembling a missile silo. Holds five opponents.
- Monumental Disaster: Battle in the streets of Paris, France and even the Eiffel Tower. Holds six opponents.
- Fire Walk: Ancient temple in Amazonia surrounded by lava. After six opponents are destroyed, Minion will rise from the lava to begin his revenge.
- The Big Leap: Rooftop battle in New York City with ledges that can cause instant death. Holds six opponents.
- The Drop Zone: Unstable iceberg in Antarctica, slowly breaking apart piece by piece. Holds seven opponents.
- Field of Screams: Large environment in the Netherlands, featuring two windmills and tall grass for smaller vehicles to hide in. Holds over nine opponents.
- Hong Kong Krunch: The final tournament level, in the streets and subways of Hong Kong. Survive and then prepare to meet the challenge of the senile Dark Tooth.
- Suicide Swamp: Bonus two-player level based on a racetrack from Jet Moto.
- Assault on Cyburbia: Bonus two-player level allowing both players to use the entire area of the original Twisted Metal level.
- Rooftop Battle: Bonus two-player level of the final battle from the original, this time with players able to play the role of Minion.
Twisted Metal III and Twisted Metal 4 (1998/1999)
Format: PlayStation
After a contractual dispute with SingleTrac, Twisted Metal development duties were handed over to Sony's in-house development team, 989 Studios. The Twisted Metal titles developed by 989 Studios were fundamentally different as the code base was completely rewritten. Sony introduced advanced physics simulation and AI techniques to the series. Many fans of Twisted Metal 1 and 2 were upset at the resulting change of game play, however new players received these titles well and they went on to become best sellers. Twisted Metal 4 improved upon the shortcomings of Twisted Metal III as was reflected in trade reviews.
Twisted Metal III and 4 are no longer considered part of the official Twisted Metal canon and their storylines are disregarded in newer games in the series.
Twisted Metal III Characters
- Auger: Yellow construction vehicle with a large drill, driven by Buster Cobb who is fed up with the Twisted Metal contestants ruining his buildings.
- Axel: Strange two-wheeled contraption whos driver wishes to become one with his machine forever.
- Club Kid: Smiley-face covered Mini Cooper whos driver loves to party all the time. His special is the Vortex.
- Darkside: Black semi truck driven by Mr. Ash. Special is a freeze-flame thrower combo. Non-playable character, boss of the Washington D.C. stage.
- Firestarter: Hot-rod complete with a flame paintjob, driven by the pyromaniac Damien Coles. His weapon is, of course, a flame-thrower.
- Flower Power: Hippy car driven by environmentalist Amber Rose who is tired of the Twisted Metal contest endangering the environment.
- Mr. Grimm: Red motorcycle with sidecar driven once again by the Grim Reaper.
- Hammerhead: Red monster truck Jeep CJ driven by Granny Dread, whos neighborhood was destroyed from the last Twisted Metal competition.
- Minion: Green armored tank driven by a large demon who wants to spend the rest of eternity in hell. Boss of the London level.
- Outlaw: Police car driven by both of the 2 previous officers, who plan to put an end to Calypso.
- Primeval: Large off-road vehicle driven by an unknown being. Has access to all the special weapons in the game.
- Roadkill: Scraped-together car driven again by Marcus Kane. He competes to crawl into the forest and frolic with the wildebeests.
- Spectre: Blue Dodge Viper driven by self-proclaimed ladie's man Lance Wylder.
- Sweet Tooth: Ice cream truck driven by the psychotic clown Needles Kane, who competes to have all the candy and ice cream.
- Thumper: Purple low-rider driven by Bruce Cochrane who competes to hang with his homies. His weapon is a Sonic blast that blares hip-hop and sends his enemies into the air.
- Warthog: Military Humvee driven by the 107 year old Captain Rogers who wishes for the body of a 20 year old.
Music in Twisted Metal
Starting with Twisted Metal 3, various music artists and bands were brought in for each game's soundtrack. One such person was singer Rob Zombie, who contributed songs to both Twisted Metal 3 & 4, and is even a playable character in the latter.
Track listing of Twisted Metal 4 by level:
- Construction Site: Rob Zombie - Dragula Matrix Mix
- Neon City: Cirrus - Time's Running Out
- Road Rage: Cypress Hill - Lightning Strikes
- Sweet Tooth’s Bedroom: Ghoulspoon - Alien Magnet
- Amazonia 3000 B.C.: Skold - Chaos
- The Oil Rig: One Minute Silence - And Some Ya Lose
- Minion’s Maze: Rob Zombie - SuperBeast Remix
- The Carnival: White Zombie - Grease Paint And Monkey Brains
Twisted Metal: Black (2001)
Format: PlayStation 2
After developing several non-Twisted Metal vehicular combat games for GT Interactive, a large number of SingleTrac employees left the company to form the gaming studio Incognito Entertainment and signed with Sony. Naturally, Sony offered them the opportunity to develop a new Twisted Metal title and their first game was Twisted Metal: Black for PS2.
The game is much darker in atmosphere and style than previous games, and is the first (and to date, only) game in the series to receive a Mature rating due to its content. The designers have stated that the two main sources of inspiration for the atmosphere and storylines were Se7en and The Silence of the Lambs. Although Black takes place in an alternate universe and therefore is not a true sequel to Twisted Metal 2, it nevertheless won over critics and fans alike.
Twisted Metal: Black characters:
- Agent Stone, a police officer who let his hatred get out of control and killed innocent hostages when he wanted to kill the terrorists holding them. He drives his SWAT van, Outlaw, and wishes to get a second chance to save those people.
- Axel, a man whose wife was killed. She went missing one day, and she was sent back to him in the mail, over a month, in pieces. He built a machine consisting of just two wheels, that he locked himself in, as punishment for not being able to protect his wife. He drives that machine and hopes to get revenge on the sadistic person that killed his wife.
- Billy Ray Stillwell, a farmer horribly disfigured by a crop duster who was trying to murder him. He killed his wife who was in cahoots with the pilot, and drives the tow truck, Junkyard Dog. His reward will be the chance for revenge on the pilot.
- Black, a creature that was built to win this game. All he longs for is to kill Calypso and end this game forever. He drives his dumptruck, ManSlaughter.
- Bloody Mary, a woman who wants to get married. When she was a kid, the boy of her dreams just pushed her into the mud and called her a "fat cow", and her luck with men ensured she never found true love. When her friend got married, Mary stabbed her and put on her dress. She drives her car, Spectre, and wants to find a man who loves her.
- Cage, a man who loves to kill. His problem is that when he kills, he feels remorse afterwards. Once that was gone, he would be the best killer that ever lived. Calypso promised to eliminate that guilt. Cage drives Warthog, a station wagon that is chained onto the tops of tank treads.
- Charlie Kane and his son, a family of two. Charlie Kane ran a taxi service, and one day, a passenger shoots and kills Charlie, with his son right there in the car. But then the boy, who shows some signs of autism, comes up with an idea. He builds a remote control and turns his dad into a robot, so he can still be alive. Charlie drives their car, Yellow Jacket, and Calypso promised the boy to "make everything better" if he wins Twisted Metal.
- Dollface, a woman who was locked in a life-size doll mask when she spilled coffee on her maskmaker boss' paperwork. She drives the semi-truck, Darkside, and hopes to get the key to open the mask.
- John Doe, a man with amnesia and strange, unsettling tattoos covering his body. He drives his car, Roadkill, and wants to remember who he is.
- Minion, a creature who won last year's competition. It is unclear what he wants, as he is always speaking in code. When Story mode is completed with him,he turns out to be Marcus Kane, and he claims that the entire game takes place inside the head of Sweet Tooth as a waking nightmare.
- Mr. Grimm, a war-veteran who was driven crazy after being forced to eat his war buddy, Benny. The Vietnamese forces captured them, and Benny died. He drives his motorcycle, and hopes to get revenge on the son-of-a-bitch who tortured him.
- Needles Kane (a.k.a. Sweet Tooth), a psychotic, extremely homicidal ice cream man. He was placed under a curse by the Preacher while he was being given the chair that caused his head to always be on fire. He drives his ice cream truck, Sweet Tooth, and wishes to have the curse lifted. Calypso better deliver …
- No-Face, a man whose tongue and eyes have been removed and then stitched shut. He was a former boxer torn to pieces in a fight, and the reconstructive doctor disfigured him because he lost $20,000 on him in the fight. His car is Crazy 8, a Beetle with machine guns and 8-balls on the side. He competes to win revenge on his surgeon.
- Preacher, a priest who is possessed by a demon. One night, he had to perform an exorcism, but the demon in the baby he was exorcising was too powerful, and possessed him. The demon used him to destroy the church and kill all the people inside, but left him right when the police arrived. He drives the El Camino, Brimstone, and Calypso promises to reveal the truth if he wins.
- Raven, a Goth who lost her friend to a prank gone wrong. She and her friend were playing tarot and her friend got the death card. Then some guys came over and threw her in the water as a joke, but she couldn't swim. Raven drives a hearse, Shadow, and wants to fullfill her friend's dying wish, to "Kill those bastards!"
Twisted Metal: Small Brawl (2001)
Format: PlayStation
Instead of delivering a PS2 follow-up to Twisted Metal: Black, Incognito took an unexpected turn and developed Twisted Metal: Small Brawl for the original PlayStation, a Twisted Metal aimed at a younger audience that featured radio-controlled toy cars instead of actual vehicles. Despite being developed by the same team responsible for the much-beloved Twisted Metal 2 and Twisted Metal: Black, Small Brawl was not well-received by fans. Most believe the game's development was rushed, as is evidenced by the poor frame rate, sloppy control, and sub-par graphics.
Twisted Metal: Black Online (2002)
Format: PlayStation 2
Simply an online version of Twisted Metal: Black, a free copy could be obtained by mailing in a card that came packaged with the PS2 online Network Adapter. After Sony stopped offering the disc, it was later included in subsequent reissues of Twisted Metal: Black on Greatest Hits, in a 2-disc set.
Twisted Metal: Head-On (2005)
Format: PlayStation Portable
Despite the return of SingleTrac/Incognito with 2001's Twisted Metal: Black, they still had yet to deliver a true sequel to Twisted Metal 2. With the PSP, Incognito created a game that picks up where Twisted Metal 2 left off. Twisted Metal: Head-On is, for all intents and purposes, the "real" Twisted Metal 3. Utilizing the Twisted Metal: Black game engine but taking place in Twisted Metal 2's universe, Head-On combines aspects of the two most highly-regarded games in the series. It's the first game in the series to ship fully online-enabled.
In Movies
"Twisted Metal 3" can be seen in the (1999) movie Big Daddy as Julian is playing. Sonny makes him turn it off. The same game can also be seen in the (2000) movie Bring It On. Torrance's brother, Justin, is playing while Torrance is trying to get ahold of her boyfriend. As Justin makes his snippy comments, Torrance takes out her frustation on Justin's PS1, ruining his game.