Twisted Metal Black
When I discovered that there was a fifth Twisted Metal game, this time on the new (at the time) PlayStation 2 I was pretty excited. Having purchased the PS2 somewhat late in it's release and not really keeping up on upcoming titles, I had a number of surprises like this where sequels I had no idea existed and I end up discovering them on the shelves dirt cheap. PS2 discoveries were always especially awesome because quite often they turned out exceptionally great with huge increases in graphical quality and a better handle on controls. Especially since the PS2 was sold stock with a dual analog controller and developers were sure to take advantage of it. Twisted Metal Black really was, in the end, an oasis in a sea of bad sequels in the series. The first and second games were terrific. Especially the second one. But as it turns out, SingleTrac, who developed the two games lost the rights to the property, but not the game engine. So when Sony decided to keep the series running after the success of the second, their in-house developer 989 Studios had to rebuild the game from scratch and it was noticeably poorer for it.
Years later however, former employees of SingleTrac formed a new company, Incognito. This new company struck a deal with Sony to produce the latest game in the dyring series, Twisted Metal Black. It was great. It felt just like the originals what with similar play styles, handling and physics. The characters and stories returned to their original potency and my desire to play endlessly returned as well.
But more than just a rehash of the first games, Black went out of it's way to be something new. Darker, more cinematic and perhaps even more violent; Twisted Metal Black use the new console's power to the fullest to reimagine the original production. Apparently for the first time achieving an "M" rating and even having portions removed from the European release, this really was a 'black' take on an already dark game; considering the first one contained a character who was forcefully bound to his vehicle for life.
Twisted Metal Black was just this great game. It was simple, basically a vehicular version of Quake's deathmatch multiplayer. The cars were full of character and so were their drivers. Very little competes with a game that contains a killer ice-cream truck drive by a malevolent killer clown. I enjoyed it in the past and I enjoyed this new release. I'm was little saddened that it had appeared the series ended with this game, until I discovered there was actually a recently released (2012) title for the PS3. It somehow slipped under my radar, just like Black did. Now just to get a hold of a copy.
When I discovered that there was a fifth Twisted Metal game, this time on the new (at the time) PlayStation 2 I was pretty excited. Having purchased the PS2 somewhat late in it's release and not really keeping up on upcoming titles, I had a number of surprises like this where sequels I had no idea existed and I end up discovering them on the shelves dirt cheap. PS2 discoveries were always especially awesome because quite often they turned out exceptionally great with huge increases in graphical quality and a better handle on controls. Especially since the PS2 was sold stock with a dual analog controller and developers were sure to take advantage of it. Twisted Metal Black really was, in the end, an oasis in a sea of bad sequels in the series. The first and second games were terrific. Especially the second one. But as it turns out, SingleTrac, who developed the two games lost the rights to the property, but not the game engine. So when Sony decided to keep the series running after the success of the second, their in-house developer 989 Studios had to rebuild the game from scratch and it was noticeably poorer for it.Years later however, former employees of SingleTrac formed a new company, Incognito. This new company struck a deal with Sony to produce the latest game in the dyring series, Twisted Metal Black. It was great. It felt just like the originals what with similar play styles, handling and physics. The characters and stories returned to their original potency and my desire to play endlessly returned as well.
But more than just a rehash of the first games, Black went out of it's way to be something new. Darker, more cinematic and perhaps even more violent; Twisted Metal Black use the new console's power to the fullest to reimagine the original production. Apparently for the first time achieving an "M" rating and even having portions removed from the European release, this really was a 'black' take on an already dark game; considering the first one contained a character who was forcefully bound to his vehicle for life.
Twisted Metal Black was just this great game. It was simple, basically a vehicular version of Quake's deathmatch multiplayer. The cars were full of character and so were their drivers. Very little competes with a game that contains a killer ice-cream truck drive by a malevolent killer clown. I enjoyed it in the past and I enjoyed this new release. I'm was little saddened that it had appeared the series ended with this game, until I discovered there was actually a recently released (2012) title for the PS3. It somehow slipped under my radar, just like Black did. Now just to get a hold of a copy.
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