Damn... classic '90s game. I used to wreck shop w/ Axel in the Paris level. Also rolled w/ Thumper and Warthog.
I did end up buying this game. Pretty dang good. I was initially turned off by the fact that 1) a lot of reviewers said the single-player campaign sucked, and 2) watching the videos, there seemed to be a distinct lack of real physics, as ever. After playing for a while, neither of these aspects is actually that bad. Some of the story modes can be a bit gimmicky, like the races, but I think it actually does add a bit of interest. I was also a bit annoyed that Warthog could only be unlocked by getting all gold medals on all story missions on highest difficulty. But I actually just managed to do this tonight... not so bad when you use the Juggernaut vehicle and apply yourself a bit. As for the physics... yeah, they're kinda wacky, and most of the vehicles handle like bathtubs, making using the "tight turn" a necessity. But you get used to it after a few hours of play. Only other disappointing thing is that there aren't the plethora of characters anymore. There are just as many vehicles, but now any driver can get in any vehicle. What this means is that there are only three characters with endings where Calypso grants their wish. The F'd up character endings were a great part of the first game, so it's too bad there are only three of them. At least they were all good ones. But as for the gameplay overall, it's exactly what you'd expect of a Twisted Metal game. You drive around picking up weapons and charging your special attacks, and then unload on some hapless enemy, pausing only to get health pick-ups when you're near death. There have been a number of interface improvements. The mini-map is much improved over previous games, and the weapons display at the bottom of the screen very clearly shows all of the weapons you have on you. The special commands, like shield, freeze missile, and mine, no longer require arcane button combinations, but are instead mapped to single presses of the digital pad, and clearly labeled. There are also some interesting new gameplay additions: killing an opponent will see its drivers leap out of the car in flames, and running the drivers over will count as a "mercy kill," granting either a bit of health or a random weapon... just a little extra incentive to finish people off. Also, for most matches in the story mode, you can pick three different vehicles per match (or three copies of the same vehicle, if you prefer), and then drive into the level's garage mid-match to switch, either because your health is low or because you just want to try a new approach. Also, almost all vehicles have two special attacks rather the one, giving them a bit more flexibility. Overall, I'd say this is a worthy successor to the original games. I haven't been disappointed.
I thought it solid also but the story really turned me off. I'm currently at the 2nd leader(sweet tooth) with darkside and I'm kinda pissed that they made it so easy. It just seems like new games are way too easy, I remember playing snes games that took me around 45 min to pass a stage and even then I never completely finished passing the game. I haven't tried playing online but hopefully it'll get me hooked like team deathmatch in mw2.
I remember playing Twisted Metal online on the PSP, it was a blast. Unfortunately i don't have a PS3 so i can't pick this up.
Not only split-screen 2-player... split-screen 4-player! And you can add in as many or as few bots as you want. There's also apparently co-op story for 2 players, but I haven't tried that. I assume it's separate from the main story mode, but idk. Speaking of story mode, the last boss is driving me CRAZY. I made it past the 3rd stage one time, and got destroyed at the helicopter part because I just couldn't quite figure out the controls behind what I'm supposed to be doing. Guess I'll look it up tomorrow.
By the way, I figure I may as well post this here: there's a way to get infinite weapons in story mode. Sorta nice since you need to get all gold medals on all missions on Twisted difficulty in order to unlock Warthog. I got Warthog the hard way before I discovered this exploit, but oh well. C'est la vie. Now I'm going to pass on the savings to others who want Warthog but don't want to screw around with the story mode. Here's how you do it: 0. First, be aware that this will only work on a game that has already been started, but not yet completed (i.e., not a 100% playthrough). If you haven't started a game already, start a new one on the difficulty level you want (Twisted, if you're doing this to unlock Warthog), watch or skip the opening cinematic, then quit out to the main screen. 1. Select "Multiplayer" 2. Select "Offline Split: 2 Players" (must have second controller active) 3. Select "Death Match" 4. Turn Unlimited Weapons On. 5. Hit X to accept. 6. Hit O until you get back out to the main screen. 7. Select "One Player" 8. Select "Story" 9. This is the key... you must hit "Start" to resume the last mission on your saved game, NOT "X" to select you mission. You should now have unlimited weapons. On the first stage, you will start with whatever vehicle loadout you were last using... not sure what it defaults to. But after the first level you'll actually be able to select the cars you want, and your infinite weapons will persist. Sweet Tooth is a good vehicle choice since his special has string tracking and goes through walls.
