Twisted Metal 2

"Yeah, just read the review."

Twisted Metal 2 is widely considered by many as the best game in the Playstation One series. While I haven't played all of the other Twisted Metal games, I can make a pretty good guess that TM2 is worthy of that honor. However, I do feel that TM2 is overrated. Don't get me wrong - it's still a good game, but it does have a few flaws that keep it from achieving greatness.

Twisted Metal 2 is classified as a 'car combat' game. Basically, what that means is that you will be fighting for your life against other vehicles. There are twelve different characters (and cars) to choose from - each one has its own features that sets it apart from the other competitors. For example, the character named Captain Jamie Robers drives a police car (Outlaw 2) that has an omni taser as its special weapon. Each car has its own special weapon - Mr. Slamm is the most powerful vehicle in the game, so its attack is the 'grab and slam' in which the vehicle picks up and throws around its enemy like a ragdoll. The characters/cars are all very unique and add a little something extra to the game's play.

There are also several different stages in the game - eight of 'em, to be exact. You can battle in places such as Paris, New York City, Hong Kong, and Antarctica, to name a few. Each stage is fully interactive, leading to some very cool 'secrets'. For example, in the Paris stage you can plant a bomb in the Eiffel Tower which will form a bridge to the rooftops of the other buildings. The rooftops are a great place to hide if you are dangerously low on health and are being destroyed by your adversaries. The stages are well thought-out and are a definite 'plus' in the game.

In each stage, there will be a certain amount of enemies that you must obliterate to finish that particular stage. The enemies from each stage are the other participants in the Twisted Metal tournament (aka the other selectable characters), but sometimes a nonplayable character known as Sweet Tooth will be present. Sweet Tooth is probably the most popular character in the TM series - he is a psychopathic clown with an ice cream truck. Also found in the main mode of the game (tournament mode, I will address later) are a couple of bosses. These guys can pack quite a punch, but thankfully there are many places to hide in each stage if you are getting pummelled into oblivion.

What would a Twisted Metal game be without weapons? Don't worry, TM2 is full of all sorts of weapons. Some of the more popular weapons are homing missiles and napalms, both of which do great damage on your opponents. Most of the weapons do plenty of damage, especially if you corner one of the other vehicles and repeatedly fire at it. The vehicle will likely not last very long. If you ever run out of weapons, you can use your trusty machine gun although that does minimal damage. Weapons and health refills are plentiful in each stage, so the machine gun probably won't need to be used very often.

There are a couple of different ways to play Twisted Metal 2 - tournament mode and challenge match mode. Both modes can be played with either one or two players. The tournament mode is the 'meat and potatoes' of the game. In it, you select a vehicle and try to make it through each of the six stages, successfully annihilating the other cars in the stage. If you do beat the tournament mode, your character will get whatever he/she/it wants from Calypso (the brains behind the TM tournament). The endings are very cool and make the game worth playing through to the end.

Challenge match mode is basically a deathmatch. You are placed in the stage of your choice with whatever enemies you wish to face off against in a battle to stay alive. It is a moderately fun mode at first, but the fun wears off after a while.

Let's face it - so far, Twisted Metal 2 sounds like an awesome game. That would be true if it wasn't for two major-ish flaws:

Flaw #1 - Once you have found all of the secrets (which doesn't take long), there is basically no replay value. Nothing makes me want to take TM2 out of its case and give it a spin in my PSX anymore. The game is a blast the first week or two you have it, but after that I doubt you will really play it much.

Flaw #2 - The game is quite difficult. Honestly, I think a good challenge is a nice change of pace from other 'modern' games but TM2 is a little too hard. The game takes quite a bit of gaming skill to finish without using cheat codes (there are plenty of 'em). It can get very frustrating to come close to finishing off an opponent only to have another one come up from behind and shoot a homing missile at you and destroy you.

Another thing that kind of bugged me about TM2 (but not to the extent of the flaws listed above) was the control system. The setup is a little bit different than other PSX driving games. In most other driving games, the X button is used to accelerate. In TM2 that is not the case - square is used to accelerate, while X is used to make a hard turn. The circle button is used to brake and the triangle button is used to give your car a turbo boost. L2 is used to shoot a weapon, while R2 is used to shoot the 'infinite ammo' machine gun. The L1/R1 buttons are used to switch between different weapons.

The actual driving control is not too bad, but it is a little too loose. It is especially noticeable if you go too fast - you will lose control of the vehicle and you may land right in front of an enemy, perhaps costing you some health. Still, the controls are better than the 'realistic' feel of Twisted Metal 3 which had you constantly flipping over. Thankfully, car flippings are uncommon in TM2 - the controls actually fit the game.

The visuals found in TM2 are also not bad, but they do feel rather dated. There is little to no slowdown in the game (thankfully), but the intense action can lead to some pixellation on the cars. Also, don't expect fancy animations - there is nothing elegant about the visuals.

The same thing goes for the audio aspect of the game. There's certainly nothing spectacular, but it isn't bland at all. The music tracks fit each of the different stages throughout the game. Don't expect polka music in TM2 - it's all rock-ish music that goes along with the mayhem. As for sound effects, they are rather normal. While playing the game, you will hear regular run-of-the-mill shooting and engine sounds - nothing abnormal here.

Overall, Twisted Metal 2 is a fun game although it is overrated. Its lack of replay value and high difficulty level hold it back from greatness, but it does reach the level of 'goodness' thanks to its great level designs and variety of characters. If you can find TM2 anywhere for $20 or less new, buy it. It will give you something to do for a week or two.

Final Analysis:
Graphics 6/10 - dated and a tad bit pixellated, but not too bad
Sound 7/10 - fitting music, normal sound effects
Gameplay 7/10 - little replay value, high difficulty level, but still a fun game
Control 6/10 - different setup, loose, but fits the game
Overall 7/10

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 10/05/01, Updated 10/05/01