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Publisher:
Sony Developer: SingleTrac Size: 1 CD Memory Usage: None No. of players: 2(simultaneously) Got it for: $3.99, complete Official Ad: Yes |
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What's it all about?
It's a car-based combat game. Choosing one of the various vehicles/drivers you'll attempt to destroy every opponent in the given level, then you'll move on to the next. During the game, you'll use your standard machine guns, your vehicle-specific weapon and special moves to attack the other drivers; you can also pick up a variety of other weapons along the way. During the carnage, you're also able to destroy certain pieces of the scenery that will reveal new paths, secret items or shortcuts to various locations. Halfway through the game you'll come across a mini-boss, then a few levels later the final battle begins...
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Graphics - Piss-poor. Blocky, fucked up world textures all over the place...not to mention the standard PSX ground/wall warping and the constant clipping. Even the cars themselves don't look that great, and throwing them on top of the already horrid-looking levels results in one ugly game. The framerate is like a fucking yo-yo, dropping into near-single digit status then climbing back up to its standard rate constantly throughout the levels. |
| Sound - Pretty good. The soundtrack itself consists of ambient pieces when you're just cruising around and quickly jumps into a fast paced score when you're in the action. Some levels will pump out nothing but a rockin' tune, and it's very loud and...well, rocks. As for sound effects, they're all clear and some are even quite amusing(the bystander's screams and such). |  |
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Control - Mediocre. First off, though your car can get around without too much trouble, it seems unbelievably "floaty"...which can lead to a lot of trouble. Next, activating some of the special moves can be a real pain: You do it too fast, it doesn't come off...do it too slow, won't come off...do it when there's some dip in the framerate, you guessed it, the move won't come off. At times you can kinda get into the groove of it...but that's pretty rare. |
| AI - Unbelievably fucking cheap....I'm talking MK-style cheap here, people. The AI has *unlimited* weapons and special attacks, not to mention that they NEVER seem to miss.....EVER. Fuckers like Mr. Slam and Outlaw 2 are just infuriatingly bad about it too. One time I had Mr. Slam shoot me with *7*(seven, S-E-V-E-N) Ice Beams...5 more times than what's actually allowed... |  |
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Replay value - For the multiplayer game, extremely high...for the single player game...close to non-existent. The single player game is just more frustrating than anything else as you'll find yourself being pummeled, constantly, by the cheap-ass AI. Multiplayer, the Co-op Tournament mode to be specific, though, is an absolute blast. For some reason, the AI seems to cut you a lot more slack in this mode...and teaming up on those bastards with a buddy is just beyond bliss. |
Learn the special moves...without them, the game is even more impossibly-hard than it already is. Here's a quick rundown of a few of the more important special moves:
Freeze
Missile: Left, Right, Up |
Napalm:
Right, Left, Up |
Shield:
Up, Up, Right |
Jump:
Up, Up, Left |
Reverse
attack: Left, Right, Down |
Land-mine:
Right, Left, Down |
Invisibility:
Right, Down, Left, Up |
Minion
Special: Up, Down, Up, Up, R2 (note: special meter needs to be nearly full) |
Sell
Your Soul: Down, Up, Right, Left, Up, Up, Down, Down - This will
trade all of your weapons for a bit of health. |
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Using the special moves above, combos can be performed. Here's a quick example of one of my favorite combos: First, shoot a Freeze Missile. Once the opponent if frozen, shoot whatever weapon at them. After that, shoot another freeze, then pop off another weapon into them. Do this while mowing them down with your machine guns and you can do some serious damage. |  |
To access the three hidden levels in the game, at the Track Selection screen in the two player Deathmatch mode, input the following codes: Rooftops - The Rooftops level from the original Twisted Metal game. Down, Left, R1, Down Swampland - The Swampland track from Jet Moto...it's almost exactly like it is in JM. Up, Down, Right, R1 Cyburbia - Another track from the original Twisted Metal game. Huge, huge, HUGE map. Down, Up, L1, R1 Finally, to add Sweet Tooth and Minion to the roster of vehicles you can pick, input the following code at the Car Selection screen in Tournament Mode: Sweet Tooth - Up, L1, Triangle, Right Minion - L1, Up, Down, Left |
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My rating: 80(out of 100) - The graphics suck, the AI is a disgrace and the single player game will make you want to stab yourself in the throat with a fork...but somehow it still gets an 80!? One thing, and one thing only saves this game: The Co-op Tournament mode. Deathmatch is fun and all, but throw in the unbelievably hip multiplayer Co-op Tournament and you've got something that you and a buddy can pop in time after time and have a blast with. Just do what you can to keep your distance from that single player game and you'll be alright... |
| EGM
gave it: 8, 8.5, 8.5, 8(out of 10) Next Generation gave it: 4 stars(out of 5) Ultra Game Players gave it: 8.2(out of 10) |
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Cat's review: Fuck-my-kitty-ass-does-this-game-suck. Terrible, terrible graphics, shitty control and AI that makes me want to chase my tail! Next time Bel leaves the apt, this sucker is going in the microwave...I'll just take a dump in the Playstation, trust me, with this game he won't be able to tell the difference. |  |
Screenshots
were taken via Connectix Virtual Game Station for the Mac, they are then
resized and sharpened to more accurately reflect the graphics. Note: VGS
throws a filter over PSX graphics, much like the PS2's "PS1 mode".
As this will make them look better than they normally would on a conventional
setup, sharpening the pictures brings them back to a more realistic view
of what they really look like. For an example and comparison, click here.
Shadow's
getting a little lead in his diet.
Outlaw
2 just handed Twister's lovely ass to her.
Battling
it out in Jet Moto's Swampland course...
Saying
"goodbye" to the Eiffel Tower.
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Gameplay
Videos: Attract Mode, Title Screen - 1:29, 14.2 megs Immediate Streaming - YouTube |
| Description: The game's Attract Mode where Calypso ponders where to hold the next tournament followed by the animated Title Screen. | |
Note:
You'll need the most recent Divx
codec to watch these videos. Also, slowdown and jumps in the
playback may not necessarily be the fault of the game so much as
the method I am using to record them. If you are having problems
watching the videos in your browser, just right-click and download
them to your hard drive...
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One
last kick to the nuts, for old time's sake: If you didn't already know, after TM2, SingleTrac approached Sony for more money to continue doing the TM series. After the request was refused, SingleTrac left Sony and headed to GT Interactive to do their new game "Rogue Trip: Vacation 2012". After this, Sony gave the TM series to the local idiots at 989 Studios....and they pretty much ran it through the mud. Later on, for the Greatest Hits re-release of the game, the "good" folks at Sony took the SingleTrac name and logo off *all* of the game's visible print(manual, back cover, the actual CD) and replaced it with the 989 Studios text and logo. Wow, talk about holding a grudge... |
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Twisted Metal 2 was number 64 in EGM's "100 Best Games of All Time" list.