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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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One
year ago, the first Twisted Metal tournament was held on Christmas Eve in
the city of Los Angeles. Twelve contestants battled it out for the chance
to have one wish granted by the competition's creator, Calypso. This year,
the tournament will be held in various locations all over the globe. Fourteen
competitors have been chosen, and are willing to fight to the death all
for their chance to meet with Calypso.
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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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Tips
for better gaming experiences: 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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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Shadow's
getting a little lead in his diet. |
Outlaw
2 just handed Twister's lovely ass to her. |
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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!:
Twisted Metal 2 was number 64 in EGM's "100 Best Games of All Time"
list. |
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