Twisted Metal is one of my favorite game franchises. I have been a longtime fan and began with playing the series with Twisted Metal 3 for the original PlayStation console. What I liked about the experience was that it uniquely combined driving games with first person shooter. While killing opponents was part of the fun, players also had to be skilled drivers and deftly dodge others’ attacks.
My favorite character to play with was the heavily armored Warthog. He drove sort of a hybrid tank/ hummer vehicle that could withstand damage and had a devastating special attack of his own. The only downside was that the player was slow, but that was easily compensated for with a well timed turbo boost. Playing with Warthog also allowed me to get further in the game because of his capability to withstand high pressure attacks. The lack of armor on other vehicles meant that two attacks would lead to a death and eventual game over. I was able to beat Twisted Metal 3 with Warthog, so he holds a special place in my heart.
Another character that I liked to play with was Specter. Almost the complete opposite of Warthog, the character was a sports car that could reach ultra fast speeds. He also had a great special which made playing with him enjoyable. What I most enjoyed about Specter was revving the vehicle up as fast as he could go and turbo boost to launch the car across the map. I was able to find new areas with special items and a good defensive position. Specter was not very good for playing a campaign, however. His lack of armor made him vulnerable to attacks and could quickly die if confronted by several opponents.
The undoubted star of the Twisted Metal franchise is Sweet Tooth. This homicidal ice cream truck gone looney has graced the cover of the games for as long as they’ve been made. Playing with the character was somewhat difficult. His steering was not easily mastered and his special move took some getting used to. I think people who used Sweet Tooth came to love him for his uniqueness. However, I never quite mastered the character.
The last character I’ll mention is Firestarter. He had a turbo charged hot rod that shot huge flames from the front and could toast opponents and leave them charred. The character had a particularly devastating special attack and one direct hit could leave an opponent dead. He also had a fair amount of speed. Again, the con with this player was the utter lack of armor.
Twisted Metal is one of the all time greats in video game franchise history. It smartly combines the fun of driving games with the thrill of action and first person shooting. If you are looking for some nostalgic fun and are not too picky about heavily graphics with glaring pixels, why not bust this game out and knock off the dust. It is sure to be just as fun as you first remembered.