Twisted Metal PlayStation 3

Released on 16-Mar-2012

• PS3 Games We Can't Wait To Play In 2012

  2011 was a fantastic year for PlayStation 3 exclusive games, featuring the likes of Killzone 3, Resistance 3, Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One, Uncharted 3 and LittleBigPlanet 2, to name just a few. 2012 will also offer a number of great-looking games only available on Sony's home console, which you'll find in our Best PS3 Games of 2012 list below.

  Dust 514

  Dust 514 is a sci-fi first person shooter focused on strategic planetary conquest through fierce ground combat augmented by powerful vehicles. Uniquely, the game is set in and directly connected to the persistent universe of PC massively multiplayer online game EVE Online, allowing players to form mercenary corporations across the two titles and work together to gain control of entire star systems.

  God of War 4

  While it has yet to be announced, the latest entry in Sony's flagship action adventure series is heavily tipped to launch in 2012. There are no official details, but reports claim it'll be the first game in the franchise to feature co-operative and online modes, with players taking control of Kratos and his brother Deimos as they try to escape the Afterlife in another brutal tale of revenge loosely based on Greek mythology.

  Tekken Hybrid

  Perfect for series fans and newcomers alike, Tekken Hybrid is a 3-in-1 fighting game package featuring a high-definition version of the PS2 classic Tekken Tag Tournament, an exclusive early taste of Tekken Tag Tournament 2 in demo form, plus Tekken Blood Vengeance, a full-length, computer generated and 3D compatible feature film that delves into the world of the King of Iron First tournament.

  Sly Cooper Thieves in Time

  Lovable raccoon and master thief Sly Cooper returns after a seven year break for another round of platforming and stealth gameplay. Featuring a humorous time travel storyline, engaging puzzles and eye-popping 3D visuals, this adventure sees players bidding to recover the missing pages of the Thieves Raccoonus, a book chronicling the Cooper family line and thieving secrets, before their legacy is destroyed forever.

  Sorcery

  Fantasy adventure game Sorcery sees players step into the robe of a young sorcerer's apprentice who must use his newly acquired magic skills to vanquish the evil Nightmare Queen and her minions. It makes full use of the PlayStation Move motion controller, mirroring real world movements in-game as players conjure spells, mix potions, solve puzzles and locate exotic treasure in a bid to save the Faerie Kingdom.

  Starhawk

  A third person shooter from the creators of Warhawk, Starhawk depicts a future in which humanity's last hope lies in the lawless frontier of space, where factions battle over the universe's precious resources. Blending intense ground, air and vehicular combat across ever-changing battlefields, the game features a single player campaign, epic 32 player online battles, and a range of offline and online co-op modes.

  The Last of Us

  Billed as a genre-defining experience that blends survival and action elements, The Last of Us is the latest game from Naughty Dog, creator of the critically acclaimed Uncharted series. Featuring a cinematic, character driven story about a population ravaged by a modern plague, it sees players guiding two survivors on a dangerous journey across what remains of the United States in a search of a better tomorrow.

  The Last Guardian

  It may be shrouded in mystery, but as the latest title from the creators of PS2 classics Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, The Last Guardian is perhaps the most feverishly anticipated PS3 game yet. Combining action adventure, puzzle and exploration elements, players assume the role of a young boy who must befriend a giant, feathered beast if he's to escape from a setting resembling the ruins of an expansive castle in a fantastic, high fantasy world.

  Twisted Metal

  The infamous Twisted Metal tournament takes driving madness and destruction to new levels in 2012's revival of the vehicle combat series, as players get behind the wheel of the most twisted rides imaginable and battle to the death until only one man is left standing. Cause chaos offline in the single player campaign or release your road rage in various game modes supporting four player split-screen and 16 players online.

  Yakuza: Dead Souls

  Popular free-roaming action series Yakuza takes some bizarre and deadly new twists with the Yakuza: Dead Souls, introducing of a wide array of guns and zombies into a nightmarish depiction of Tokyo's red light district. As the city descends into terror, four playable characters rise up to take back the streets, kicking, sniping, batting and bulldozing their way through the undead hordes to save Japan from the zombie apocalypse.

  Published: 24/01/2012

• Crank director signs on for Twisted Metal movie

  It's a good week to be a psychotic clown with an ice cream truck, as Twisted Metal not only launched on PS3 in the US to positive reviews, but also took a step closer to big screen infamy with the news that a movie version is on the way.

  Brian Taylor is the man who'll be bringing Sweet Tooth and the gang to live action, with Marvel Studios bossman Avi Arad in the producer's chair. Taylor is best known for his work with Mark Neveldine. Together they created the insane Jason Statham action movie Crank, as well as its even wilder sequel. They also gave us the Gerard Butler FPS sci-fi movie Gamer, and the new Ghost Rider movie, which opens this week.

  It's not yet clear how much of the game's setting will make it into the movie, but it seems likely that some sort of violent vehicular arena sport will be involved. The PlayStation 3 exclusive game, helmed by God of War creator David Jaffe, arrives here in March but the warm reception to the reboot from American reviewers should give fans reason to be cheerful.

• Twisted Metal - Preview

  
  

  

  Wacky Racers

  It's been around four years since we were last treated to a new Twisted Metal game, Twisted Metal Head On: Extra Twisted Edition for the PS2, so we're more than excited to see Sony's legendary car combat franchise return even bigger and better on the PS3. Although Twisted Metal has always enjoyed cult popularity in these lands, the latest entry in the franchise looks set to win over a whole new group of fans through slick presentation and some honest to goodness fun.

  Twisted Metal is all about vehicular carnage, complete with roaring cars and bikes, thundering explosions, pinging bullets and sizzling fires. It's destruction derby taken to the furthest extreme. While it might sound similar to another big Sony racer, Motorstorm, in reality it feels closer to something like Call of Duty or Mortal Kombat. The emphasis is focused squarely on chasing down the opposition and gunning them down.

  

  Carmageddon

  The game features a dark storyline - those who aren't too keen on killer clowns may want to approach with caution - in which a a mysterious ringleader named Calypso lords over a vehicle combat contest known as Twisted Metal. Billed as the ultimate test of skill and destruction, contestants who emerge victorious will win whatever prize their heart desires.

  But it's in its 16 player online modes that the game looks set to truly shine. For those who prefer less objective-oriented games, there's Free-For-All, where it's every man and woman for themselves, and Team Deathmatch, which throws rival groups into an arena and lets them bump, grind and shoot each other until they perish. There's also a twisted take on Capture The Flag that's brand new to the series called Nuke Mode. It requires players to pool their efforts in a bid to kidnap the leader of an opposing faction. If they pull it off, they're then tasked with strapping the kidnapped opponent to a nuke and launching it at the opposing team's base.

  

  Easy rider

  The game features a good mixture of heavy and light vehicles to suit different play styles including cars, bikes and even a helicopter, all of which are heavily modified to dish out serious damage, allowing you to transform an ice cream van into a killer robot or fire coffins from a speeding hearse. Our favourites include the Juggernaut, an 18-wheel truck that can release mines which roll into unsuspecting pursuers, and the Talon, a chopper with a devestating mounted turret. Players can stay high in the sky and reign down bullet hell on anyone who crosses their sights, while it also works as a magnet, allowing users to grab friends' vehicles and move them around.

  Twisted Metal looks set to build on what's made the previous entries in the series so much fun while bringing something new to the table; namely tightly designed vehicles and maps, explosive and highly-entertaining multiplayer gameplay, and a new single-player narrative for those who want a side of story with their outlandish driving and shooting.

  Published: 13/03/2012

• Twisted Metal's David Jaffe not bothered about "next gen" consoles

  Outspoken developer David Jaffe, the man behind the God of War series and this week's Twisted Metal reboot, won't be joining in the industry gossip about when we might see new consoles from Sony and Microsoft.

  "I couldn't care less about next-gen," he told respected games bible Edge, in typically blunt fashion.

  "I started at Sony Imagesoft doing Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis games, and I went through that to PS1, then PS2, PS3, Vita...", he continued. "You go through the cycle enough and you realise today's 'Oh my ******* God' is tomorrow's 'Ehh, whatever'. Ultimately, this is all going to be yesterday's news and it's about the experience, the game. Unless we're talking about holodecks, or AI that's so amazing it can actually write a compelling story around you procedurally based on your choices, I'm not interested."

  Multimedia functionality, fancy dashboards and the like don't appeal to the famously bullish developer. "The biggest thing I want is what you get from the PSP and the 3DS", he explains. "It's always on, there's a sleep mode and I can just hit a button and I'm right back where I was."

  Jaffe's purist stance is in direct contrast to developers like Epic, the studio behind Gears of War, which is actively lobbying hardware companies to make their new consoles faster and more powerful than ever.

  Twisted Metal is out this week exclusively for PlayStation 3.
  

• Twisted Metal - Review

  
  

  

  Hell On Wheels

  It's been a decade since we've had a new Twisted Metal game, so chances are most players coming into this reboot will be rusty if not altogether new to the series. As such, Twisted Metal does little to lull debutants to its peculiar brand of vehicular combat, but those who persist through its complex controls will find an extremely deep revival of the genre.

  The story goes that a devil-like character named Calypso will grant people their wish if they triumph in a vehicle-based fight to the death. Unlike previous Twisted Metal games, there are only three contestants this time around, and they're all psychopaths. It's not a particularly smart tale, but it's told with style in live-action cut-scenes with a Grindhouse vibe.

  What makes Twisted Metal so hard to come to grips with is the plethora of moves that can be done at any given time. Driving and shooting may sound simple, but once you toss in the abilities to jump, boost, boost in reverse, turbo-boost, pull up a shield, drop a mine, fire an EMP blast, shoot backwards, and sort between multiple weapons and additional firing modes it quickly becomes dizzying. Though initially impenetrable, it's well worth sticking with.

  

  Campaigning For Your Rights

  The story mode helps new players cut their teeth on the action, gently introducing the myriad mechanics. Bosses in particular stand out as epic multi-stage encounters as these gargantuan machines morph and throw players into all new scenarios. One giant pig-tailed robot doll tasks players with defeating its minions before dragging one of their brood to a truck where they'll be sacrificed into a wood chipper-like device and come out a missile on the other end that the player must pilot into the boss. This silly, violent, and outrageously fun encounter sums up the best that Twisted Metal as to offer.

  It doesn't always hit these highs, though. The campaign is held back by some unfair enemy AI that conspires against human players, while leaving each other alone. Story mode's biggest sin, however, is its racing stages. In theory this nod to Death Race 2000 seems like a good idea for a game about cars with weapons; but unfortunately it doesn't play that way. Between the game's focus on combat and aggressive AI, it ends up all too easy to get blown off course. It's like Mario Kart on meth. Mercifully, there are only three of these stages, but the penultimate level is such a lengthy, grueling race that many players may be prevented from seeing the wonderful final encounter.

  

  I Need A Little Help From My Friends

  If the campaign isn't the best in the world it's because a majority of Twisted Metal's focus is on multiplayer (available both online, split-screen, and any combination of the two). Here's where it takes on a life of its own. When you start seeing veteran players racking up loads of kills with a vehicle you'd previously not given a second thought to, it hints at the underlying depth buried beneath Twisted Metal's blistering core. Each vehicle has a couple special attacks and sometimes their benefits aren't readily apparent. Sweet Tooth's ice cream truck's unique projectile can shoot through barriers, while the exterminator wagon, Vermin, has a very fast recharge rate for its special. While not patently obvious, this stuff matters, and there's no shortage of minutia to master.

  Playing against real people also changes the flow of combat significantly. While the AI targets human players, it's not as stubborn about hunting them down. Multiplayer reveals the importance of collecting power-ups as well as when to flee instead of fight. Learning to evade another player through slick driving, mines, or a backwards EMP blast becomes just as important as unloading your arsenal on them.

  The Nukes Of Hazard

  Ultimately, Twisted Metal is a surprisingly sophisticated multiplayer game buried beneath an unpolished campaign. It can take awhile to wrap one's head around and it could use more game modes, but those burnt out by traditional person shooters will find this resurgence of vehicular warfare a splendid change of pace.

  Our rating: 8.0

  What's Good?

  • Balanced multiplayer
    
  • Very deep combat
    
  • Awesome bosses
    
  • Feels unlike anything else out there today

  What's Bad?

  • Clumsy AI
    
  • Not enough multiplayer modes
    
  • Steep learning curve

• Twisted Metal - Review

  
  

  
  

  Hell On Wheels

  It's been a decade since we've had a new Twisted Metal game, so chances are most players coming into this reboot will be rusty if not altogether new to the series. As such, Twisted Metal does little to lull debutants to its peculiar brand of vehicular combat, but those who persist through its complex controls will find an extremely deep revival of the genre.

  The story goes that a devil-like character named Calypso will grant people their wish if they triumph in a vehicle-based fight to the death. Unlike previous Twisted Metal games, there are only three contestants this time around, and they're all psychopaths. It's not a particularly smart tale, but it's told with style in live-action cut-scenes with a Grindhouse vibe.

  What makes Twisted Metal so hard to come to grips with is the plethora of moves that can be done at any given time. Driving and shooting may sound simple, but once you toss in the abilities to jump, boost, boost in reverse, turbo-boost, pull up a shield, drop a mine, fire an EMP blast, shoot backwards, and sort between multiple weapons and additional firing modes it quickly becomes dizzying. Though initially impenetrable, it's well worth sticking with.

  

  Campaigning For Your Rights

  The story mode helps new players cut their teeth on the action, gently introducing the myriad mechanics. Bosses in particular stand out as epic multi-stage encounters as these gargantuan machines morph and throw players into all new scenarios. One giant pig-tailed robot doll tasks players with defeating its minions before dragging one of their brood to a truck where they'll be sacrificed into a wood chipper-like device and come out a missile on the other end that the player must pilot into the boss. This silly, violent, and outrageously fun encounter sums up the best that Twisted Metal as to offer.

  It doesn't always hit these highs, though. The campaign is held back by some unfair enemy AI that conspires against human players, while leaving each other alone. Story mode's biggest sin, however, is its racing stages. In theory this nod to Death Race 2000 seems like a good idea for a game about cars with weapons; but unfortunately it doesn't play that way. Between the game's focus on combat and aggressive AI, it ends up all too easy to get blown off course. It's like Mario Kart on meth. Mercifully, there are only three of these stages, but the penultimate level is such a lengthy, grueling race that many players may be prevented from seeing the wonderful final encounter.

  

  If the campaign isn't the best in the world it's because a majority of Twisted Metal's focus is on multiplayer (available both online, split-screen, and any combination of the two). Here's where it takes on a life of its own. When you start seeing veteran players racking up loads of kills with a vehicle you'd previously not given a second thought to, it hints at the underlying depth buried beneath Twisted Metal's blistering core. Each vehicle has a couple special attacks and sometimes their benefits aren't readily apparent. Sweet Tooth's ice cream truck's unique projectile can shoot through barriers, while the exterminator wagon, Vermin, has a very fast recharge rate for its special. While not patently obvious, this stuff matters, and there's no shortage of minutia to master.

  Playing against real people also changes the flow of combat significantly. While the AI targets human players, it's not as stubborn about hunting them down. Multiplayer reveals the importance of collecting power-ups as well as when to flee instead of fight. Learning to evade another player through slick driving, mines, or a backwards EMP blast becomes just as important as unloading your arsenal on them.

  The Nukes Of Hazard

  Ultimately, Twisted Metal is a surprisingly sophisticated multiplayer game buried beneath an unpolished campaign. It can take awhile to wrap one's head around and it could use more game modes, but those burnt out by traditional person shooters will find this resurgence of vehicular warfare a splendid change of pace.

  GAME's Verdict:

  The Good

  • Balanced multiplayer
  • Very deep combat
  • Awesome bosses
  • Feels unlike anything else out there today

  The Bad

  • Clumsy AI
  • Not enough multiplayer modes

  Published: 21/03/2012

• The Best of 2012: PlayStation 3

  
  

  Although it may have wobbled in the early running, the PlayStation 3 approaches the end of the current hardware generation as one of the strongest and most eclectic gaming systems in history. Whether reviving and refreshing its big franchises for new fans, or supporting the more artistically inclined indie end of the development spectrum, a large debt of thanks for 2012's sterling games line-up is owed to SONY. Uniquely among the big platform holders, you could easily fill a list of the PS3's top titles with SONY's own first party exclusives.

  

  Also uniquely among its peers, SONY has done a superb job of dipping into its past without exploiting fans. High definition compilations of classic PlayStation 2 series such as Ratchet & Clank worked both as loving tributes to classic gameplay of yesteryear, and as highly polished introductions for generations of new fans. At the same time, new games featuring the same characters ensured they'll endure into the next generation, with Ratchet & Clank: QForce combining the crisp and humorous platform jumping of old with a frantic tower defence strategy twist.

  Also making a comeback was the mighty Twisted Metal. SONY's ferocious vehicle combat game is a representative of a genre that has faded from popularity, but the combination of fantastic multiplayer mayhem, addictive arcade driving physics and the sheer visual punch that the PS3 delivers makes this bratty, splattery action game one of 2012's unsung gems.

  

  Twisted Metal succeeded because it brought back classic gameplay that had been forgotten, but other SONY hits this year worked because they took popular characters and concepts off into new directions. LittleBigPlanet Karting, for example, found Sackboy reinvented as a cuddly textile version of Jenson Button. The introduction of kart racing into the LittleBigPlanet world was exciting enough, but when you factor in the boundless creativity that the game offers - allowing players to use the developer's own design tools to create their own tracks and mini-games - then you've got a game that is a more than worthy addition to the LBP lineage. Even if you never create anything of your own, the fact that the community is constantly producing new, free content is enough to keep you playing for months.

  

  SONY's roster of characters got an even more unlikely make over in PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale. This multiplayer fighting game pitted such unlikely stablemates as Parappa the Rapper, Sackboy and Sly Cooper against the likes of Nathan Drake, God of War's Kratos and Bioshock's Big Daddy. It's an insane mash-up of the whimsical and the fearsome, yet it works beautifully. The larger arena-based battles are frantic and hilarious - perfect party game fodder - yet the systems underneath are much closer to the classic fighting game standards you'd expect to find in hardcore genre titles. With former Street Fighter spokesman Seth Killian as the lead designer, it's perhaps no surprise that All-Stars is actually a seriously good fighting game that just happens to have some silly modes for everyone to enjoy. If you haven't picked it up yet because you thought it was just for kids, correct that mistake as soon as possible!

  

  SONY continued to innovate in other areas as well. The PlayStation Move controller found its perfect realisation in Book of Spells, the first in a planned series of Wonderbook augmented reality experiences. Produced in conjunction with JK Rowling, it sees players using an actual book which is transformed on-screen into a dusty old tome from the Hogwarts library. Casting spells and interacting with this magical world is genuinely spellbinding.

  

  Just as magical, in a more abstract way, was the critically acclaimed Journey. Created by esoteric designer Jenova Chen, this thought-provoking experience sets you down in a strange desert with only a distant mountain peak to guide you. As you wander, solving puzzles and navigating the ruins of a lost civilisation, you'll gain the power to float and fly, as well as meeting other players who can collaborate with you to find more secrets. Absolutely gorgeous to look at, and inviting all kinds of gentle emotional responses, it's a true work of art.

  Even far away from the arty indie scene, the PS3 had a cracking year. Fans of Assassin's Creed III, for example, were treated to exclusive bonus missions on SONY's console that wove legendary traitor Benedict Arnold into the game's Revolutionary War narrative.

  

  And, remarkably, 2013 looks like it will be even better. Intelligent blockbusters such as The Last of Us and Beyond: Two Souls will be available exclusively on the PS3, along with a new God of War and a new Sly Cooper adventure, and that's all before the summer arrives. The news may be full of rumours and guesswork about the next hardware generation, but there's plenty to be excited about on the consoles we do have!
  

  Published: 20/12/2012

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