Twisted Metal: Head-On: Extra Twisted Edition (Sony PlayStation 2, 2008)

Twisted Metal is my child hood favorite game, I played all the twisted metal games and I got to learn most in this game. This game is great, it takes the PSP version onto the PS2 and you get to play Levels that were supposed to be in the final Twisted Metal game until you learn on what caused them to stop, Teaches you how this game was made, all twisted metal games, tells you the history of some characters, and one thing that i love the most, how it shows twisted metal 1 character endings, that was supposed to be placed in the normal game. I love it!

Twisted Metal Head-On: Extra Twisted Edition was originally a PSP game so I can understand if it was somewhat shallow on the handheld. However, when coming to the PS2, rather than adding more gameplay to the actual game, Sony felt that adding a slew of extras would be good enough. While I do enjoy the inclusion of the hilariously bad, cut videos of the first Twisted Metal and the lost Twisted Metal: Black levels, the actual game that gamers are paying for is too shallow for the PS2. One could complete a character's "story" in less than a half hour. There are other modes such as survival and deathmatch, but the series is better in it's story mode and since every level is short (defeat 4 opponents as opposed TM:Black's standard 8 opponents per level) you get a short game. The developers could have added an extra level or beefed up the opponent count from 4 to at least 6 on some levels towards the end.

Since the main game is so short, let me talk about the extras. The biggest extra that the game presents to you is the lost levels of TM:Black. Don't get your hopes too high because it's incredibly shallow even compared to TM:Head-On. The story mode is an insulting, as it is just 3 levels long with the same goal of TM:Head-On (defeat 4 foes). The new levels are nice and you get all of TM:Black's characters (except Minion) instantly, but if they were going to call it story mode then it could've at least been designed like one. You get a 4th level for doing the story, but overall the levels aren't that big of a deal. They should have just combined the lost levels of TM:Black with TM:Head-On to form a game that isn't so brief.

The rest of the extras aren't worth buying the game for so I won't spend a great deal of time going into. The lost videos from the first TM are funny, but probably on YouTube by now. The "Sweet Tour" is a poorly made extra that lets you walk around as Sweet Tooth finding fun facts about Twisted Metal's history. And lastly you get a video that tells you more about Twisted Metal. If you're a huge TM fan that must have this information in a TM game then you may want all this, but anyone else won't likely care.

For all my trash-talk on the game I must admit it is fun. Just a bit disappointing. It is very reminiscent of classic TM games and brings some innovations that make the game stand out such as upgrading your vehicle by defeating opponents in the game, but as great as the gameplay is you'll always come back to the fact that it's a short PSP game put onto the PS2 where you have greater expectations.

A disappointment, but still a good game.

I'm a HUGE fan of the Twisted Metal series since it first came out on Playstation 1 around 1995. This game is like 2 games in 1- you receive the full Head-On version, and 4 "new" levels from the older Twisted Metal: Black game as a bonus.

It was strange- the "Head-On" version seemed like it was made from another company altogether. Hard core fans will notice the control, look of vehicles and game play is not the same(or as good in my opinion)as the older versions of the game.

The Twisted Metal: Black levels seemed to be made by the original game developers and the level design, graphics, and overall control of the vehicle is much better than the "Head-On" version of the game.

One of the biggest elements of the game that was missing was online play. When I first heard of this game in development (before it came out in stores) I thought it would have the option of playing online, and I was quite disappointed when I found out it didn't.

GAME RATING: This was a difficult game for me to rate. The "Head-On" version of the game I would rate around average, while the 4 levels from Twisted Metal: Black I would rate between good and excellent. The 4 levels are excellent on their own, it's mainly because they are so short that I would drop the score a little lower.

I would highly recommend this as a "rent first" game to see if you like it. I know most if not all hard core fans of the game will greatly miss the online experience.

When I found out this was a port, I was a little skeptical, but when I learned more about what the game had to offer longtime fans of the series, I had to have it. While there's nothing really that special about 'Head-On' other than what's typically expected out of a Twisted Metal game, the additional interviews with the original creators (now deceased) and other features, this title should be a hit for anyone that's played even just a few of the previous titles. Fans of Twisted Metal Black should find the some of the levels planned for the sequel entertaining and there's even a few bonus cars to unlock. All in all, I enjoy the game and for such a low price, it almost feels like stealing when you realize how much extra content is packaged into this title. Don't expect anything special when it comes to the gameplay, but this title should provide you with a lot of fun at a bargain cost.

If you are a fan of the Twisted Metal series of games, this one takes a ton of the great aspects of the previous games and combines them into one. The level design is phenominal and far more entertaining than TM Black was. The bonus features (commentary, info bits, and original TM1 endings that were never seen) are a great plus. The only downside is the graphics are not up to par for PS2 capabilities. The graphics could have been better, but keep in mind the game was ported over from the PSP. Bottom line is that it is as fun as all of the previous TM games ever were. The car control is a lot more like TM2 than Black (a good thing in my opinion).