Twisted Metal: Black (Sony PlayStation 2, 2001)

Longtime fans of the Twisted Metal series almost universally cite the second game in the series as their favorite. It picked up where the first game left off and really brought a lot to the series, as well as the genre. After the second game, development of the series was turned over to a different development team, and as a result, TM3 and TM4 were extremely weak games. Twisted Metal: Black gets the series back on track, as development has been given to a team partially composed of the group that worked on the first two games. The resulting game is not only the best in the series, but it also manages to be the best car combat game ever created and one of the best PlayStation 2 games currently available.

Black sticks to the basic premise that has driven the entire series. A mysterious man of the underworld by the name of Calypso has sought out the craziest inmates from a local mental hospital to compete in a car combat tournament called Twisted Metal. Calypso attracts everyone by promising to deliver each individual what he wants the most. For some it's revenge, for others redemption--but each has a desire that Calypso says he can deliver. In all, TMB contains 15 characters, ten playable from the start and five that you have to find to unlock. The roster includes favorites from the series such as Sweet Tooth, Axel, Shadow, Spectre, and Mr. Grimm.

The gameplay and setup are fairly straightforward. Each level consists of a certain number of enemies, usually seven or eight, whom you must defeat to advance to the next stage. Once you do, you're sometimes given a choice between two levels. Successfully clearing all the enemies out of a level requires a lot of skill and, in the later stages, a little luck. You're given only two lives in each level, but you can refill your energy twice, which, if done correctly, amounts to having four lives. Locating key weapons, health, and weapon power-ups, all of which are scattered through out the levels, is essential to winning.

The controls in TMB are set up extremely well. You have several control configurations to choose from, and the default is well thought out. The left analog stick steers your vehicle, while the right controls its speed. The shoulder buttons on top of the controller handle firing and cycling through your weapons. This setup lets you control every aspect of the game without ever lifting a finger to press another button, which is helpful since the game moves at an incredibly fast pace. The controls are incredibly responsive and take a bit of time to get used to, but once you get used to them, they control just as well, if not better, as those in the first Twisted Metal games.

The difficulty balance and the AI of the normal setting in TMB are almost perfect for someone who is looking for a real challenge. The game is neither easy nor impossible, but it does have that perfect blend of having to overcome the failure of completing a level a few times and having to learn from your mistakes. If you've ever played the first two games, you'll have a slight advantage. It takes time to get a feel for the speed and, subsequently, the controls of the game. But once you do, you'll be good until about the fifth or sixth level, which is when the AI gets a bit steeper and a little frustrating. You'll have an easier time getting through the game with certain characters, so the level of difficulty will vary for all depending on which character and style of play you use. Every character

The Twisted Metal series debuted on the PS2 after a long absence with this title. Twisted Metal: Black is by far the best title in the series. The levels alone make this game worth picking up. Battle in the suburbs, on a boat, in a junk yard, and on sky scrapper rooftops to name only a few. The music, graphics, style of art, and pure black hearted and morbid nature of this game make all others in the series easily forgettable. Twisted Metal: Black also features some of the highest frame rates in the car combat genre. With around 60 frames per second the game runs silky smooth no matter how much action is on the screen at once! The ONLY downside to this title would be the complicated controll scheme. It takes awhile to get the hang of it, but once you do you're good to murder and maim!

Incognito (formerly Singltrac,now known as Eat,Sleep,Play) is pure GENIUS!!! Twisted Metal:Black builds on the fun known as Twisted Metal and Twisted Metal 2:World Tour. Original characters return,but are total redone. The new characters are outstanding. The levels are stunning and beautiful,but also very dark. You'll fight in Downtown, Suburbs with a circus rolling through, a Junkyard, and ,of course, Skyscrapers. But, those are not all the levels,there are TONS more. Each environment is amazingly interactive. The streets are littered with traffic to destroy, people to run over/vaporize into little meaty chunks with a missile, and tons of other stuff to destroy. Plus,even stuff OUTSIDE the environment is destructible like "gas balls". With all this destruction and awesomeness, could a game ever be better? If you do not already own this game,go out and GET IT!!!!!

I'm going to keep this short and sweet but this game was nothing I thought it was going to be. The intro was great and graphics were appealing, but then you get to the gameplay. First of all the cars are going like 100 mph making the levels seem very small so it is easy to get bored with most stages; that also makes it hard to zero in on your opponent without flying by them every time and running into the wall. The most annoying thing about this game are the weapons. While playing the first 3 or 4 minutes of the game I was looking for the awesome explosions and destruction, much like the previous Twisted Metal games delivered, and got nothing. I kid you not when I say this game is the most weak-sauce version of the series, basically lacking that exciting experience of feeling like your in the game by leaving out pretty much all the fun of it's previous accomplishments. 8 fingers and 2 thumbs down.

It's not that this game is bad, it just isn't great. Let me start off by saying that the ONLY game in the Twisted Metal series worth getting (to me) is Twisted Metal 2. It may be old, and the graphics may not be as good but it is a 5 out of 5 all the way.

Steer clear of Twisted Metal: Black, unless you are a fan of the series. The graphics are good, as are the sound effects. The gameplay is too overwhelming and the controls are a total mess, new players will be very confused. There are too many power ups to keep them all straight!

One thing I do enjoy about this game is that there are plenty of characters with interesting storylines. This game has alot of new characters, but it also still has the classic ones. The storyline in this game is SO much better than past versions. Also the area's you compete in are beautiful, they are detailed and full fo things to blow up.

Basically it just feels like a okay car combat game in a fancy and sinister package...get Twisted Metal 2 or Vigilante 8. I suppose I would recommend you rent this game, to me, it isn't worth buying.