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Twisted Metal: Black

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Twisted Metal: Blackis a 2001vehicular combatvideo gamefromSony Computer Entertainmentfor thePlayStation 2,[2]developed byIncog Inc. Entertainmentas their first game. The fifth title of theTwisted Metalseries followingTwisted Metal 4(1999), it serves as arebootof the franchise. An online enabledmultiplayer-only variant,Twisted Metal: Black Online,was released later as a free send-away.

Twisted Metal: Black
North American box art
Developer(s)Incog Inc. Entertainment[a]
Publisher(s)Sony Computer Entertainment
Director(s)David Jaffe
Producer(s)Scott Campbell
Designer(s)David Jaffe
Programmer(s)Steve Poulson
Composer(s)Michael Reagan
Gregory Hainer
Kevin Riepl
Kevin Manthei
SeriesTwisted Metal
EngineKinetica
Platform(s)PlayStation 2
Release
  • NA:June 19, 2001[1]
  • EU:December 7, 2001
Genre(s)Vehicular combat
Mode(s)Single-player,multiplayer

It was also the firstTwisted Metalreleased inPALterritories sinceTwisted Metal 2.BothTwisted Metal: BlackandTwisted Metal: Black Onlinewere reissued as part ofSony Greatest Hitsprogram. A standard downloadable version ofTwisted Metal: Blackis included in the first batch of copies ofTwisted MetalforPlayStation 3,discernible by the "Limited Edition" tab near the top of the cover art. In December 2015, the game was made available for thePlayStation 4through thePlayStation Network.

Overview

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In concept,Twisted Metal: Blackis ademolition derbythat permits the usage ofballisticprojectiles. Players choose a vehicle and an arena—or a series of arenas in the story mode—to engage in battle with opposing drivers. A variety of weapons and upgrades are obtainable by pick-ups scattered throughout the stage. The objective of the game is to be the last one standing.

The basis of the plot follows the same structure as in all the previous games: Calypso runs a car-based contest calledTwisted Metal(though in the game the contest is never called that), in which the various characters compete risking their lives to claim the tournament's prize - any single wish they desire, no matter the difficulty, rarity or even reality of such wish. Although Calypso is indeed malevolent, characters who have malevolent wishes (which make most of the cast) have their wishes granted without him tricking them on the wishes, while those seeking more noble ends (such as Outlaw's driver Agent Stone) find that Calypso usually has the last laugh.

In a somewhat different take from previous games, each character has their own story, which they narrate from their own point of view. Each of them starts with them being visited by Calypso, who knows what they desire and offers them in his contest. More of the characters' background is revealed in their midpoint cutscene, presented as a dream experienced when they briefly pass out after the sub-boss Minion is defeated. The characters' ending movie showing their wish being granted is presented after defeating the final boss Warhawk.

The game instead takes place within a single city known as "Midtown", with most competitors coming from the city's mental asylum, "Blackfield".

Twisted Metal: Blackhas a cast made up from both new and returning characters, some of which have changed drastically from their previous appearances. There are a total of fifteen selectable characters, in which ten of them are selectable from the very beginning and the other five must be found and unlocked.

Reception

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Twisted Metal: Blackreceived "universal acclaim" according to thereview aggregationwebsiteMetacritic.[3]Daniel Erickson ofNextGensaid, "The best car combat game in history is also the most creative. Go get it."[15]Dan Elektro ofGameProsaid, "If you've lost your taste forTwisted Metal,this is the game that will bring back your appetite.Twisted Metal: Blackis car combat action at its best. "[20][c]

Many critics praised its dark and outstanding storylines for each character and its variety of weapons and unlockables, but its hover style controls for not changing much from the previous installments and its unbalanced difficulty were noted criticisms.Maximgave the game all five stars and called it "a road rager's dream come true".[21]Playboygave it 90% and called it "fun for the whole family!"[19]The Cincinnati Enquirergave it four stars out of five and called it "a fight to the finish, so it's important to keep moving and to quickly learn how and when to use each of the weapons".[18]

The game was nominated atThe Electric Playground's 2001 Blister Awards for the "Best Multiplayer Console Game" and "Best Console Driving Game" awards, but lost toHalo: Combat EvolvedandGrand Theft Auto III,respectively.[22]It was also nominated for the "Best Shooting Game" award atGameSpot's Best and Worst of 2001 Awards, which also went toHalo.[23]The game also came in ninth in their list of the Top 10 Overall.[24]A year later, theOnlineversion was nominated for the "Best Online Game on PlayStation 2" award at their Best and Worst of 2002 Awards, which went toSOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs.[25]During theAcademy of Interactive Arts & Sciences'6th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards,the latter online version received a nomination for the "Online Gameplay of the Year"award, which went toBattlefield 1942.[26]

By July 2006, the game had sold 950,000 units and earned $31 million in the U.S.NextGenranked it as the 61st highest-selling game launched for the PlayStation 2,XboxorGameCubebetween October 2000 and July 2006 in that country.[27]

Twisted Metal: Harbor City

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Screenshot ofTwisted Metal: Harbor City.

A sequel project isTwisted Metal: Harbor City,[citation needed]though it was never officially announced and the project was later scrapped.

Details on the game were revealed in thePlayStation 2port ofTwisted Metal: Head-On,Extra Twisted Edition.It was originally planned the levels ofHarbor Cityto be greatly expanded and inter-connected with one another, giving a greater feeling of a single, complete world rather than stand-alone levels.

The four completed levels were included in the game as a bonus feature entitledTwisted Metal: Lost.

Webisodes

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Animation S4, a producer of 3D and Flash animations, created a series of six original Flash "Webisodes" to promote the release ofTwisted Metal: Black,beginning with No-Face, and including Billy Ray Stillwell, Sweet Tooth, Dollface, Bloody Mary and Mr. Grimm.[28]

Notes

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  1. ^Santa Monica Studioassisted on development.
  2. ^Three critics ofElectronic Gaming Monthlygave the game each a score of 8/10, 9/10, and 8.5/10.
  3. ^GameProgave the game two 5/5 scores for graphics and sound, and two 4.5/5 scores for control and fun factor.

References

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  1. ^IGN staff (June 19, 2001)."Twisted Metal Black Ships to Stores (Go Get It)".IGN.Ziff Davis.Archivedfrom the original on April 14, 2023.RetrievedApril 8,2024.
  2. ^"Twisted Metal: Black Ships for the PS2".GameZone.June 19, 2001.Archivedfrom the original on April 29, 2007.RetrievedApril 8,2024.
  3. ^ab"Twisted Metal: Black".Metacritic.Fandom.Archivedfrom the original on December 12, 2023.RetrievedApril 8,2024.
  4. ^J.C. Barnes."Twisted Metal: Black - Review".AllGame.All Media Network. Archived fromthe originalon November 14, 2014.RetrievedMay 8,2023.
  5. ^Edge staff (September 2001)."Twisted Metal Black"(PDF).Edge.No. 101.Bath:Future Publishing.p. 82.Archived(PDF)from the original on June 13, 2023.RetrievedApril 9,2024.
  6. ^Dan "Shoe" Hsu; Kraig Kujawa; Che Chou (August 2001)."Twisted Metal: Black"(PDF).Electronic Gaming Monthly.No. 146. Ziff Davis. p. 110.Archived(PDF)from the original on March 21, 2023.RetrievedApril 9,2024.
  7. ^Todd Mowatt (June 21, 2001)."Twisted Metal: Black".The Electric Playground.Greedy Productions Ltd. Archived fromthe originalon January 9, 2003.RetrievedApril 9,2024.
  8. ^Tom Bramwell (February 26, 2002)."Twisted Metal: Black Review".Eurogamer.Gamer Network.Archivedfrom the original on March 7, 2002.RetrievedApril 8,2024.
  9. ^Andy McNamara (July 2001)."Twisted Metal: Black".Game Informer.No. 99.FuncoLand.Archived fromthe originalon January 21, 2008.RetrievedMarch 15,2014.
  10. ^Shawn Sanders (June 2001)."Twisted Metal: Black Review".GameRevolution.CraveOnline.Archivedfrom the original on October 1, 2015.RetrievedApril 8,2024.
  11. ^Ryan MacDonald (June 18, 2001)."Twisted Metal: Black Review".GameSpot.Fandom.Archivedfrom the original on June 25, 2001.RetrievedApril 8,2024.
  12. ^Russell Garbutt (June 29, 2001)."Twisted Metal: Black".PlanetPS2.GameSpy Industries. Archived fromthe originalon August 4, 2001.RetrievedMarch 15,2014.
  13. ^The Badger (July 6, 2001)."Twisted Metal: Black Review - PlayStation 2".GameZone.Archived fromthe originalon October 5, 2008.RetrievedMarch 16,2014.
  14. ^Douglass C. Perry (June 18, 2001)."Twisted Metal: Black".IGN.Ziff Davis.Archivedfrom the original on September 25, 2023.RetrievedApril 8,2024.
  15. ^abDaniel Erickson (August 2001)."Twisted Metal Black".NextGen.No. 80.Imagine Media.pp. 80–81.RetrievedApril 8,2024.
  16. ^Kennedy, Sam (August 2001)."Twisted Metal: Black".Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine.No. 47. Ziff Davis. pp. 102–03.RetrievedApril 9,2024.
  17. ^Emmett Schkloven (July 6, 2001)."Twisted Metal: Black (PS2) Review".Extended Play.TechTV.Archived fromthe originalon June 8, 2002.RetrievedApril 9,2024.
  18. ^abMarc Saltzman (June 11, 2001)."Road rage rules in racing games".The Cincinnati Enquirer.Gannett Company.Archived fromthe originalon May 21, 2008.RetrievedMarch 16,2014.
  19. ^abMarc Saltzman (August 14, 2001)."Twisted Metal: Black".Playboy.Playboy Enterprises.Archived fromthe originalon March 6, 2002.RetrievedMarch 16,2014.
  20. ^Dan Elektro (August 2001)."Twisted Metal: Black"(PDF).GamePro.No. 155.IDG.pp. 90–91.Archivedfrom the original on February 12, 2005.RetrievedApril 9,2024.
  21. ^Ryan Boyce (June 6, 2006)."Twisted Metal: Black".Maxim.MaximNet, Inc. Archived fromthe originalon August 7, 2001.RetrievedNovember 16,2014.
  22. ^EP staff (2002)."Blister Awards 2001 (Console Games)".The Electric Playground.Greedy Productions Ltd. Archived fromthe originalon July 13, 2003.RetrievedApril 9,2024.
  23. ^GameSpot staff (2002)."The Best and Worst of 2001 (Best Shooting Game Nominees)".GameSpot.CNET.Archived fromthe originalon February 4, 2003.RetrievedApril 8,2024.
  24. ^GameSpot staff (2002)."The Best and Worst of 2001 (Top Ten Overall)".GameSpot.CNET. Archived fromthe originalon April 5, 2003.RetrievedApril 8,2024.
  25. ^GameSpot staff (2002)."GameSpot's Best and Worst of 2002 (Best Online Game on PlayStation 2)".GameSpot.CNET. Archived fromthe originalon February 12, 2003.RetrievedApril 8,2024.
  26. ^"6th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards: Winners".Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences.Archived fromthe originalon June 3, 2004.RetrievedApril 8,2024.
  27. ^Campbell, Colin; Keiser, Joe (July 29, 2006)."The Top 100 Games of the 21st Century".NextGen.Future US.Archived fromthe originalon October 28, 2007.
  28. ^"TWISTED METAL: BLACK WEBISODES".S4 Studios.Archivedfrom the original on December 5, 2023.RetrievedApril 8,2024.
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