extremely visceral and grimdark but not without its sense of humor. if you like murderous clowns with flaming heads and well-executed horror stories, then this is the game for you
...and if you don't, then you're probably pretty lame anyway
...and if you don't, then you're probably pretty lame anyway
just wanted to make this review to say that of all the game franchises that got an edgy makeover on the 2000's this was one of the few that truly worked because it actually fit TM's world
Bem desafiador, mas ótimo de jogar, vicia legal, passaria mais horas jogando se meu controle não tivesse com defeito 😃
Could it be better? Yeah, was it great at the time HELL YEAH!
Arguably the pinnacle of the series, Twisted Metal: Black further refines the controls and intense car combat gameplay while nearly-perfecting the multiplayer, adding some great, varied levels and a very dark, bleak story with some morbid, fucked-up characters.
super fun, tight controls, entertaining story and characters
This review contains spoilers
I'm battening the hatches as I know there's a lot of die-hard fans of this installation who insist it's the best in the series, but my opinions are mine to wield no matter how poorly.
When people say a game is 'a product of its time', it often comes with all sorts of connotations. To me, this game is a product of its time in multiple ways and the context to understanding that is crucial. For those less versed in the clown game, this was the game David Jaffe (the original TM guy) and his crew got to make... AFTER 3 and 4, made by a different company of no relation who infamously made the game's initial bite completely toothless, forgoing the dark humor of the popular TM2 with extremely childish jokes like Sweet Tooth needing a dentist from too much candy, having a stage set in the North Pole with Santa's workshop or an angry cartoonish leprechaun who wants to be tall. So... What is the answer to having the reigns back on your franchise and wanting to prove that you should be taken seriously again? Shove in as MUCH murder and shock factor as humanly possible!
No, really. The first thing you're going to notice upon looking at our new cast is that they're in an asylum (Because crazy people are soooo scary! And speaking of being a product of its time, the unlockable child character is listed as having autism in his diagnoses like it justifies him being as 'crazy' as the others, lol.) and many of them are chomping at the bit for bloody revenge of some sort and this new mute bald Calypso who is often surprisingly honest with his wishes, which is the interesting polar opposite of how he was portrayed in all games prior, is just the guy to do it.
You're therefore going to see a LOT of 'I need this person(s) dead because reasons' motives that will often come perfectly true in grisly fashions and if that isn't their motive, chances are your driver will end up being the one dead because we need that body count. In particular, the character Preacher wanted the truth to his delusions that drove him to kill a baby and its family and upon finding out what he thought was a demonic possession/exorcism was merely a baptism and the demon was him all along, he takes this information well by... saying a man cannot run from himself and throws himself off the roof in suicide. You even hear him hitting a car after he falls while the screen cuts to black and credits. Shock value, I tell you. One interesting thing this game does do right for its aesthetic though is its soundtrack; past TM games were very 90s in their shredding guitars and 3-4 were full of licensed tunes by alternative artists of the time like Rob Zombie and One Minute Silence. This game forgoes both and instead goes for a deep, booming metal orchestral sound that helps sell the tension and unease you're meant to feel throughout the gameplay and story.
Not to exclusively jammer about corny edge and the early 2000s, the real reason I don't like this game and other people do. I sometimes think it's called Black because you cannot see SHIT. Even when I emulated it thinking I could get better quality than my tv and cranked up my screen brightness, save for the snow stage it's still personally extremely hard to make anything out for how dark the entire scenario tends to be with your only saving grace being the glowing around weapon pickups and colors showing which opponent car is which. Yet, not only is it dark... it's fast. If you came from earlier TM installments you practically have to hold onto your ass to keep control at the slippery speeds you fly to. Even in hindsight Jaffe and his team admit that because of their own tolerance levels rising as it went through testing, they cranked the speed higher and higher until it wound up at this point. Another thing past TM players might notice is the sheer ruthlessness of the AI - compared to before where the cars often went at each other as you'd expect in an elimination derby, THESE guys want YOU gone and the moment you're in their sights you had better be moving because they're on you like rabid dogs. This also isn't helped much for the balancing on the cars, making you feel like if you didn't pick the 'right' car (or be honest, used cheat codes) that you were just bound to make yourself miserable because your ride doesn't have enough armor to withstand the endless onslaught.
This paired with the aforementioned darkness and speed can provide some level of thrill that's surely what made it the classic it's considered, but perhaps a headache if you're not equipped for it. I know I can only play it for so long until my brain starts to ache, maybe I'm not built for this one and should hobble back to the baby fest that TM4 is. I think we can all agree that adding a helicopter boss in a game about ground level driving with tech that wasn't quite ready for that jump was rough though. Jesus christ.
TL;DR For 2002, this was rightfully a juggernaut slug that was meant to 'take back' Twisted Metal and put the pressure on. But in this day and age, as someone who's tried for ten years on and off to play this installation, it feels a bit too much too young too fast and overwhelming to the point of crossing the line between fun and obnoxious. I really do wish I could love this one as much as everyone else does.
When people say a game is 'a product of its time', it often comes with all sorts of connotations. To me, this game is a product of its time in multiple ways and the context to understanding that is crucial. For those less versed in the clown game, this was the game David Jaffe (the original TM guy) and his crew got to make... AFTER 3 and 4, made by a different company of no relation who infamously made the game's initial bite completely toothless, forgoing the dark humor of the popular TM2 with extremely childish jokes like Sweet Tooth needing a dentist from too much candy, having a stage set in the North Pole with Santa's workshop or an angry cartoonish leprechaun who wants to be tall. So... What is the answer to having the reigns back on your franchise and wanting to prove that you should be taken seriously again? Shove in as MUCH murder and shock factor as humanly possible!
No, really. The first thing you're going to notice upon looking at our new cast is that they're in an asylum (Because crazy people are soooo scary! And speaking of being a product of its time, the unlockable child character is listed as having autism in his diagnoses like it justifies him being as 'crazy' as the others, lol.) and many of them are chomping at the bit for bloody revenge of some sort and this new mute bald Calypso who is often surprisingly honest with his wishes, which is the interesting polar opposite of how he was portrayed in all games prior, is just the guy to do it.
You're therefore going to see a LOT of 'I need this person(s) dead because reasons' motives that will often come perfectly true in grisly fashions and if that isn't their motive, chances are your driver will end up being the one dead because we need that body count. In particular, the character Preacher wanted the truth to his delusions that drove him to kill a baby and its family and upon finding out what he thought was a demonic possession/exorcism was merely a baptism and the demon was him all along, he takes this information well by... saying a man cannot run from himself and throws himself off the roof in suicide. You even hear him hitting a car after he falls while the screen cuts to black and credits. Shock value, I tell you. One interesting thing this game does do right for its aesthetic though is its soundtrack; past TM games were very 90s in their shredding guitars and 3-4 were full of licensed tunes by alternative artists of the time like Rob Zombie and One Minute Silence. This game forgoes both and instead goes for a deep, booming metal orchestral sound that helps sell the tension and unease you're meant to feel throughout the gameplay and story.
Not to exclusively jammer about corny edge and the early 2000s, the real reason I don't like this game and other people do. I sometimes think it's called Black because you cannot see SHIT. Even when I emulated it thinking I could get better quality than my tv and cranked up my screen brightness, save for the snow stage it's still personally extremely hard to make anything out for how dark the entire scenario tends to be with your only saving grace being the glowing around weapon pickups and colors showing which opponent car is which. Yet, not only is it dark... it's fast. If you came from earlier TM installments you practically have to hold onto your ass to keep control at the slippery speeds you fly to. Even in hindsight Jaffe and his team admit that because of their own tolerance levels rising as it went through testing, they cranked the speed higher and higher until it wound up at this point. Another thing past TM players might notice is the sheer ruthlessness of the AI - compared to before where the cars often went at each other as you'd expect in an elimination derby, THESE guys want YOU gone and the moment you're in their sights you had better be moving because they're on you like rabid dogs. This also isn't helped much for the balancing on the cars, making you feel like if you didn't pick the 'right' car (or be honest, used cheat codes) that you were just bound to make yourself miserable because your ride doesn't have enough armor to withstand the endless onslaught.
This paired with the aforementioned darkness and speed can provide some level of thrill that's surely what made it the classic it's considered, but perhaps a headache if you're not equipped for it. I know I can only play it for so long until my brain starts to ache, maybe I'm not built for this one and should hobble back to the baby fest that TM4 is. I think we can all agree that adding a helicopter boss in a game about ground level driving with tech that wasn't quite ready for that jump was rough though. Jesus christ.
TL;DR For 2002, this was rightfully a juggernaut slug that was meant to 'take back' Twisted Metal and put the pressure on. But in this day and age, as someone who's tried for ten years on and off to play this installation, it feels a bit too much too young too fast and overwhelming to the point of crossing the line between fun and obnoxious. I really do wish I could love this one as much as everyone else does.
Twisted Metal made the jump to the PS2 with grace. Went back to the basics and doubled down on the sadistic nature of the series. Its not hard to argue this has the best gameplay and atmosphere of the series. It pulled no punches.
God, i love this games character designs, there's so much personality in the whole thing. The character select thing is probably my favorite in a video game, and i love it when a game gives me something new to enjoy about it, before this one i wasn't even really thinking about notable select screens in video games.
The way that you have all these characters with their own personalized cars that compliment or contrast their personalities and designs is just fantastic, i miss games like these where you just have those rosters full of unique weirdos that you don't necessarily have to know anything about, hero shooters do that but they rarely create an aesthetic that's anywhere near as charming as this one. The asylum setting is both interesting and offputting. I like how every character has a story behind what sent them to the same location, and what compels them to escape.
Unfortunately the gameplay is not my cup of tea at all, it's absurdly fast, slippery, hectic, and just difficult to pay attention to. I love looking at this game, couldn't care less about playing it.
The way that you have all these characters with their own personalized cars that compliment or contrast their personalities and designs is just fantastic, i miss games like these where you just have those rosters full of unique weirdos that you don't necessarily have to know anything about, hero shooters do that but they rarely create an aesthetic that's anywhere near as charming as this one. The asylum setting is both interesting and offputting. I like how every character has a story behind what sent them to the same location, and what compels them to escape.
Unfortunately the gameplay is not my cup of tea at all, it's absurdly fast, slippery, hectic, and just difficult to pay attention to. I love looking at this game, couldn't care less about playing it.
Tried to give this game a chance, but just couldn't get past the controls. Also got bored pretty quick of the derby style gameplay sicne you have to pretty much chip away at everyone here & there if you don't want to die.
this game is fucking HARD but still fun
NOW THAT’S MORE LIKE IT!!! Finally, a “Twisted Metal” game that I can still have a blast with today and not just wax poetic about yesteryear. This game is still aged through and through, but between the dark but unique style, the many secrets scattered throughout, the hilariously over the top character cutscenes and the car combat gameplay that moves at a brisk frame rate and kept the action going I was just having a great time until life happened and killed my momentum. Maybe I’ll go back one day and finish up the trophies. Not sure, but I got to see that it was still a fun game after all these years and that was enough for me.
Try that shit on my Axel, idiot. His legs might not work, but his wheels do.
sweet tooth is scary as sfuck
A drastic tonal departure results in some of the franchise's most iconic imagery and characters. Most of what the franchise is today is because of the risks this game took. I hesitate to say it's one of the best games on the PS2 but it's certainly one of my favorites on the system.
An almost unbelievably strong and face-changing revolution for what is a considerably humble car combat series. Twisted Metal: Black attacked early PS2 owners with air-tight game design, rock-solid 60 fps performance, and gigantic levels full of nightmarish atmosphere glazed with oppressive orchestras that perfectly hammer down how horrible and bleak this world is.
The story itself lugs its share of the weight too! This is the Twisted Metal game that keeps the basis of the story intact, but dropped the goofy vibes of 1 and 2. You still got crazed racers with a monkey's paw-esque opportunity to change their lives, but no longer are they stories of vain assholes looking for fame or fortune, but downtrodden victims of mental destruction merely looking for peace from their life, or pure revenge.
This game scared the absolute shit out of me when I was 11, and I never forgot that. It's also tough-as-nails with its razor-sharp AI that go rabid as soon as you get near them, as well as the pits they threw you in throughout the campaign. The story is what shines the most for me, as the tales were enthralling and really made you connect (or completely fear) the character you would play as.
For those without a PS2 to play it, the PS4 port is a mostly fine experience, slight input lag aside.
The story itself lugs its share of the weight too! This is the Twisted Metal game that keeps the basis of the story intact, but dropped the goofy vibes of 1 and 2. You still got crazed racers with a monkey's paw-esque opportunity to change their lives, but no longer are they stories of vain assholes looking for fame or fortune, but downtrodden victims of mental destruction merely looking for peace from their life, or pure revenge.
This game scared the absolute shit out of me when I was 11, and I never forgot that. It's also tough-as-nails with its razor-sharp AI that go rabid as soon as you get near them, as well as the pits they threw you in throughout the campaign. The story is what shines the most for me, as the tales were enthralling and really made you connect (or completely fear) the character you would play as.
For those without a PS2 to play it, the PS4 port is a mostly fine experience, slight input lag aside.
Usually gritty, realistic reboots tend to suck. I think the fact that the game itself kept basically all the excellent qualities of traditional Twisted Metal is probably what spared the narrative changes from too much skepticism. I do think its a shame that Fucked Up Sweet Tooth is gonna be the one that probably persists in the cultural consciousness over manic Sweet Tooth.
Takes a lot of missteps to get to its destination - including but not limited to the fact that it's drab in the same way an early PS3 game would be drab, lots of murky greys and colorless environments. The difficulty also feels a little overblown at times and the controls rather imprecise, but some jankiness is just expected with such an early PS2 game. And in that regard, it's easy to see why this was - and is still - so revolutionary, the massive technical leap from the OG batch of games to this is undeniably massive. That being said, I actually prefer its energy and lore to its gameplay (which I'll confess, I don't find to be all too exciting here on its own). So many horrific characters and shocking cutscenes that sincerely feel like they'd be pushing the envelope for today's standards, let alone those of 2001. I'll never forget Sweet Tooth's "She didn't die easy..." line to Axel, and how much it unnerved me - the way it goes so hardcore on the edgy tone without ever once feeling forced (unlike, say Jak II or Jak III) is masterful. It not only keeps me eager in anticipation to see where each story would go next, but also really connected me to each character I'd play as (even if the special character cutscenes feel noticeably cheap) - succeeding where I think the environmental design fell short. Black indeed, for better and for worse.
It’s only the hardest game in the franchise because it’s unbalanced not because it’s challenging. The rebranding of the series is pretty cool but it still does a lot of things that make it feel like quality control wasn’t consistent for its story progression with character stories
I am one to think that games are actually getting better and modern games are better than the old ones, But this game has something that newer one's don't, early 2000s edginess.
And that's what perhaps what makes this the best twisted metal game If not the best car combat game of all time, of course that's aside from the excellent car combat, the vast number of characters to choose from, the great tracks, and the amazing music.
And that's what perhaps what makes this the best twisted metal game If not the best car combat game of all time, of course that's aside from the excellent car combat, the vast number of characters to choose from, the great tracks, and the amazing music.
Kind of frustrating to play but god that 2000's edge is peak.
david jaffe please stop spewing your takes i'm trying to enjoy your ice cream clown games
david jaffe please stop spewing your takes i'm trying to enjoy your ice cream clown games
man look Sometimes corny edginess makes a game better for me okay. This game goes hard as hell
o palhaço é literalmente nós
"We live in a society."
- Sweet Tooth
- Sweet Tooth
I thought this franchise was super cool so I bout this game at the local gamestop, they put a twisted metal black online disk inside, needless to say I didn't get to experience this game :(
What is even going on..
7.5/10
7.5/10
5 kırmızı Tuborg adamın aklını böyle SİKER ATAR
This game has a very clear vision of what it is and what it wants to be, and I have nothing but respect for that. The maps can be a bit TOO visually drab (yes i know WHY the game has the aesthetic and look that it does), which kinda hurts it for me compared to Head-On, but the fascinating stories for every character makes it worth it. Needles/Sweet Tooth's VA should get more work because god damn dude.
Really fun game with a unique dark atmosphere. One of the best character selection screens I've ever seen. Playing through each character is very fun! I hope more games like this are made.
This is one of the first games that me and my dad played together back when i was young ( cool parent by the way ) so there are a lot of memories with it. I remember unlocking all the characters and getting its secrets.