For a game that was a budget multiplayer title until late into its development, this is better than it has any right to be. Once you get past the initial disappointment of the small cast (Only 3 characters split into chapters) you'll find this is the best in the series gameplay wise. It still has the frantic and fast pace of Black just with slightly revamped controls. The special moves are no longer combos and just single presses on the dpad ( Up for freeze attack, right for shield, etc.). Which is a change I don't mind since the AI is as unrelenting as ever and can still kill you in a matter of a minute. Easy to get off in a pinch.
Maps are a decent size with lots of routes/hidden paths and even some with verticality. They give you enough room to get away to catch your breath but also not be too far from the action. Theres some new events which are a welcome addition for the most part, the electric cage and juggernaut events in particular. Worrying about your timer/making it to the safe zone and more enemies spawning just add more fuel to the already chaotic deathmatches. Makes you think about your approach a little more.
The races on the other hand... are kinda fine until the last one. Just a really bad job of directing the player and the physics make it so easy to get off course. That and the last 2 bosses were my biggest gripes. I get they were going for spectacle but they just drag them out for too long and end up tedious.
If your new to the series or just haven't played it I recommend It. It may not be the swan song fans or the creators wanted it to be but whats there is still worth giving a look.

Que este sea el último de una saga que pasó por muchos formatos y estilos se me hace super lindo. Es como un todo en uno como despedida.
A "2012" lo siento como la propuesta mas empastillada y alocada de Jaffe y Campbell. Esta gente parece que nunca se les acaban las ideas y las formas, siempre tienen algo del que quieren sorprender.
En general Twisted Metal es raro, raro porque por más que conduzcas autos, estos nunca han tenido la intención de transmitir las físicas de uno (y tampoco lo necesita). Es su propio mundo, su propia mirada del combate a través de vehículos y el juego del espacio. Desde el primer juego siempre buscó esa idea de que persona y máquina pueden ser un mismo ente: El conductor tiene sus ideas, motivaciones e historia, el vehículo está para manifestarlo. E incluso en "2012" que esa conexión ya se rompió sigue estando esa faceta humana.
Me encanta eso de poder crear o recrear secuencias de acción que antes yo solo podía soñar. Literal hay combates que se sienten como escenas de Speed Racer.
En "2012" está todo lo que fue formando a la saga; carreteras, arenas, tecnicismo, táctica y libertad para sentirse todo-terreno de la forma mas literal posible, lugares específicos que no tendrían sentido que un auto pueda llegar ahi...pero puede.
El juego no es boludo, sabe bien lo que quiere ser: un Rock Savage Arcade.
(Me lo acabo de inventar)

I'm probably (surely) alone in this, but this is easily the best entry in the series - yeah cutting its campaign down to only a few characters was an assy move but there's just no reconciling with how sturdy the gameplay and world are here. Wreaking havoc while ripping vehicles apart like grenade shrapnel and flattening on-fire NPCs like pancakes (which of course reward you points) as N.W.A., Sammy Hagar, Rob Zombie, and Patsy Cline play in the background is the most self-assured brand of awesome. The races are a great new addition - relying on you to destroy your enemies by any means necessary rather than traditionally surpass them is a nice spin on things. It just plays so much better, gone are the slippery convulsions of (the still good) Twisted Metal: Black and (comparative) clunkiness of the PS1 games. It still ain't perfect but it's an easy step up imo. And come on, how fucking badass is that gigantic Dollface mech boss thing? That was easily one of the best images spawned out of this gaming era. Can't at all subscribe to the popular opinion that this is mid (??), and even more shocked that the series has been dead in a ditch since - how was it not a complete haven for the Monster Energy-fueled, violence-addicted seventh gen of gaming? Strange, vicious, and wild.

This is the only Twisted Metal game I've played. I must say... this is up there in terms of missed potential. I really hope this series sees a return with this new show iminently releasing.

It's such an absurd mashup of genres. So many strange characters and fun ideas.

Unfortunately it didn't have much lasting appeal. After maybe 15 hours with it, I was over it. I wanted to like it more.

There is so much room for improvement here in two ways:

They could easily turn Twisted Metal in to a really fun, high speed action shooter in q multiplayer sense.

They could also make an insane story with high production value like Sony's studios tend to do these days. The characters and scenario are ripe for it.

It sucks to say but this PS3 iteration was just okay. Oh, what could have been...

It unfortunately falls short of being better than black, But then again it's hard to top perfection, But my main grip is not with the lack of characters, because in this case it's very much about quality over quantity with these great live action cutscenes.

No instead my main complaint is the racing and how you collect vehicles, I don't mind having to race or all these brand new objective-based modes, they add a nice fresh spin to the usual gameplay, but while the first 2 races are fine The third one is absolute hell and it was definitely not play tested before release.

But this brings up my final point which is how you collect vehicles, which is simply playing through the campaign and collecting them, while this does not sound bad in theory unfortunately to unlock the last and most unique vehicle warhog, a personal favorite of mine, you must go through the game on the hardest difficulty twisted, And considering how difficult the game is on normal and how clearly untested some of the levels were It is a feat too much to bear just for one vehicle.

But aside from these issues this game is definitely my second favorite of the franchise, And maybe has the best gameplay overall, And even has my favorite sweet tooth design and character. Still a great game to this day.

I wish I could love this game because there’s some great aspects. Gameplay is quite fun offering fast paced aggressive speed like twisted metal black. It’s quite fun and the game offers more variety than the story modes of the ps1 and ps2 games. It seems like upgrades but one major downgrade is the story and characters. Limiting this game to only 4 characters and like 3 campaigns is just dumb. It takes out a lot of the charm and personality of the series. It’s still kinda here but not as good as the original games. The cutscenes are stylized and cool but the stories are just kinda ok. Also while the gameplay is fun I still kinda preferred black overall.

My favorite aspect of the series is the cast and to see such a downgrade is disappointing. Sorta feels like twisted metal but kinda lacking the style. Still a solid game tho

Strong 3/5

Edit: this could be a 3.5/5 if i give it a revisit maybe i was a little too harsh

First time I played this game, I went into the tutorial and the controls completely baffled and annoyed me. I decided to press on and tried to play the campaign. I wasn't expecting Sweet Tooth, I had no idea who he was. The idea of playing as a serial killer after his own family legitimately scared me and I put down the game expecting never to play it again.

Six months later, I decided to try it again, just to see if I could handle it.

Hell yeah I could!

I beat the game after a little while and fell in love with it. All the characters, the gameplay, the speed, I loved all of it. Twisted Metal quickly grew into a series I'd want to keep playing. Unfortunately there hasn't been a new entry since this one. And with that TV show coming out that looks...like something, we'll never know if we'll be getting another title anytime soon.

You can't play online anymore, but go back and give this game's campaign a shot again. I agree that it doesn't have the same appeal as the older titles, but there's something really special about it.