Twisted Metal: Black

Twisted Metal: Black
Developer(s) Incognito Entertainment
Publisher(s) Sony Computer Entertainment
Director(s) David Jaffe
Producer(s) Scott Campbell
Designer(s) David Jaffe (lead), Scott Campbell, Steve Ceragioli, Kellan Hatch
Programmer(s) Steve Poulson (lead), Michael Badger, Pierre Dufresne
Writer(s) Mike Giam (story), David Jaffe, Scott Campbell
Composer(s) Michael Reagan, Gregory J. Hainer, Kevin Riepl, Kevin Manthei
Series Twisted Metal
Engine Kinetica
Platform(s) PlayStation 2, PlayStation Network, PlayStation 4
Release date(s)

PlayStation 2

  • NA: June 18, 2001
  • EU: December 7, 2001

PlayStation 3

  • NA: February 14, 2012
  • EU: March 16, 2012

PlayStation 4

  • NA: December 5, 2015
Genre(s) Vehicle combat
Mode(s) Single-player, Multiplayer, Split-screen multiplayer

Twisted Metal: Black is a vehicle combat video game developed by Incognito Entertainment (formerly Incog Inc.) and designed by Sony Computer Entertainment America for the PlayStation 2 video game console.[1] It is the fifth installment to the Twisted Metal series and was released June 18, 2001. An online enabled multiplayer-only variant, Twisted Metal: Black Online, was released later as a free send away.

Both Twisted Metal: Black and Twisted Metal: Black Online were reissued as part of Sony Greatest Hits program. A standard downloadable version of Twisted Metal: Black is included in the first batch of copies of Twisted Metal for PlayStation 3, discernible by the "Limited Edition" tab near the top of the cover art. In December 2015, the game was made available for the PlayStation 4 through the PlayStation Network.

Overview

In concept, Twisted Metal: Black is a demolition derby that permits the usage of ballistic projectiles. 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 called Twisted 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. It should be pointed out that while 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: Black has a diverse 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

Reception
Aggregate scores
AggregatorScore
GameRankings88.52%[2]
Metacritic91/100[3]
Review scores
PublicationScore
AllGame[4]
Edge6/10[5]
EGM8.5/10[6]
Eurogamer9/10[7]
Game Informer9.5/10[8]
GamePro[9]
Game RevolutionA-[10]
GameSpot9.5/10[11]
GameSpy94%[12]
GameZone9.5/10[13]
IGN9.6/10[14]
OPM (US)[15]
The Cincinnati Enquirer[16]
Playboy90%[17]

Twisted Metal: Black garnered critical acclaim. It received a rating of 9.5 out of 10 from GameSpot[11] and a rating of 9.6 out of 10 from IGN.[14] In GameSpot's Best and Worst of 2001, the game was nominated for Best Shooting Game,[18] and came in ninth in their Game of the Year category.[19]

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 poorly fared. Maxim gave the game all five stars and called it "a road rager’s dream come true."[20] Playboy gave it 90% and called it "Fun for the whole family!"[17] The Cincinnati Enquirer gave 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."[16]

Twisted Metal Black: Harbor City

Screenshot of Twisted Metal: Black - Harbor City

Twisted Metal: Black was to have a sequel titled Twisted Metal: Black - Harbor City,[21] though it was never officially announced and the project was later scrapped.

Details on the game were revealed in the PlayStation 2 port of Twisted Metal: Head-On, Twisted Metal Head-On: Extra Twisted Edition. It was originally planned the levels of Harbor City to be greatly expanded and inter-connected with one another, giving a greater feeling of a single, complete world rather than stand-alone levels.[22] According to bonus material on Extra Twisted Edition, the project was scrapped because of the deaths of six key developers in a plane crash.[22] However, Jaffe revealed on www.shootmytruck.com to a tweet regarding this that it was just a story to explain the cancellation of the title.

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

References

  1. ↑ "Twisted Metal:Black Ships for the PS2". GameZone. Retrieved June 19, 2012.
  2. ↑ "Twisted Metal: Black for PlayStation 2". GameRankings. Retrieved 2014-03-15.
  3. ↑ "Twisted Metal: Black for PlayStation 2 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2014-03-15.
  4. ↑ J.C. Barnes. "Twisted Metal: Black - Review". Allgame. Retrieved 2014-03-16.
  5. ↑ Anon. Edge staff (September 2001). "Twisted Metal: Black". Edge. Bath: Future plc (101): 82.
  6. ↑ EGM Staff (August 2001). "Twisted Metal: Black". Electronic Gaming Monthly (146): 110.
  7. ↑ Tom Bramwell (2002-02-26). "Twisted Metal: Black Review". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2014-03-16.
  8. ↑ Andy McNamara (July 2001). "Twisted Metal: Black". Game Informer (99). Archived from the original on 2008-01-21. Retrieved 2014-03-15.
  9. ↑ Dan Elektro (2001-06-19). "Twisted Metal: Black Review for PS2 on GamePro.com". GamePro. Archived from the original on 2005-02-12. Retrieved 2014-03-16.
  10. ↑ Shawn Sanders (June 2001). "Twisted Metal: Black Review". Game Revolution. Retrieved 2014-03-15.
  11. 1 2 Ryan MacDonald (2001-06-18). "Twisted Metal: Black Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 2014-03-15.
  12. ↑ Russell Garbutt (2001-06-29). "Twisted Metal: Black". PlanetPS2. Archived from the original on 2001-08-04. Retrieved 2014-03-15.
  13. ↑ The Badger (2001-07-06). "Twisted Metal: Black Review - PlayStation 2". GameZone. Archived from the original on 2008-10-05. Retrieved 2014-03-16.
  14. 1 2 Doug Perry (2001-06-18). "Twisted Metal: Black". IGN. Retrieved 2014-03-15.
  15. ↑ "Twisted Metal: Black". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. 2001.
  16. 1 2 Marc Saltzman (2001-06-11). "Road rage rules in racing games". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Archived from the original on 2008-05-21. Retrieved 2014-03-16.
  17. 1 2 Marc Saltzman (2001-08-14). "Twisted Metal: Black". Playboy. Archived from the original on 2002-03-06. Retrieved 2014-03-16.
  18. ↑ Gamespot: The Best and Worst of 2001
  19. ↑ GameSpot: Top Ten Video Games of 2001
  20. ↑ Boyce, Ryan (2006-06-06). "Twisted Metal: Black". Maxim. Archived from the original on 2001-08-07. Retrieved 2014-11-16.
  21. ↑ "Twisted Metal Black Part II". IGN. Retrieved 2007-11-20.
  22. 1 2 Twisted Metal: Lost intro, Twisted Metal Head-On: Extra Twisted Edition
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