Twisted Metal (series)

"Twisted Metal" is a series of vehicular combat video games currently developed by Eat Sleep Play and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. The series began on the PlayStation in 1995 and currently features seven games, with an eighth installment currently in production. It is the 140th best-selling video game franchise, selling over five million copies in North America alone.cite web |url=http://www.gamespot.com/news/2648184.html |title=TM: Black Date Set |date=2000-10-31 |accessdate=2008-08-05 |publisher=GameSpot |author=Shahed Ahmed] It is the longest-running PlayStation-exclusive franchise. Seven games of the series (including "Twisted Metal: Black Online") were re-released as part of the Sony Greatest Hits program.

Overview

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Calypso in "Twisted Metal 2: World Tour."In concept, "Twisted Metal" 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 last driver alive is the winner.

Although each individual game features its own storyline, they all revolve around the same basic theme: a man named Calypso hosts a vehicular combat tournament called Twisted Metal with the promise of granting the contest's winner any single wish they so desire. There is a general "be careful what you wish for" theme, as many of the contestants wind up with not-so-happy endings. The games in the series usually contain a healthy dose of black humor.

Games

"Twisted Metal" (1995) and "Twisted Metal 2:World Tour" (1996)

Format: PlayStation, PC

The first two "Twisted Metal" games were developed by SingleTrac. "Twisted Metal 2:World Tour" is regarded by most fans as the best game in the series and in general as a PlayStation classic. After developing these two games, along with "WarHawk" and the first two games in the "Jet Moto" series, SingleTrac left Sony and signed with GT Interactive, using their "Twisted Metal" game engine to develop other vehicular combat games such as "Critical Depth" and "Rogue Trip".

An IBM PC version of "Twisted Metal 2" exists. It features slightly cut-down graphics compared to the Playstation version (minor details of some levels disappeared) but it doesn't require a 3D accelerator video card and plays well on weak computers. It also features multiplayer over a modem line or Internet.

"Twisted Metal III" (1998) and "Twisted Metal 4" (1999)

Format: PlayStation

After a contractual dispute with SingleTrac, "Twisted Metal" development duties were handed over to Sony's in-house development team, 989 Studios. The Twisted Metal titles developed by 989 Studios were fundamentally different, as the code base was completely rewritten. Sony introduced advanced physics simulation and AI techniques to the series. The original team of the first two games don't recognize the plots of "Twisted Metal III" and "Twisted Metal 4" to be parts of the overall series, but they also don't deny that the games ever existed. As said by David Jaffe, co-creator of the series, " [in and of themselves] they're good games, they're just not good "Twisted Metal" games."

"Twisted Metal: Black" (2001)

Format: PlayStation 2

After developing several non-Twisted Metal vehicular combat games for GT Interactive, a large number of SingleTrac employees left the company to form the gaming studio Incognito Entertainment and signed with Sony. Naturally, Sony offered them the opportunity to develop a new Twisted Metal title and their first game was Twisted Metal: Black for PS2.

The game is darker in atmosphere and departed from the style from previous games upsetting fans. The more mature content that some of the endings contained led to the removal of the FMV sequences from the European version.

"Twisted Metal: Small Brawl" (2001)

Format: PlayStation

Instead of delivering a PS2 follow-up to "Twisted Metal: Black", Incognito took an unexpected turn and developed "Twisted Metal: Small Brawl" for the original PlayStation, a "Twisted Metal" aimed at a younger audience that featured radio-controlled toy cars instead of full-size vehicles.

"Twisted Metal: Black Online" (2002)

Format: PlayStation 2

Simply an online version of "Twisted Metal: Black", a free copy could be obtained by mailing in a card that came packaged with the PS2 online Network Adapter. After Sony stopped offering the disc, it was later included in subsequent reissues of "Twisted Metal: Black" on Greatest Hits, in a 2-disc set. The server to the game have since been shut down.

"Twisted Metal: Head-On" (2005)

Format: PlayStation Portable

Despite the return of SingleTrac/Incognito with 2001's Twisted Metal: Black, they still had yet to deliver a true sequel to Twisted Metal 2. With the PSP, Incognito created a game that picks up where Twisted Metal 2 left off. However this game cant be considered a true Twisted Metal 2 sequel because the game doesnt have TM2's physiscs, ricos, skins and ramming. Instead they had the game utilize the Twisted Metal: Black game engine instead of Twisted Metal 2's universe, leaving fans still wanting a proper TM2 sequel.

"Twisted Metal: Head-On: Extra Twisted Edition" (2008)

Format: PlayStation 2

In February 2008 Eat Sleep Play (the original developers of the "Twisted Metal" franchise) released the port of "Twisted Metal: Head-On" to the PlayStation 2. This port features the same gameplay as was on the PSP with same characters, arenas, and storymodes. However in this game, Eat, Sleep, Play decided to also include features which were in development for the unreleased/incomplete "Twisted Metal: Black 2" which, if released, was to have been named "Twisted Metal: Harbor City". The gameplay for this mode which is called "Twisted Metal: Lost" in terms that the content of the TM: HC game were never used, is similar to that of the "Twisted Metal: Black" engine. However the graphics are not as refined and arena interactions are turned off. In inclusion to the release of the new content a new character debuted which was to have been in the next game going by the name "12-Pak". Nothing is known as of right now about "12-Pak's" character other than it is what looks to be a dirt modified race car, similar in design to that of Spectre from "Twisted Metal: Black". The arenas and characters were to be utilized in the second of the Black series however for not fully known reasons was scrapped. For bonus features, "Twisted Metal: Head-On: Extra Twisted Edition" provides a half hour documentary on ideas, production, and complications of the series told by the original developers called "Dark Past". A walk around tour by controlling Sweet Tooth himself and the never released ending videos of all the characters from the original "Twisted Metal".

"Twisted Metal PS3 (tentative)" (2008 CE)

Format: PlayStation 3

David Jaffe has confirmed that his company, Eat Sleep Play, will be developing a new title in the "Twisted Metal" franchise [cite news|title=Jaffe: PS3 Twisted Metal Next Project|url=http://kotaku.com/353706/jaffe-ps3-twisted-metal-next-project|publisher=Kotaku|date=2007-02-07] , appearing on the PlayStation 3 after a hidden message was decoded in the "Dark Past" documentary where groups of numbers appeared on screen at points during the video which corresponded to letters of the alphabet. When deciphered, the message reads "Twisted Metal is coming on PSThree". The title of the game is believed to have been displayed various times throughout the documentary which is the original Twisted Metal logo but in colors of rustic browns and yellows.

Eat, Sleep, Play may have provided more information about what is to be implemented into the new installment of the franchise. During the Sweet Tooth Tour in "Twisted Metal: Head-On: Extra Twisted Edition", when unlocking certain information about the history and developments of previous TM games on feature 18/29 the developers state that the touring mode was to have been incorporated in "Twisted Metal: Harbor City", a.k.a. "Twisted Metal: Black II", which was to have both Sweet Tooth and Preacher playable and have a full interactive game mode. Of course, this was scrapped as TM:HC was never finished. But in an interesting note, in feature 18/29 they explain how the mode was to work and going on into the traps and end the paragraph with "Enjoy! We won't go so easy on you next time!". This giving a possible hint that this mode may very well be implemented in the next "Twisted Metal" game for the PlayStation 3.

Recurring characters

"Twisted Metal" features 50 different cars (although some different combinations of car and driver) in its eight incarnations ("Twisted Metal", "2", "III", "4", "Black", "Small Brawl", "Head-On", and the upcoming eighth title). Many characters appear in more than one game of the series, although the same vehicles are not always driven by the same people. The most well-known character is Sweet Tooth, whose face has appeared on the cover of every Twisted Metal game to date.

Minor examples of such recurring characters include:
* Variations of Mr. Grimm, Warthog and Sweet Tooth are the only characters that are featured in every "Twisted Metal" game. Out of all three, Sweet Tooth is the only character to keep the same driver.
* "Twisted Metal Head On" and "Twisted Metal Small Brawl" are the only games in the series which do not feature Minion as a boss or as a playable character. In most games, Minion is a demon that drives a large, powerful tank.
* Thumper, Outlaw, Spectre, and Axel have been featured in all except one "Twisted Metal" Game. Thumper does not appear in "Twisted Metal: Black", Outlaw and Spectre do not appear in "Twisted Metal 4", and Axel does not appear in "Twisted Metal".
*Pit Viper is the only original character that doesn't appear in another "Twisted Metal" game.
*Flower Power, Firestarter, and Club Kid only appear in "Twisted Metal III" and the vast majority of the characters in "Twisted Metal 4" only appear in that game.
*Auger was only in "Twisted Metal 3 and 4".

Calypso

Calypso, playing the leading role in storyline of the series, is a playable character in "TM4", while in other games, he appears only in the games opening and ending cutscenes.

Before creating the Twisted Metal contest, Calypso was just a regular man. He was a family man with a daughter and a wife, and he also had a different name. He led a normal life not unlike any other citizen, until one night he was involved in a freak accident which resulted in him crashing his car directly into a brick wall. This car crash left him in devastation, killing his wife and daughter (later revealed to be the driver of the car Grasshopper) as well as burning and disfiguring his own face. Two years later, after his disappearance and was assumed to be dead, he re-emerged, changing his name to Calypso, and possessing a power that allows him to grant wishes. The power is said to be stolen from a Demon, most likely the driver Minion, who later competes in the contest in order to regain it. Calypso then established Twisted Metal and, for eight years, has continued to run the competition. This is where the first "Twisted Metal" game comes in.

When someone wins his contest, the winner gets to have one wish granted. These comprise the game's ending sequences. It should be noted, that while Calypso seems to stick to the phrasing of a wish, he will gladly violate its spirit, which usually causes the wisher harm in the end, though in the original game, "Black" and "Head-On" he generally granted the character's wish without pulling any harmful tricks on them. The scope of his powers seem to have extraordinary bounds. Even with this though, there are limits as to just what he can grant.

Similarly, the meaning of the ending for Roadkill in "Twisted Metal 2" is ambiguous - the driver’s, Marcus Kane, wish is to wake up from the nightmare he is trapped in. After winning the contest, Kane awakes up in a hospital bed, surrounded by his family, relatively unscathed. They are surrounded by some of the other contestants, all of whom are severely injured. It is unclear if the contest was a hallucination in Kane’s mind, or if Calypso truly granted his wish.

Calypso is to some extent seemingly a prisoner of the Twisted Metal contest himself: he can't, for example, restore his daughter to 'life' unless she wishes for it. Additionally, endings in Twisted Metal, Twisted Metal 2, and Head On show that his power seems to extend only to granting wishes; he can't for example, stop Agent Sheppard from arresting him via his powers; as Sheppard refused to accept a wish. Similarly, in "Twisted Metal 2", he could not prevent Shadow from taking his soul as revenge for all the people who died due to the Twisted Metal competition. Also in "Twisted Metal: Head-On", Sweet Tooth wishes to change places with Calypso and it was granted, even though he didn't want to.

Calypso's character design is inconsistent. It is different in many "Twisted Metal" games throughout the series. In terms of appearance, the most notable change is his hair which varies from thick and long to completely bald.

* In the first "Twisted Metal", he is portrayed by an uncredited actor (Charles Lance) in live-action cutscenes. Here he is depicted as a man with a totally burnt face and a great mass of hair. His voice was distorted and less human than in "Twisted Metal 2" and "Head-On". However, these live-action cutscenes never actually made it into the game, the reason being that they were deemed too sexist and violent at the time. They were leaked onto the Internet years later.
* In "Twisted Metal 2: World Tour", he was a smartly dressed man with long flowing hair, heavy facial burn scars, and a greatly exaggerated evil grin. In the game, the opening sequence and the various endings were narrated entirely by him in first person giving the other characters little dialogue of their own. He also had the memorable line "I am Calypso, and I thank you for playing Twisted Metal." which he would ironically say at the end of each character's endings while giving the same trademark grin. In this game, he was voiced by Mel McMurrin.
* In "Twisted Metal III", he was voiced by Mel McMurrin once again and greatly resembled his World Tour appearance. He kept his long flowing hair.
* In "Twisted Metal 4", Calypso was a playable character (after Sweet Tooth had taken over the contest) and drove a nuke truck. He looked the same as he did in the third game though slightly darker.
* In "Twisted Metal: Black", his left eye is literally sunken into his head, and accurately depicts the sadism within. In this game, the narrative is reversed from previous games. In "Black"'s endings, Calypso no longer has any spoken dialogue of his own. The cutscenes are now narrated by the chosen playable character in first person.
* In "Twisted Metal: Small Brawl", he is referred to as Billy Calypso and is a bratty kid with spiky hair and braces who bullies the other kids into joining his contest which involves toy RC cars.
* In "Twisted Metal: Head On", he seems to be a melded version of his "World Tour" and "Black" appearances incorporating aspects of both designs. In this game he is only balding on top with long silver hair around the sides, and keeps the sunken eye from "Black," in addition to which he wears a long coat. His dialogue however is closer to that of "World Tour". There is no narrative in "Head-On"'s endings, only dialogue between the different characters (including Calypso himself).

weet Tooth

Sweet Tooth is a killer clown that drives an ice cream truck. He is a playable character in all Twisted Metal games, though often only after being unlocked through accomplishing certain objectives.

* In the original "Twisted Metal" he was portrayed by an uncredited actor in the still images of the game and the cut live action endings. He lacked his trademark flaming head, but kept the basic design and vehicle that would be used for the next 3 installments. His story stated he was a mental institute escapee and serial killer who was looking for his long lost friend. The live action endings (of questionable canon) reveal that the friend is a paper bag he uses like a puppet.
* In "Twisted Metal 2" elements that would with time become the character's trademarks, such as his flaming head, were added. Not much information was given about the character. His character was unlockable via cheat code in both the 2-player and story mode of the game. In the end of "Twisted Metal 2", also, a new character named Darktooth appeared and was mad about whoever the player chose to be for killing his son, Sweet Tooth.
* In "Twisted Metal III" he became more campy and cartoonish with a stereotypical insane clown personality. It was never firmly stated that he was a serial killer though it was implied. This appearance was not canon, however.
* In "Twisted Metal 4" Sweet Tooth changed from being a secret car to the game's final boss. A story twist in which he overthrew the tournament organizer Calypso and took his powers to fulfill the winner's wish allowed him to accomplish this. This was also not considered canon.
* In "Twisted Metal: Black", Sweet Tooth suffered a big make-over design-wise, giving him a more maniacal homicidal appearance. His personality also changed to a more dark-toned one, different from his insane clown killer personality of past games. He now seemed very intelligent and described everything with great detail. His background was expanded upon, stating he was a wanted mass murderer who survived the electric chair, to later end at the Blackfield Asylum.
* In "Twisted Metal: Small Brawl" a young Sweet Tooth is seen as a mischievous prankster and controls a toy RC ice cream truck. He is only a child in this game but keeps his trademark evil laughter and psychotic personality. He enters the contest wanting ice cream, and leaves with a familiar truck. Later having Calypso taped to it and chased down the road by the police.
* In "Twisted Metal: Head-On" Sweet Tooth (or more often referred to as his real name Needles Kane) is revealed as an alter ego of Marcus Kane and resembles his appearance from Black though slightly more laid back and colorful. He also wears a different mask.
* Sweet Tooth is also an unlockable character in Incognito's "War of the Monsters" game as an alternative skin for the monster "Agamo". Sweet Tooth is represented by a tall mech with the signature flaming clown head, and often breaks out in his usual laughter throughout the game.
* Sweet Tooth is one of the most recognizable iconic Sony platform-exclusive characters, with the likes of Jak, Crash Bandicoot, Kratos, Rachet and Sly Cooper, and yet is the most sinister.
* Sweet Tooth is also an unlockable character in the, still to come, game "Death Road".

Music

Beginning with "Twisted Metal III", various music artists and bands have been brought in for each game's soundtrack. One such person was singer Rob Zombie, who contributed songs to both "Twisted Metal III" and "Twisted Metal 4", and is even a playable character in the latter. Music from the game disk can also be played on a CD player or in a computer.

Track listing of "Twisted Metal III" by use:
* Main Menu Screen: Rob Zombie - "Meet the Creeper"
* Hollywood: Rob Zombie - "Superbeast"
* Washington, D.C.: Pitchshifter - "Microwaved"
* Hangar 18: Pitchshifter - "W.Y.S.I.W.Y.G."
* North Pole: White Zombie - "More Human Than Human (Jingle Bells Remix)"
* London: Lance Lenhart Song 1
* Tokyo: Pitchshifter - "Innit"
* Egypt: Gamma Ray- "Valley Of The Kings"
* Blimp: Rob Zombie - "Meet the Creeper"

Track listing of "Twisted Metal 4" by use:
* Introduction Video: One Minute Silence - "South Central"
* Main Menu Screen: One Minute Silence - "A More Violent Approach (instrumental)"
* Construction Site: Rob Zombie - "Dragula (Hot Rod Herman Mix)"
* Neon City: Cirrus - "Time's Running Out"
* Road Rage: Cypress Hill - "Lightning Strikes"
* Sweet Tooth’s Bedroom: Ghoulspoon - "Alien Magnet"
* Amazonia 3000 B.C: Skold - "Chaos"
* The Oil Rig: One Minute Silence - "And Some Ya Lose"
* Minion’s Maze: Rob Zombie - "Superbeast (Girl On A Motorcycle Mix)"
* The Carnival: White Zombie - "Grease Paint and Monkey Brains"

Track listing of "Twisted Metal: Black" by use:
* Main Theme / Credits: The Rolling Stones - "Paint It, Black"

Track listing of "Twisted Metal: Head On" by use:
* Big Blue Stadium: Level - "Disaster Proof"

News

Currently game developer David Jaffe is creating a look back at the entire Twisted Metal series.

Jaffe has stated that a PS3 version of Twisted Metal will be released. It is unknown whether the game will take place in the original world of Twisted Metal or the Twisted Metal Black world. It is expected to be released in 2009.

Blair Yeany has opened up a new Twisted Metal site called www.tm2alliance.com to try and get the next TM game to be a sequel to Twisted Metal 2.

It is has been rumored that a film adaption of the series is in the works based on the first two games in the series or possibly only the first game.

References

ee also

"Twisted Metal" is often compared to other vehicular combat games, such as:
* "Vigilante 8", released in 1998, was a direct competitor to "TM2" and "TMIII"
* "Rogue Trip" and "Critical Depth" are created by the same developers as "TM" and explore the same concept
* "Carmageddon"
* "187 Ride or Die"
* "Full Auto"
* "Roadkill"
* "WWE Crush Hour"

External links

* [http://twistedmetal.us.playstation.com/ Twisted Metal: Head On Extra Twisted Edition - Official Website]
* [http://www.tmalliance.com/ TMalliance] , a fan site devoted to the series.
* [http://www.tm2alliance.com/ TM2alliance] , A site dedicated to getting a real sequel to TM2 made.
* [http://groups.msn.com/TwistedMetalInferno/homepage/ TM inferno] , a Twisted Metal fanfic site.