Yes, the wait was worth it. It has been 9 years since Twisted Metal: Black and Sweet Tooth is back with plenty of mayhem and destruction. This isn’t just a new game in the franchise, this is an entire overhaul for the genre. The amount of detail put into the game is far above expectations and easily one of the funnest games I have played at E3.
I didn’t get a chance to see any of the single player, but I was able to get some hands on with the multiplayer. The match was 8 vs. 8 with one side being the Dollfaces and the other being the Sweet Tooths. No matter what faction you choose, you will still be able to pick whichever vehicle you want. Some of the vehicles that were available were an ambulance, exterminator van, destruction derby car, a motorcycle, and a helicopter.
If you choose the helicopter, you are restricted to flying low near the road. Unlike in previous Twisted Metals, members of your faction fill your car. They will always be leaning out of the different windows to taunt enemies or use certain weapons. For example, when you pick up the shotgun power-up, one of your faction members leans out the passenger window with a shotgun and will shoot at other cars when you push the fire button. These little details in the faction members and their actions and animations really make it feel like your in a battle with a large group of psychopaths instead of just shooting cars.
The empty cities of past Twisted Metals are also gone. Cities are filled with cars and pedestrians. Cars are destructible and were so numerous in this level that they could sometimes be used as bullet shields. Other times, they just become part of the fire storm as a battle ensues in the middle plaza. The city itself also has a lot of destructibility to it. There are tons of items all over the map such as bus stops, crates, and even pews inside of a church.
Battling in Twisted Metal is tons of fun. There are large, floating neon circles around the map for the different weapons. It’s easy to see which weapon a power-up is for at a distance and any weapons you have already picked up are displayed on the bottom of the screen. You also have machine guns which you can use at any time.
Since this is a Twisted Metal game, each car has its own special weapon. I was driving the exterminator van and my special was a powerful homing missile that I could steer with the analog sticks. If you run low on health, there is a semi-truck driving around the level that you can ramp off to refill your health. It only opens up every once in a while, and when somebody uses it, it closes up so make sure you get there quick.
The multiplayer was fast and fun. It felt like there was constant action, but never became too much to handle. I can’t wait to get my hands on the full game to see if the rest of it can live up to what I played. I’m sure it will.
