Can the boys at Incognito recapture the gory glory that was Twisted Metal?

The Twisted Metal series has established quite a colorful history. Out of the four games released in the franchise, only Twisted Metal 1/2 can be considered worth the discs they are printed on. After the series was exchanged between developers, all went down the drain. Thankfully, Incognito Studios intends to amend all of the errs that has drowned the franchise from excellence with that latest installment in the series.

While the developer's name made seem unfamiliar and of little relevance to you now; it should being the fact that the software firm is comprised of former members of SingleTrac who were responsible for the developmemnt of the first two editions of the series. Ah yes, now their name has significance. Incognito have included 14 characters in the game, with a few of them hidden. But in an effort to further distance it from the last two games, the characters of Twisted Metal Black are in an alternate universe, so they would have no knowledge or wouldn't understand you if you were to speak to them on the subject. That's if you could survive long enough to ask and get an answer, of course. Some of the returning characters include Grimm, Outlaw, Axle, Road Kill, Spectre, and Yellow Jacket (from Twisted Metal 1, he was Sweet Tooth's father in that game. Dark Tooth was in Twisted Metal 2. No wonder the boy is a homicidal maniac with 2 fathers that sick and twisted). And of course the main clown himself, Sweet Tooth is returning, driving an Ice Cream Truck that has more than one nasty surprise. Interestingly, Dark Side will also be making a return in a female persona.

The controls and physics have been taken directly from Twisted Metal 2 (TM2), which means this game is already going to feel like the old Twisted Metal. In fact, a number of elements have been derived from the second installment. For example, the speed of the gameplay, which has made the Twisted Metal series so fun looks like it has returned. Graphically, this game is going to be both beautiful and huge. Well, as beautiful as a game inspired by Seven can be, at any rate. Framerate will be set at a consistent and almost blinding 60 frames per second, meaning no slowdown. And, just like in past games, the environments will be largely interactive. The pedestrians will also be included, and just as vulnerable to your whims as ever. No word on the music for the sound track as of yet, but everything blows up reeeeaaalll good. I hope they go back to the symphonic music that was found in TM2. The New York and Antarctic stages were both excellently composed, and matched the tension of jumping rooftops and cracking glaciers perfectly.

Now what would a Twisted Metal edition be with out multiplayer options? Not nearly as much fun, that's what. Well fear not, citizens. TM Black is going to have a 4-way split screen deathmatch mode, a co-op mode, and a last-man-standing mode. Deathmatch you've seen before, but it will be improved with the addition of bots if you wish, while co-op is essentially the same as it was in TM2. Last-Man-Standing is essentially team battle mode, with each person picking a team of characters to battle your foe's team and fighting to the bitter end.

The arsenal in Black is going to be an evolution of the first two games. The super attacks are back, and will just as in the past be unique to each character. As a bonus, you'll be getting two super attacks per character this time out. The missiles and other weapons found in the first 2 games will be making a return, from power missiles to ricochet bombs, though their effect has been tweaked (ricochets, for example only flip a character on it's back) Finally, the treasured special secret attacks that were featured in Twisted Metal 2 will also be included in the sequel. Utilizing a super meter similar to those found in games such as Street Fighter Alpha/ Twisted Metal 2 which include Invisibility, Freeze, and more. The attacks deployed by working the d-pad various combo commands (i.e. up, up, left).

So, there it is - Twisted Metal Black is scheduled for release during the beginning of June and it's bringing the pain. Are you ready? I know I am.

"I see a red door and I want it painted black
No colors anymore I want them to turn black
I see the girls walk by dressed in their summer clothes
I have to turn my head until my darkness goes"

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