Zero Punctuation: Twisted Metal
- Thread starter Yahtzee Croshaw
- Start date
So, basically it's a remake that happened solely to cash in on the newer PS3s' inability to play the older games someone might otherwise pick up from the used game shop? That's the impression I got from the video.
I don't know what you mean by "hi res", but the regular video that I as a non-subscriber watch looked very poorly upscaled from a lower resolution, yeah.blurredplacebo said:
Near the video's end I was thinking "Wait... he's lamenting on the game's unnecessarily limiting the audience??"
By the end of it, I was thinking "Yeah.. there we go!"
By the end of it, I was thinking "Yeah.. there we go!"
Personally I like the idea/atmosphere of Twisted Metal, even if I'm pants at it. I just had to prioritize games so I haven't picked this one up yet, though I probably will eventually.
I honestly do not think killing children is a big deal (in a game), and indeed it's good in a game going for a sort of horroric atmosphere not pulling the punches. I tend to see "Twisted Metal" as being a sort of 80s horror movie thematically, more than really a child of the 90s where they started to chill out. Though truthfully I still think they pull more punches than they should... of course that's somewhat justified simply by the fact that you can only get so detailed and graphic from a vehicular point of view.
As far as Clown-O-Phobia goes, I don't have it, but know a person who does. Personally to me I think the problem with clowns is the whole "trying too hard" thing. It comes from getting too close a form of entertainment that seems like it's best enjoyed from a distance at say a circus or whatever. In general when your looking at a clown and can see them clearly as a person, and an entertainer who is overacting and trying to be funny/nice-nice in that kind of outfit the deception/act can come accross as kind of creepy. It's easy to insert malevolent motives behind the outward appearance. I also suspect this is why killer clowns make such a great movie trope, something that is appealing from a distance (I have enjoyed a number of shows by troupes of clowns) that can have the opposite effect when looked at closely.
That said, I do think that there are clowns who deserve a bit more respect, it's an art form, and takes a lot of work to do at a high level. The guy who just wears the costume at birthday parties is a bit differant from the guy who performs at say a circus, carnival, or other show who has in many cases had to master all kinds of tumbling, acrobatics, and other things to perform all those silly seeming moves without killing themself, especially in coordination with other people. I've read some stuff about it.
I honestly do not think killing children is a big deal (in a game), and indeed it's good in a game going for a sort of horroric atmosphere not pulling the punches. I tend to see "Twisted Metal" as being a sort of 80s horror movie thematically, more than really a child of the 90s where they started to chill out. Though truthfully I still think they pull more punches than they should... of course that's somewhat justified simply by the fact that you can only get so detailed and graphic from a vehicular point of view.
As far as Clown-O-Phobia goes, I don't have it, but know a person who does. Personally to me I think the problem with clowns is the whole "trying too hard" thing. It comes from getting too close a form of entertainment that seems like it's best enjoyed from a distance at say a circus or whatever. In general when your looking at a clown and can see them clearly as a person, and an entertainer who is overacting and trying to be funny/nice-nice in that kind of outfit the deception/act can come accross as kind of creepy. It's easy to insert malevolent motives behind the outward appearance. I also suspect this is why killer clowns make such a great movie trope, something that is appealing from a distance (I have enjoyed a number of shows by troupes of clowns) that can have the opposite effect when looked at closely.
That said, I do think that there are clowns who deserve a bit more respect, it's an art form, and takes a lot of work to do at a high level. The guy who just wears the costume at birthday parties is a bit differant from the guy who performs at say a circus, carnival, or other show who has in many cases had to master all kinds of tumbling, acrobatics, and other things to perform all those silly seeming moves without killing themself, especially in coordination with other people. I've read some stuff about it.
I wonder how the original designers failed so miserably to create an appearance that was amusing and comical.ZZoMBiE13 said:
There's something I've never thought of....the first clowns....off to wikipedia.
Man this game series really slipped my mind! Never heard of it until now.
...
Good to know that I didn't miss anything particular brilliant
But I don't think Yahzee's hatred of children is healthy... he definitely has to play more "my little pony" or something like that...
...
Good to know that I didn't miss anything particular brilliant
But I don't think Yahzee's hatred of children is healthy... he definitely has to play more "my little pony" or something like that...
I agree with Yahtzee on traffic laws. Humans shouldn't have the right of way because they're smaller than cars! That's the way it should be! And I too would rather hug a tarantula-porcupine than a human child!
I wouldn't have caught that Divine Comedy reference had I not been reading the aformentioned poem over the past month or two.
OT: I was interested in this when I first saw it, but I don't have a PS3. Oh well. Maybe I'll play one of the old ones.
OT: I was interested in this when I first saw it, but I don't have a PS3. Oh well. Maybe I'll play one of the old ones.
Being a Twisted Metal fan, I was somewhat disappointed with it. The biggest problem with the game is that the whole thing seems to have been undertested.
I can't comment much on the multiplayer because I rented it in the first week. This was when the multiplayer was broken and, by broken, I mean "Duke Nukem Forever broken". Since the game needed an online pass and I was just renting, that didn't bug me. It's been patched since then so it is actually possible to get an MP match. However, it is a symptom of the undertesting. (And I find it difficult to believe David "I don't believe in large betas" Jaffe when he claims innocence on this.)
This affects the single-player as well.
On the Mr. Grimm race, if you don't hit the hill when leaving town correctly when you're driving at it, you won't make it up the hill.
On the Dollface boss fight, when you start the round, there is a good chance that one of the escort limos will ram you before you can even move. If you're in a light-medium weight vehicle, this will send you sailing off the cliff with a 50% health penalty. (The Dollface fight is difficult and in a largely tedious way.)
As has been said, the cars will all come after you which (to me) isn't a problem in the Juggernaut/arena fights. However, when you're in a race event and half of the cars + Road Boat (He has a magnet on his car that, if he hits you, he'll turn around and fire you towards the back of the race which, on average, drops you from 3rd to 11th place) are attacking you while the front 5 stroll their way towards victory, that becomes less a question of skill and more a question of luck and maining the fast cars. In fact, the races are pretty much where the difficulty spikes occur as the game simply isn't made for racing.
The list goes on. But is it bad? Well, not really. There is actually a lot of good here and there is a solid foundation for a sequel if they removed the races (does anyone actually like those?), and did a lot more testing before release. In many ways, calling it Twisted Metal is appropriate as the first game was ok but the series really took off with the second game. Obviously, given that it didn't really do that well in sales, whether this iteration of Twisted Metal gets a sequel is probably up in the air.
As for whether you should buy it, I would say the question hinges on whether you were a fan of the series. If you are, it's probably worth $30. $40 if you're really into multiplayer. If not, then rent it and see if the multi does it for you and/or you can get past Mr. Grimm's events without screaming.
I can't comment much on the multiplayer because I rented it in the first week. This was when the multiplayer was broken and, by broken, I mean "Duke Nukem Forever broken". Since the game needed an online pass and I was just renting, that didn't bug me. It's been patched since then so it is actually possible to get an MP match. However, it is a symptom of the undertesting. (And I find it difficult to believe David "I don't believe in large betas" Jaffe when he claims innocence on this.)
This affects the single-player as well.
On the Mr. Grimm race, if you don't hit the hill when leaving town correctly when you're driving at it, you won't make it up the hill.
On the Dollface boss fight, when you start the round, there is a good chance that one of the escort limos will ram you before you can even move. If you're in a light-medium weight vehicle, this will send you sailing off the cliff with a 50% health penalty. (The Dollface fight is difficult and in a largely tedious way.)
As has been said, the cars will all come after you which (to me) isn't a problem in the Juggernaut/arena fights. However, when you're in a race event and half of the cars + Road Boat (He has a magnet on his car that, if he hits you, he'll turn around and fire you towards the back of the race which, on average, drops you from 3rd to 11th place) are attacking you while the front 5 stroll their way towards victory, that becomes less a question of skill and more a question of luck and maining the fast cars. In fact, the races are pretty much where the difficulty spikes occur as the game simply isn't made for racing.
The list goes on. But is it bad? Well, not really. There is actually a lot of good here and there is a solid foundation for a sequel if they removed the races (does anyone actually like those?), and did a lot more testing before release. In many ways, calling it Twisted Metal is appropriate as the first game was ok but the series really took off with the second game. Obviously, given that it didn't really do that well in sales, whether this iteration of Twisted Metal gets a sequel is probably up in the air.
As for whether you should buy it, I would say the question hinges on whether you were a fan of the series. If you are, it's probably worth $30. $40 if you're really into multiplayer. If not, then rent it and see if the multi does it for you and/or you can get past Mr. Grimm's events without screaming.
Never appealed to me this one, probably because I'm not a fan of mindless games. In terms of multiplayer there are other games out there that are better for a drunk night in!
Funny review none the less!
Funny review none the less!
Wait, about the last sentence in the credits, "your car's mom" - should it be "your mom's car" or is his version also okay? I am confused and utterly looking too much into this.
Kind of surprised there wasn't a Kid Icarus review today but this was was definitely over-due. Also surprised that Yahtzee has done as many 3DS reviews as he's done this far. Twisted Metal does sound pretty good but I have to catch up on all of the old ones.
Well this was a surprise, albeit a positive one.
I have always had a soft spot for the Twisted Metal games, especially in regards to it's dark humor. That being said, I haven't really followed the series since Twisted Metal 2, so I can't really comment on how it has evolved since then, other than that Twisted Metal Black apparently attempted a take the series in a darker and more serious direction, something that this new iteration seems to have somewhat adopted. All in all, the game looks immensly fun and it seems to pretty much be a direct descendant of Twisted Metal 2. As such, it should be right up my alley.
Also, what's with all the spider references this week? A recent traumatic experience perhaps?
I have always had a soft spot for the Twisted Metal games, especially in regards to it's dark humor. That being said, I haven't really followed the series since Twisted Metal 2, so I can't really comment on how it has evolved since then, other than that Twisted Metal Black apparently attempted a take the series in a darker and more serious direction, something that this new iteration seems to have somewhat adopted. All in all, the game looks immensly fun and it seems to pretty much be a direct descendant of Twisted Metal 2. As such, it should be right up my alley.
Also, what's with all the spider references this week? A recent traumatic experience perhaps?
The bit about the Stanley Kubrick ferris wheel had me laughing my ass off. Also, I'm glad to hear that other people liked Carmeggedon (or however it's spelled). I played it constantly when I was younger, but hardly any of my current gamer friends have played it...or even heard of it.