$20 Game of the Week: Twisted Metal – Head On Extra Twisted (PS2)

Before God of War, Jak and Daxter, Resistance, Ratchet and Clank, or Sly Cooper, Twisted Metal was the big Playstation franchise. The second game in the series was regarded as one of the best games on the original Playstation. TM3 and 4 weren’t nearly as well received. Twisted Metal Black on the PS2 abandoned the series’s light hearted tone in favor of a darker atmosphere, with the weirdos of previous installments replaced with crazed lunatic serial killers. Fans loved it, and there would even be an online version released a short while later. When the Playstation Portable was released, Twisted Metal Head On was a launch title for the system. Rather than expanding upon TMB’s dark theme, it instead decided to revive the light-hearted atmosphere of Twisted Metal 2, focusing on its best features. In fact, its storyline removed Twisted Metal 3 and 4 from the series canon and regulated Black as being a dream inside Sweet Tooth’s head. Now for the benefit for those who refuse to buy a PSP, Twisted Metal Head On cones to Playstation 2 with a few new features.

First and foremost, the main package, Twisted Metal Head On, is pretty much the same game as it’s PSP counterpart, albeit with a new bonus level and slightly improved graphics. Key emphasis on the word slightly, as the graphics aren’t much to look at. Thankfully the huge destructible environments and the variety of vehicles make up for it. Also on the disc is Twisted Metal Lost, which is a collection of four levels intended for the unreleased sequel to Twisted Metal Black. (The game was shelved after six members of the development team were killed in a plane accident.) You can play as the characters from Twisted Metal Black, although there are no real storylines or endings. Also on the disc is the Sweet Tour, a minigame where you take control of Sweet Tooth on foot as he runs around an asylum to find pieces of concept art. This was intended to be a part of the unreleased TMB sequel as well. There are also interviews, a code to access the soundtrack, and the hilariously bad live action endings which were scrapped from the original Twisted Metal. Overall, it’s a nice package for fans of the series and it’s at a good value as well. Twisted Metal is coming to Playstation 3 eventually, but until then, this will tide players over nicely.