Twisted Metal 2 - So We Meet Again Calypso

When I think back to my first adventures on the PS1 I typically remember Final Fantasy VII, Rugrats: Search for Reptar, Metal Gear Solid, and Star Wars: Rebel Assault II. But, the first time I ever had the joy of wrapping my hands around that iconic DualShock controller was in a Toys R Us game section playing Twisted Metal II. A gritty, violent, frantic game with the most shocking characters and even more shocking cars...if you can call them all cars. I was entranced by the mayhem I experienced on that kiosk screen. But, I was a Nintendo kid and there was no way MY parents would ever allow me to trade in my Super Mario World and Zelda: A Link to the Past for these kinds of games. So, I drank up every moment on that demo console like a man in the desert might drink a cool glass of water. But no matter how much I took in, I wanted more.

A few years later I had moved to a new town in a new part of my state. I didn't have friends or family for hundreds of miles. Then one fateful day, as I helped my family unpack and setup our new house, there was a knock on the front door. Our neighbors had come to introduce themselves and welcome us to their small town. This moment, befitting the likes of Sheriff Andy Taylor in the little town of Mayberry, would be one of the most impactful meetings of my life. You see, our neighbor had two sons, and one of them was cut from the same mold that I was. A nerd to the core and a gamer through and through. And as the wise man says, "Game recognizes Game". We immediately became friends and bonded with every silicon chip and polycarbonate disc we could find. Those years were a gaming renaissance in my life. The very definition of what games were morphed and evolved before my eyes. The 8-bit and 16-bit sprites I had grown to know were being replaced by polygon counts and 3D rendering. Games began to connect to each other with link cables and internet access. And there in the stack of his PS1 games, was a copy of Twisted Metal II. At long last, violent, vehicular combat had come back to my waiting hands.

Sweet Tooth

Twisted Metal II, developed by SingleTrac, released in 1996. The game features fantastically twisted stories for its 14 characters. All revolving around your chosen driver competing in a demolition derby in arenas all around the world. At the end of the tournament awaits Calypso, a supernatural being that promises one wish to the winner. Though, like the Genies of the old legends, you must be careful what you wish for. The wish granted may not be granted in the way you had hoped. The vehicles you have to choose from include Outlaw, a police car; Specter, a phantom sports car; Twister, an F-1 racecar, Mr. Grimm, a black motorcycle; Axel, two giant wheels held together by the driver's arms; Shadow, a purple hearse; and Hammerhead, a monster truck. But, most notably of them all was Sweet Tooth, an ice cream truck with a flaming clown's head on its roof driven by the mass murderer Needles Kane. The 90's edginess flows from this games vehicle designs, character stories, and its outstanding rock and roll soundtrack. Twisted Metal II's music tracks have been regular additions to my personal music playlists for over 20 years now, and I still get the urge to revisit them regularly. Songs like Quake Zone Rumble and Suicide Slide stand out as some of my favorite videogame songs of all time.

Calypso

The gameplay of Twisted Metal II is hard to describe any other way than "FAST". The movement is bordering on uncontrollably quick. Speed and sharp handling add to the excitement as your car unleashes hails of machinegun fire and various missiles and special elemental attacks. You engage in wild combat on the freeways of Las Angeles, a bowl-arena in Moscow, the streets of Paris, an open field in Holland, and even on the tops of skyscrapers in New York City. The threats from both other combatants as well as the environments you battle in are ever present. Twisted Metal II barely gives you a chance to catch your breath or look away from the screen for fear of being frozen, burned, or completely blown up. It's a incredibly fun experience that never lets up. If you pick this game back up, be ready to lose...a lot. But once you acclimate to the controls and the fast paced onslaught the game offers, you'll start having endless amounts of fun. Once you discover one character's wish, it's easy to restart and play all over again with a different driver, learning new techniques and new special weapons. In all the times I've enjoyed this nostalgic masterpiece, I've never finished the game with every driver.

I can't recommend this game franchise enough. But, most of all, give the old Twisted Metal II a look. Twisted Metal has had 4 entries on the PS1, 2 entries on the PS2, and 1 entry on the PS3, as well as spin-offs and portable games on the PSP. With so much vehicular chaos to be had, it may look hard to pick a good starting point. Twisted Metal PS3? Twisted Metal Black on PS2? I recommend starting off with PS1's Twisted Metal II and going from there. So, pick up that DualShock, start your engines, and embrace the chaos...and as always, Game On.