''Twisted Metal 2'' (known as ''Twisted Metal: World Tour'' in Europe and ''Twisted Metal EX'' in Japan) is the second game in the

vehicular combat Vehicular combat games (also known as just vehicular combat or car combat) are a sub-genre of vehicle simulation video games where the primary objectives of gameplay include vehicles armed with weapons attempting to destroy vehicles controlled b ...

series, ''

Twisted Metal ''Twisted Metal'' is a series of vehicular combat video games published by Sony Computer Entertainment, and developed by various companies. The series has appeared on the PlayStation, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 3. As o ...

''. It was developed by the game studio

SingleTrac SingleTrac Entertainment Technologies was an American video game developer, mostly for the PlayStation platform. The management team and much of the original development team came from Evans & Sutherland, bringing their 3D graphics and software e ...

, published by

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

, and released in 1996 for

PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...

and

Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

. The Microsoft Windows version features slightly cut-down

graphics Graphics () are visual images or designs on some surface, such as a wall, canvas, screen, paper, or stone, to inform, illustrate, or entertain. In contemporary usage, it includes a pictorial representation of data, as in design and manufacture ...

compared to the PlayStation version but doesn't require a

3D accelerator A graphics processing unit (GPU) is a specialized electronic circuit designed to manipulate and alter memory to accelerate the creation of images in a frame buffer intended for output to a display device. GPUs are used in embedded systems, mobil ...

video card. It also features

multiplayer A multiplayer video game is a video game in which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time, either locally on the same computing system (couch co-op), on different computing systems via a local area network, or ...

mode over a

modem A modulator-demodulator or modem is a computer hardware device that converts data from a digital format into a format suitable for an analog transmission medium such as telephone or radio. A modem transmits data by Modulation#Digital modulati ...

line or Internet. Two years after its release, ''Twisted Metal 2'' was re-released as a PlayStation

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

game, however under the developer

989 Studios 989 Studios was a division of Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) that developed games for PlayStation consoles and Windows personal computers. Their games include ''EverQuest'', '' Twisted Metal III'', ''Twisted Metal 4'', ''Syphon Filter ...

instead of

. It was also released for download on the

PlayStation Network PlayStation Network (PSN) is a digital media entertainment service provided by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Launched in November 2006, PSN was originally conceived for the PlayStation video game consoles, but soon extended to encompass smartp ...

in Japan on July 26, 2007 and North America on November 1, 2007.

Gameplay

In concept, ''Twisted Metal 2'' is a

demolition derby Demolition derby is a non-racing motorsport usually presented at county fairs and festivals. While rules vary from event to event, the typical demolition derby event consists of five or more drivers competing by deliberately ramming their vehic ...

which permits the usage of

ballistic Ballistics may refer to: Science * Ballistics, the science that deals with the motion, behavior, and effects of projectiles ** Forensic ballistics, the science of analyzing firearm usage in crimes ** Internal ballistics, the study of the proc ...

projectiles. Players choose a vehicle and an arena—or a series of arenas in the story mode—to engage in battle with opposing drivers. A variety of weapons are obtainable by pick-ups scattered throughout the stage. The objective of the game is to be the last remaining player. Two player duel mode makes a return from the first ''Twisted Metal'', and a co-operative mode allows players to fight through tournament mode with a teammate. There is no ending if the game is completed in co-operative mode.

Plot

In 2006,

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

is in ruins and its citizens left to struggle for survival after the conclusion of

, a brutal contest held by Calypso, exactly one year earlier on Christmas Eve. Aboard his airship (running the ticker "CALYPSO RULER OF THE EARTH") in the skies over the destroyed City of Angels, Calypso wonders where the next Twisted Metal will take place; fourteen of the world's best drivers are already assembled to compete for whatever prize they desire. Ultimately, Calypso decides that the world itself shall serve as a battleground. In addition to the remains of Los Angeles, drivers will also battle in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

Amazonia The Amazon rainforest, Amazon jungle or ; es, Selva amazónica, , or usually ; french: Forêt amazonienne; nl, Amazoneregenwoud. In English, the names are sometimes capitalized further, as Amazon Rainforest, Amazon Forest, or Amazon Jungle. ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...

, and

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

. After defeating all the opponents in Amazonia, the player must face Minion before proceeding to New York City. The Dark Tooth boss fight takes place after the player defeats all the opponents in Hong Kong; once Dark Tooth (and his flaming head) is defeated, the driver meets with Calypso in New York to receive their prize.

Development

SingleTrac began brainstorming ideas for a ''Twisted Metal'' sequel in late 1995. Due to the success of the original, ''Twisted Metal 2'' was allotted 16 months for development, much longer than the previous game.

Reception

''Twisted Metal 2'' was both a financial and critical success. The PlayStation version sold 1.74 million copies in the United States alone. The PlayStation version has an aggregate score of 86.44% on

GameRankings GameRankings was a video gaming review aggregator that was founded in 1999 and owned by CBS Interactive. It indexed over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 video games. GameRankings was discontinued in December 2019, with its staff bei ...

, based on eight reviews. The PC version averages 49.50% on the same website, based on two reviews. Critics generally regarded the game as an improvement over the original ''Twisted Metal'' due to its larger, more intricate levels and better cast of characters, but they were divided about the graphics. The four reviewers of ''

Electronic Gaming Monthly ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (often abbreviated to ''EGM'') is a monthly American video game magazine. It offers video game news, coverage of industry events, interviews with gaming figures, editorial content and product reviews. History The m ...

'' said that the original ''Twisted Metal'' had mediocre graphics and the sequel made no improvement. ''

GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...

''s Jeff Kitts agreed that there was no improvement but felt the graphics still held up well. ''

GamePro Gamepro.com is an international multiplatform video game magazine media company that covers the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software in countries such as Germany and France. The publication, GamePro, was originally la ...

'' said the graphics are better than the first game but still mediocre in absolute terms, citing bland and featureless buildings, pixelation, and breakup when close to walls, while a '' Next Generation'' critic claimed that "''TM2'' shows significant improvement with sharper textures, a significant reduction in clipping, and even an improved

frame rate Frame rate (expressed in or FPS) is the frequency (rate) at which consecutive images (frames) are captured or displayed. The term applies equally to film and video cameras, computer graphics, and motion capture systems. Frame rate may also be ca ...

". Both ''GameSpot'' and ''Next Generation'' attested that the essential nature of the gameplay was unchanged from the original, and that no change was needed. ''GamePro'' opined that "intense gameplay is what saves, and makes, the game - especially in the two-player head-to-head mode". Crispin Boyer wrote in ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'': "I wasn't all that crazy about the first ''Twisted Metal'', but this sequel is worlds better, even though it looks like the same old thing at first glance". ''Twisted Metal 2'' was a runner-up for ''Electronic Gaming Monthly''s Action Game of the Year (behind ''

Die Hard Trilogy ''Die Hard Trilogy'' is an action video game based on the first three installments of the ''Die Hard'' series of action movies. ''Die Hard Trilogy'' features three games in one, each based on a movie installment and featuring a different genre ...

''). The following year ''EGM'' ranked the PlayStation version number 64 on their "100 Best Games of All Time", commenting that "the sheer amount of different vehicles, levels and weapons available at your disposal makes for awesome multiplayer matches". In 2003, ''Twisted Metal 2'' was inducted into

's list of the greatest games of all time. Frosty Treats, a major

ice cream truck An ice cream van (British) or ice cream truck (North American) is a commercial vehicle that serves as a mobile retail outlet for ice cream, usually during the spring and summer. Ice cream vans are often seen parked at public events, or near ...

company, filed a lawsuit against Sony contending that ''Twisted Metal 2'' infringed on the company's trademarks through the use of the phrase "Frosty Treats", as well as similarities between the video game clown Sweet Tooth and the company's own safety clown. In '' Frosty Treats, Inc. v. Sony Computer Entertainment America, Inc.'', the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled against the trademark claims because they were either too generic or were unlikely to cause confusion among consumers.

References