Twisted Metal Updated Impressions

There’s a good chance that E3 2010 will go down in history as the year of the reboot, giving rise to the return of many a long-forgotten franchise. Of these games, some have embraced their roots, recounting what it was that made them so loved, while others have reinvented themselves, looking to cash in on new markets.

A Twisted Metal sequel is undoubtedly one of the most requested sequels on the platform, and Sony fans have long kept fingers crossed in hopes of seeing a reboot of the venerable Twisted Metal series. While the game made its celebrated reemergence at the Sony press conference, today we sat down to get a thorough look behind the curtain with outspoken Eat Sleep Play developer David Jaffe.

The return of Twisted Metal marks a turning point, seeking to transcend simply blowing up cars in favor of adding a more sophisticated strategy to play and at the same time fostering an online community with progressive and persistent gameplay. The team hopes to do this by pitting faction against faction in huge destructible environments in a range of unique vehicles.

Our demo focused on the Nuke multiplayer mode shown during the press conference but granted us a closer look at the personalities and firepower behind the wheel. Each vehicle will have its own individual traits and quirks, with turbo and energy bars refilling at different rates and armory specific to the ride. Not unlike a hybrid of human capture-the-flag and king-of-the-hill, each side attempts to locate and kidnap the other team’s faction leader, dragging him behind your car as you burn rubber down the grimy streets. Once at the marked location, your job is to hold the area until a countdown is completed, prepping a missile to destroy the other team’s floating statue. Of course, once you’re inside the perimeter and watching the clock, you’re left vulnerable to enemy attacks since you can’t fire while holding a hostage. This aspect, in conjunction with plans for fostering clan support, should breed online turf wars, encouraging cooperative play.

Of course the appeal of Twisted Metal has always been the maiming and destruction, and this reboot is set to offer a mix of both that is sure to impress fans old and new. The first item we got to see was the magnet. Fairly standard fare, it works in both attraction and repulsion modes. Used to attract drivers, this powerful lure drags enemy cars to yours, T-boning them against your front bumper and getting them ready for your punishment. Tilting the PS3 controller rotates your attached foe, dealing damage by grinding him against environmental objects. Alternatively you could simply fire him off the edge of a roof or propel him headlong into passing vehicles. A secondary fire mode reverses the polarity, shooting Star Wars-esque Force Push energy that can be bounced off walls. This is particularly handy for sneaky pot shots around corners, and a lifesaver if you're faced with a situation where you’re outnumbered or outgunned since you don’t need to be within line of sight to attack.

The truck in Twisted Metal features a similar ability to the magnet, hurling cars over the cab like a slingshot. Its alt fire is more team-player focused, offloading glowing health crates that restore either 30 percent or 100 percent of your vehicle’s health bar.

If you’re sold on the size of the truck but want the flexibility of ranged attack, then perhaps either the ambulance or the van is up your alley. The former fires patients strapped to stretchers along the road either free or manually steered, while the guided mouse missiles of the van let you hit airborne objects. There is, of course, the obvious side effect that your vehicle is out in the big bad world alone as you fly your munitions around the sky in third-person view.

Chargers are coupes armed to the teeth with a mounted Gatling gun. Its unique ability is to swivel the barrels a full 180 degrees, allowing you to hit other drivers who try to tailgate. In risk-versus-reward fashion you can power up your gun by staying stationary for a short period of time, leaving you exposed but raining down fiery death on your adversaries with rockets and bullets if you can complete the process.

Of course not all the rides in Twisted Metal are on four wheels. Reaper bikes are zippy choppers with the flexibility to either shoot as you ride or lower your chainsaw to spark it against the road. Doing so charges it up, setting it ablaze and adding a 30 percent damage modifier to split open heads.

Aerial combat is also being included for the first time in Twisted Metal. Taking the form of helicopters, their speed and nimbleness is offset by their relatively weak defenses. Most useful for winching a teammate onto a rooftop or dropping them into an advantageous position to reach a faction leader, birds can pick up leaders but are more like sitting ducks as rounds shred their metallic feathers. Helicopters also have the added advantage of being able to fire air-to-air missiles, critical for shooting down enemy launches.

Jaffe was bound on the finer details but did confirm that the game will include a single-player component and that the game would launch with 12 to 16 vehicles--more than half of which will be returning wheels from previous games. Playable characters remain closely guarded secrets, but fans will be pleased to hear that Mr. Grimm, Sweet Tooth, and Dollface will all reprise their roles in this new installment.

Multiplayer is the beating heart of Twisted Metal and will support offline split-screen play for two to four players, while online matches will offer up to 16 combatants depending on the mode selected. The dev team likened the online approach of the game more to Street Fighter IV than the Call of Duty series, saying that balancing and fair play are major priorities rather than nurturing twitchy play.

The game is already looking quite complete with its suitably grimy environments, heady explosions, and roster of rides ready for carnage. Stay tuned for more Twisted Metal coverage in the coming months as it nears its 2011 release date on the PlayStation 3.