Twisted Metal: Black Online (PlayStation 2)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 4.0 stars Excellent
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 8.2 (4.0 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Ryan Donald
• Reviewed on: 11/12/2002
• Released on: 08/27/2002
• Originally published on GameSpot: Twisted Metal: Black Online (PlayStation 2) Review

Twisted Metal: Black was easily the best Twisted Metal game in the series and perhaps the greatest car combat game ever made. Twisted Metal: Black Online doesn't include any of the storyline or single-player progression from the original game, but it does include the same terrific gameplay and a few new game modes built for online multiplayer action.

The first thing you should know about Twisted Metal: Black Online is that the game is free with the purchase of a PlayStation 2 network adapter. The network adapter comes packed in with a coupon that you can send off for a free copy of the game. The second is that the game is built entirely for online play, and it won't do you a whole lot of good if you don't have the network adapter. If you happen to be totally unfamiliar with Twisted Metal: Black, the basic idea is that you are in control of a vehicle that's armed to the teeth with missiles and machine guns. You're dropped into a large area with other, similarly armed vehicles, and you fight your opponents to see who comes out on top. Within those arenas there are tons of different types of power-ups to collect, which give you more ammunition and weapons to use against your opponents. Each vehicle has its own strengths and weaknesses, as well as its own special weapon. For instance, Sweet Tooth the killer clown drives an ice cream truck with a special move that transforms his vehicle into a rolling robot that fires extremely powerful rockets. In all, the game includes 15 vehicles from Twisted Metal: Black--such as favorites like Sweet Tooth, Axel, Shadow, and Mr. Grimm--and 20 different environments from that game as well.

Twisted Metal: Black Online features four different modes of online play: deathmatch, last man standing, collector, and manhunt. Deathmatch lets you battle it out to see who's the best in a free-for-all match, which goes on until the designated time limit, damage, or kill quota is reached. Last man standing is similar to deathmatch except that players who are destroyed cannot rejoin the match right away. Instead, play continues until there is only one player left, at which time another match is started. In the collector game mode you have to gather as many objects, called artifacts, as possible. Hosts can set this mode up so that the player who holds on to the most artifacts for the longest time is declared the winner or so that the first player to collect them all wins. The last game mode, manhunt, configures all of the players, except for one, as hunters, and they have to hunt down the remaining player, who is considered the prey. The only other component that's new in Twisted Metal: Black Online is the power relic modifiers that you can now use to augment your vehicle's abilities. Game hosts have the ability to start a game with relic modifiers turned on, which adds 12 new item pickups that allow your vehicle to do a wide variety of new things. For instance, if you have the defiance relic, your vehicle cannot be set on fire or frozen, and you'll take less damage. You can hold only one relic at a time, so it's important to pick one that best suits your style of play, whether offensive or defensive.

The controls in TMBO are set up extremely well. You have several control configurations to choose from, and the default is well thought out. The left analog stick steers your vehicle, while the right controls its speed. The shoulder buttons on top of the controller handle firing and cycling through your weapons. This setup lets you control every aspect of the game without ever lifting a finger to press another button, which is helpful since the game moves at an incredibly fast pace. The controls are incredibly responsive and take a bit of time to get used to, but once you get used to them, they control just as well as, if not better than, those in the previous Twisted Metal games.

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