Twisted Metal 2

About Twisted Metal 2

Twisted Metal 2 (1996) is SingleTrac's PlayStation vehicular combat sequel, a globe-trotting demolition derby with missiles that sold 1.74 million copies in the US and drew a lawsuit from an ice cream truck company.

Twisted Metal 2 in Depth

In concept it is a demolition derby that allows ballistic projectiles. Players choose a vehicle and an arena, or a series of arenas in the story mode, and fight the other drivers using weapons collected from pick-ups scattered around the stage; the last one left wins. The two-player duel mode returns from the first game, and a new co-operative mode lets two players fight through the tournament as a team, though finishing it that way shows no ending.

A year after the first contest, held by the mysterious Calypso on Christmas Eve, Los Angeles is in ruins. Aboard his airship, its ticker reading "CALYPSO RULER OF THE EARTH", Calypso decides that the next Twisted Metal will use the whole world as its battleground, and fourteen of the world's best drivers gather to compete for whatever prize they desire. Besides the remains of Los Angeles, the arenas include Moscow, Paris, Amazonia, New York City, Antarctica, the Netherlands and Hong Kong. The player faces the boss Minion after Amazonia, and Dark Tooth after Hong Kong, before meeting Calypso in New York to claim the prize.

Making Twisted Metal 2

SingleTrac began brainstorming a sequel in late 1995 and, thanks to the first game's success, had 16 months to make it; Sony released it for the PlayStation and Windows in 1996. It was a financial and critical success, selling 1.74 million copies in the US alone, with the PlayStation version averaging 86.44% on GameRankings, though the PC version averaged under 50%. Critics saw it as an improvement over the original for its larger, more intricate levels and better characters, but were divided on its graphics: EGM's reviewers felt they had not improved, while Next Generation praised sharper textures, less clipping and a better frame rate. GamePro said "intense gameplay is what saves, and makes, the game", especially head to head. It was runner-up for EGM's action game of the year, and EGM later ranked it 64th among the best games of all time.