Twisted Metal Black Online

Twisted Metal: Black (Online)

"When you just need a break from SOCOM US Navy Seals..."

Well, I finally got my copy of Twisted Metal Black Online today (10/16/02), and I must say it was definately worth the wait.

For those who don't know anything about the game, allow me to explain. TwistedMetalBlack? came out last year for the PlayStation2. It was without a doubt a rebirth in the Twisted Metal series (they pretty much started going downhill after part 2). TM:B marked a return to the dark roots of the game's past, and combined excellent graphics with divine gameplay. It was one of the best 1st generation games for the PlayStation2, and should be in every gameplayer's library (it's that good).

When Sony announced their network adapter and modem for the PlayStation2, Incog Inc. (the company behind TM:B) announced they would be doing an Online update of TM:B. Shortly after this, Sony obtained the rights to make Twisted Metal: Black (Online) a free title with the purchase of the network adapter (meaning you will, at the very least, get one game if you buy the adapter). So, since I purchased my [PS2 network adapter in August] I have been anxiously awaiting my free copy of TM:B(O).

Basically, the game is pretty much the same as TM:B was, minus the great single player game (which means, if you don't have TM:B, you should get it anyway regardless of whether you get TM:B(O)! ) There are several new gameplay styles: in addition to Deathmatch, you have Last Man Standing, Man Hunt, and Collector. There are also new power-ups in the form of "relics" which enhance your player in a number of ways. All-in-all, these are some pretty welcome changes.

I recommend it highly to all (of course, you just get it free with the network adapter, and I recommend that highly to all as well). It may not be the killer app that SOCOM US Navy Seals is... but it is great fun regardless.

Twisted Metal: Black (Online) FAQ

• I went and set up my account, yet it still calls me "Player". Why?

Well, your account name does not have to be the same as your screen name.. and unless you change your screen name, it defaults to "Player". Basically, after you have created your account, you need to go into PLAYER CONFIGURATION under OPTIONS and set up your screen name (as well as what you want your hosted games to be called, me, I use "ClanAM" after my [gaming clan]).

• HEY! There's a guy cheating! He just won a game and never killed anyone! (Or, "Hey, you're Sinister_Sam! I saw you cheating!")

Are you sure the game wasn't Man Hunt or Collector? In those game styles, the most kills isn't necessarily the objective.

In Man Hunt, the objective is not to kill everyone, rather to kill one person. One persion is "prey" (essentially, they're "it") and everyone needs to kill that one person. When you kill that person, you become the "prey" ("it") and must avoid everyone else. There are several ways that you could score here, depending on how they server is set up. One way is to simply survive as "prey" for a certain period of time. If you can do this, you can win the match without ever killing one opponent.

In Collector, the objective is to collect a certain number of artifacts. So if everyone is blasting away at eachother, you can quietly sneak away and collect all the artifacts and win the game without even firing a shot.

Actually, this probably my biggest pet-peeve about the games I've played online thus far: Nobody even glances at the manual before they start playing. Then they get in a Man Hunt or Collector game and just play them as a deathmatch and provide no challenge whatsoever. Then they get pissed off, and start avoiding you (thinking you're cheating). Worse-yet, they e-mail you and accuse you of cheating.

Listen folks, pick up that flimsy little manual and at least thumb through it. Just because you don't understand something doesn't make it cheating. Read the instructions and play the game correctly, dumbass.

• Can you play the game alone?

Yup, sure can. In fact, it can be quite fun.

Basically, just start up a LAN game and fill it with bots. You can play any and all of the various multiplayer gameplay types by yourself using LAN games. I think you may still need to be online... but I haven't verified this yet.

• This game has new maps and cars, right?

Nope.

• Sure it does... I never saw Minion as a selectable character in TM:B, nor did I see Mini Suburbs as an arena..

Well, that's because you never went through and beat the game for various characters... Dummy. When you beat TM:B various ways, you unlock things. You also unlock characters by doing certain events in the single player game.

It's actually pretty kewl that TM:B(O) just gives you all the arenas and characters right off the bat.