It's true: gamers are going to be pleasantly surprised by just how powerful the feelings of nostalgia are when they pick up a controller and play the new Twisted Metal for the first time.

However, while the characters, vehicles, environments, power-ups, and weapons will assuredly bring back fond memories of many long nights playing split-screen with friends on the original PlayStation, these ingredients have been updated by the current technology and feature new elements that go far beyond simply bringing back good memories- this Twisted Metal stands to be a title that works to reinvent the series and put vehicular combat back on the mainstream gaming map.

This newest installment's recipe of elements is a sure fire tactic to not only draw in new clientele to the title, but also give long-time fans of the series a reason to stay with the franchise.

Iconic characters like Sweet Tooth, Warthog, Darkside, Dollface, Mr. Grimm, and Preacher are all making a return in this newest installment. And, as to be expected, the game’s campaign follows a similar plot from the previous titles: each character is fighting in a gruesome, vehicular-based destruction derby where the infamous Calypso grants the last contestant standing one wish. Nothing, however, is unique without a sense of individualism-- and all of the dark, morbid, yet somehow weirdly heroic characters in Twisted Metal’s world entertain their own psychotic desires they wish to be fulfilled.

At the risk of sounding obvious, the TM series has always been a multiplayer game at its core. However, even within a few hours of playtime on the demo, it’s quite obvious that the technology used in developing the game has come a long way since Twisted Metal: Black was released a decade ago. Furthermore, it's no secret that the newest installment’s focus is on expanding the scope of the series to meet the expectations of an online audience who have become accustomed to deep and engaging multiplayer experiences.

What exactly will this new developer bring to the table?

This time around, Twisted Metal online multiplayer allows for as many as 16 players to enter the combat zone through the PS network where they can choose from a variety of fan-favorite and newly introduced game modes, gain XP, track their Global Rank, and earn a variety of rewards. Of these playable game types include:

• Deathmatch - Players must fight each other in the level (Think Free-For-All)
• Team Deathmatch - Players must destroy as many players on the opposing team as possible before time runs out.
• Endurance - Players must destroy enemies which respawn upon until he/she is dead.
• Race - Players must race through a series of checkpoints- (hmm, Mario-cart with missles?)
• Team Hunted - One player on each team is the "Hunted" which means that he/she will be targeted by everyone on the opposing team. (Think Infected from CoD)
• Last Man Standing - Each player has a specific number of lives and the last remaining player wins.

There are some new twists in this metal for sure -- the PS3 hardware allows for more variety in the arena, and the exponential growth of online multiplayer since the last game should draw a new crop of curious players looking for a different kind of "shooter." But so far, the most powerful effect of the new Twisted Metal game might be bringing back all those great memories you have of the old one.

Twisted Metal is set to release on February 14, 2012 in North America, and March 1, 2012 in Europe (buyers should know though that the European date is possibly being pushed back for censorship concerns). Buyers of new copies will receive a voucher to download Twisted Metal: Black for free. This free version of Black, however, will not be a high-definition remake- but simply a port of the original PlayStation 2 version (which will lack the online function that was added in a later re-release of the original game). In addition, every copy of Twisted Metal is set include a voucher to download the “Sweet Tooth Outcast” multiplayer skin for Starhawk.

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JohnnyWayne_
Twitter: @JohnnyWayne_