Twisted Metal 3
| Twisted Metal 3 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | 989 studios | ||
| Publisher | 989 studios | ||
| Senior Developer |
Jonathan Beard Howard Liebeskind |
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| composer |
Rob Zombie Pitchshifter |
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| Erstveröffent- lichung |
 November 11, 1998 |
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| platform | PlayStation | ||
| genre | Racing game | ||
| Game mode | Multiplayer , single player | ||
| control | Gamepad | ||
| medium | CD-ROM | ||
| language | English | ||
| Age rating |
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Twisted Metal 3 (also Twisted Metal III ) is an action-oriented racing game and the third title in the Twisted Metal series. It was developed by the US developer 989 Studios and published exclusively for the PlayStation .
Like its predecessor, the game is a mixture of third-person shooter and racing game . As a participant in the Twisted Metal tournament, the player competes with an armed vehicle in several cordoned off areas against a certain number of opponents and tries to destroy them.
The game received significantly lower ratings than its two predecessors. Critics complained about deficits in the graphics and the driving behavior of the vehicles. Nevertheless, the game achieved high sales. It is still one of the best-selling titles in the series.
action
Twisted Metal 3 is set to play in 2008, two years after its predecessor, Twisted Metal 2. The earth has fallen increasingly into disrepair and numerous metropolises are devastated. In this environment, a tournament, the twisted metal tournament, takes place, in which several drivers with armed vehicles compete against each other until only one survives. The tournament winner receives any wish from the organizer, Calypso .
For each selectable character there is a separate, concise final video in which the latter expresses his wish and gets it fulfilled. The corresponding video is shown when the player has won the tournament with his character.
Gameplay
General
The concept of Twisted Metal 3 was adopted unchanged from its predecessors. The game combines elements of conventional racing games with those of third-person shooters . The player takes control of a vehicle that is armed with machine guns. In a cordoned-off area, he competes against up to eight also armed vehicles and tries to destroy them.
Like its predecessors, the game is played from a third-person perspective by default . The three other perspectives are an innovation, including a first-person perspective . In the course of the game, the menu shows a radar that shows enemy vehicles, an inventory with the currently selected weapon. In addition, information about the player's vehicle is displayed, such as a damage display, a speedometer and the supply of nitro .
Race course
The vehicles participating in a fight, up to nine, are distributed to random starting positions along the route. After the start signal, they can move freely on the track and open fire on their opponents.
Power-ups are hidden on the tracks that can be picked up by all race participants. These include weapons and repair kits and were carried over unchanged from the predecessor. Collectable weapons include e.g. B. Napalm , missiles or mines . Repair kits are used to remove damage. Each vehicle has an individual weapon, the stock of which regenerates automatically over time.
Consisting of twisted metal 2 known Combo -Attacks (dt. Combined attacks ), which are triggered by specific shortcut keys during the race and present special attacks and defenses, were taken. In addition, so-called were Advanced Attacks (dt. Advanced attacks ) were introduced. The player can do this if he is short of ammunition. They cause serious damage, but take a long time to regenerate. A status bar shows whether such an attack can be carried out.
stretch
Twisted Metal 3 includes a total of eight racetracks. a. in Los Angeles , Tokyo or on an airship . The routes are spacious and open. Weapons and repair kits are hidden in the areas, which can be picked up by all drivers and which reappear at certain intervals. The surroundings are partially destructible, such as statues or advertising posters. Many routes have hidden sections that are difficult to access or only accessible by destroying certain objects.
A new feature compared to previous Twisted Metal titles are weapons installed in the levels, which can cause great damage. These weapons are hidden and require some effort to be harnessed.
Game modes
The main part of the game is the tournament mode, which tells the story of the game. In a tournament, the player first selects a character with whom he wants to contest the competition. Then he competes on eight routes against a varying number of opponents who have to be defeated. The tournament takes place in eight locations around the world. It starts in Los Angeles that was devastated by an earthquake. Other venues are Washington , a military hangar , the North Pole, London , Tokyo, Egypt and an airship. In three out of eight locations the player is challenged to a duel by an elite driver after he has defeated all drivers. These drivers have vehicles that are clearly superior to that of the player. The player has three lives in the entire tournament. This means that if the player is defeated the third time, he has lost the tournament. If, on the other hand, the player has mastered all eight routes, he has won the tournament.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack of Twisted Metal 3 consists of eight pieces of music that are located in the field of rock music. Each song is assigned to a level and is played there as background music. In contrast to its predecessors, this is significantly more dominant.
| Overview of the pieces of music contained in the game | |||
| # | Artist | title | length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rob zombie | Meet The Creeper | 3:14 |
| 2 | Rob zombie | Super beast | 4:07 |
| 3 | Pitchshifter | Microwaved | 3:45 |
| 4th | Pitchshifter | WYSIWYG | 3:48 |
| 5 | White zombie | More human than human | 4:16 |
| 6th | Lance Lenhart | Song 1 | 3:21 |
| 7th | Pitchshifter | Innit | 2:54 |
| 8th | Lance Lenhart | Valley Of The Kings | 3:12 |
Development history
After contract disputes between Sony and SingleTrac, the previous developer of twisted metal games, 989 Studios received the order to continue the series. Since the engine remained in the possession of SingleTrac, 989 Studios had to develop the game from scratch. The new engine was named TruPhysics. Further details on the development were not published. The game was finally released in the United States on November 11, 1998.
reception
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Reviews in game magazines
Twisted Metal 3 was received rather negatively by the trade press. It achieved a meta rating of 48.97% in GameRankings . Most of the critics, such as Doug Perry from IGN Entertainment or Joe Fleider from GameSpot , agreed that the title had too few new features and was therefore not worth buying.
Above all, however, they criticized the new engine. According to Allgame's Michael House , she was a joke. Textures appear pixelated and objects appear misshapen. Despite the poor performance, there are frequent stutters. There are further problems with collision queries and the driving characteristics of the car.
Doug Perry from the online magazine IGN Entertainment wrote, however, that the graphics have improved compared to their predecessors thanks to higher-resolution textures, smoke particles and better shaders . The only weaknesses are the game principle, which does not offer any innovations. Therefore, the game is uninteresting for buyers of the previous title.
GameSpot's Joe Fielder says the graphics have changed, but not improved. Some effects, such as the lighting, have improved, but the overall result seems fuzzy and not very convincing. Fielder mentions the control of the vehicles as a further deficiency. The new physics engine lets the car overturn too quickly or get out of lane, so that precise steering is hardly possible.
Kevin Dick from GameRevolution also went into the level design. This is extremely unimaginative. The levels in Washington and in the military hangar are set up too simply. Also, the surroundings are hardly included in the game. This makes them look boring overall. Graphics, physics and sound effects are only slightly better. This makes the game just out of date compared to its competitors Vigilante 8 or Rogue Trip .
Sales figures
Of Twisted Metal 3 approximately 1.29 million units were sold in the US. This made it less successful than its direct predecessor, of which around 1.74 million copies were sold, but more successful than the other parts of the series. As a result, the game was later recorded and re-released in the Sony Greatest Hits franchise.
successor
Just one year later, a successor appeared with Twisted Metal 4 . The game was also developed by 989 Studios and therefore uses the same technology as Twisted Metal 3 . It only appeared in North America.
The game was better received by the trade press than its predecessor. GameRankings calculated a meta-rating of 68.04%. Testers praised the fact that the developer had improved some of the criticisms made on the predecessor, such as the textures and the level design. However, according to the testers, other points such as the control that is too vague persist. More than a million units were also sold from the fourth part of the series. However, around 200,000 fewer units were sold than Twisted Metal 3 .
Web links
- Twisted Metal 3 at MobyGames (English)
- Twisted Metal 3 in theInternet Movie Database(English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e Joe Fleider: Test "Twisted Metal 3". In: GameSpot . CBS Corporation , October 16, 1998, accessed June 18, 2014 .
- ↑ a b c d Doug Perry: Test "Twisted Metal 3". In: IGN Entertainment . Ziff Davis , November 12, 1998, accessed June 18, 2014 .
- ↑ a b c Michael House: Twisted Metal III. (No longer available online.) In: Allgame . Archived from the original on November 14, 2014 ; Retrieved June 18, 2014 .
- ↑ Micheal Mullen: Twisted Metal III: Locked and Loaded. In: GameSpot . CBS Corporation , November 11, 1998, accessed December 28, 2014 .
- ↑ a b Meta evaluation "Twisted Metal 3". In: GameRankings . CBS Corporation , accessed June 18, 2014 .
- ^ Dan Elektro: Test "Twisted Metal 3". (No longer available online.) GamePro, archived from the original on February 15, 2005 ; Retrieved June 18, 2014 .
- ↑ a b Kevin Dick: Twisted Metal III Review. In: GameRevolution . November 1, 1998, accessed December 27, 2014 .
- ↑ a b US Platinum Videogame Chart. In: The Magicbox . December 27, 2007, accessed December 27, 2014 .
- ↑ Meta evaluation "Twisted Metal 4". In: GameRankings . CBS Corporation , accessed June 21, 2014 .
- ↑ Marc Nix: Twisted Metal 4. In: IGN Entertainment . Ziff Davis , November 22, 1999, accessed December 28, 2014 .