Current goal: Win the tournament and have my wish granted
Play it on: The PlayStation Plus Classics catalog
This past week, Twisted Metal and Twisted Metal 2 came to the PlayStation Plus Classics catalog. The timing is curiously convenient, considering a Peacock TV series based on the long-dormant vehicular combat franchise is about to debut. I think that series looks terrible and I have less than no interest in watching it. However, I also think that Twisted Metal 2 is one of the best games of all time, so if corporate cross-promotional synergy is what it takes to once again have this explosive, gleefully chaotic game be readily available to me on a console, well, I’ll take it.
It’s been well over 20 years since I really played the game, so I’m looking forward to refamiliarizing myself with its memorable and varied cast of drivers, its cacophonous soundscape, and its blistering action. I’m also eager to once again experience the outrageous destruction you can wreak on its stages. (I don’t remember how to destroy the Eiffel Tower in the Paris stage, but I remember that you can.) I’ll probably play through the entire thing with a few different characters to see a few endings play out. See, in these games, the tournament is run by a mysterious figure named Calypso, who promises to grant the winner a single wish. When he does so, however, there’s always something a little (you guessed it!) twisted about it, and it’s darkly funny seeing how things play out for each driver. I bet the writing for those endings is more clever than anything we’ll see in the Peacock series.
Wait a second! What if I wished so hard for Twisted Metal 2 to come back that Calypso granted my wish but deemed that it could only happen if we also got a horrible live-action series? Oh god, no! What have I done?!—Carolyn Petit
And that’s it for the latest edition of Kotaku’s weekend guide. What are you playing this weekend?
