Warning : This game is Rated M for mature so some material is not suitable for an audience who are under 17 or easily offended by the contents of this game. Some parts of the game do display religion from time, even a character who has beliefs on religion (crucifixion for example) and demons. Play at your own risk if not easily offended. Disregard the review if this game isn’t meant for you. 

This is more a recent game I’ve played during quarantine. Being a fan of the series since the fourth installment (even though it’s pretty bad now that I understand the graphics and gameplay more) I didn’t get a taste of another title until it’s second game of the franchise. The sequel some might say. Sure it was in a demo disc but I played it a lot with all the cars available to play with that one stage and had fun. The third one was next and it was really lackluster, almost as bad as the fourth. Didn’t get a taste of the series again until 2020 when I bought the second, fourth and a PlayStation 2 version which I wanted to play for so long. This review is about the PS2 installment of the series and was it a success jumping to a new era or did it meant to stay as just a PlayStation one era series? Twisted Metal Black for the PlayStation 2

Story : 9 

There’s not much of a story here but individuals that you choose to combat. What makes it kind of cool and interesting is that these characters, most are from a mental institution. They range from chronic schizophrenia, to suicidal tendencies with depression with episodic depression, even cannibalism. Heck some are even homicidal tendencies with unspecified psychotic disorder. This game leads a dark turn to a more grounded cartoon style of previous twisted metal games. Going through the manual you notice that it’s more so a journal from a man in the game known as “no face” but doesn’t specify if he’s the main star of the game as Sweet Tooth seems to be more of the poster child. 

A man named Calypso enters the asylum and gives these contestants a chance to escape the dark institute and be free with a wish in mind if they agree to play his twisted game of car combat. What their desires are, that is up to you to choose.

The story is a 9 out of 10. There’s no main story, but individual stories are a lot more darker and progress as you play the game. This isn’t for the easily offended. 

Graphics : 9

The graphics looks pretty good. Granted the videos seem a bit badly aged but it helps with the story progression of the character. Character designs are more darker and twisted than previous titles. You can see some blood and cuts on character bios and one even has his eyes and mouth sewn shut. Overall the character designs are pretty good for an early PlayStation 2 title.

The stages are very well made for the most part. Obstacles, moving objects, some weather conditions are a great addition to the game. From the raining junkyard to a snowy town, a  movie theater and even a prison are just examples. With each stage comes many factors, like the size of the area (which the game is helpful on showing which ones are small, medium, large, and massive) to what kind of pickups and traps are in the stage. The developers really tried to do what they can to make this game a more enjoyable experience to play in the stages. 

Gameplay though, vehicles aren’t just a static 3D model moving around the map. They change form depending on what weapons you choose, whether it’s a homing missile, they pop out a missile either on the side or on top of the vehicle, to a special move that can alter a cars total appearance (Sweet Tooth changing from an ice cream truck to a upper body looking tank to shoot missiles). This is what gave me a “wow” factor in the game since you don’t see this in the previous titles. Other than that there is some cosmetic damage when your health goes lower and that’s a staple in the series. 

One last thing is the frame rate. The game runs smoothly, really good frames and no choppy graphics or anything. I think it’s at 60 frames and it just feels so fast paced when playing the game. Only issue, it feels a little too fast when playing. 

The graphics are a 9 out of 10. Everything seems so good for an early PS2 title. 

Sound : 8 

The game’s music is more so on the grunge side in the menu in my opinion with some rock music. You get greeted with “Paint it Black” by The Rolling Stones which is a surprise since they usually been heavy with Rob Zombie and such. 


Playing the game you have a more suspenseful heightening music, orchestral to say that will have a more action packed experience with no knowing when you’ll be hit by enemies with their missiles. What makes it unique is that the music changes depending on the situation, especially if there’s one vehicle left. That’s pretty cool. 

Sound effects are clean from the missiles being shot and taking hit. Explosions sound alright from a gaming experience and driving the vehicles, I’m not sure whether it’s my volume or something but sometimes it just feels a tad too quiet. People screaming sound generic though whenever the vehicle gets blown up and you see them running around on fire before they succumb to the injuries. 

The Sound department gives it a decent 8 out of 10. Good music, sound effects are pretty good, nothing too memorable except for Paint it Black by Rolling Stones.

Depth : 9

The stages are massive, even the small stages have some good area and obstacles around. Some stages are unlocked by finding hidden cubes around some stages or by doing a requirement in the game. Overall… it gives you a lot to explore and see what the area has to offer if you haven’t already. 

Each character has a bio and stats of their vehicle. The bio is nothing more than their mental state and background for the story. Game gives you a cutscene to the beginning with mostly still images of the characters and Calypso in a 3D model to visualize what their heart desires in a vague way. As you progress halfway through the game you’ll be greeted to a cutscene of the character’s reasoning for wanting to win the tournament. Once you beat the game you will see their resolve whether it’s what they want or not. It’s not some cheesy twist of words or something like magic powers but more so grounded with revenge for most. 

What makes it more on the disturbing side is the fact how these characters are depicted. One is a cannibal, a few are suicidal, one has an unhinged mindset on religion while others are homicidal. This with its darker tone and gameplay made the game a M rated and it’s pretty justified. The themes of this game is just so… unsettling at times like a “what in the world?” Like a crucifix scene or slashing a man’s neck open. There’s more absurd things but I don’t want to get in trouble. 

Game modes do have a bit. The original story mode choosing one of ten vehicles to begin with, and also five unlockable cars. Story mode is just what I stated earlier with the cutscenes and ending. 

Endurance mode is basically lasting as long as you can against vehicles until destroyed. 

Challenge mode is you against up to 8 vehicles in a stage and be the last one to survive with levels available to play, even the ones you’ve unlocked throughout your play through. It’s a nice distraction to the story mode and you can explore the stages at your own leisure. 

The depth is a 9 out of 10. The stages are huge, characters’ stories are wild, decent game modes to distract from the story. 

Addictive : 6 

The addictive of the game is sadly plagued. If you want to play for the stories and features, it’ll give you some hours of playtime. Though playing it for fun tends to be boring on single player. Multiplayer is where it’s at and it even offered online mode at some point but due to the age of the game it’s most likely unable to play online with the Ps2, maybe without some modding. I can see the game being fun online but be very cheap with some characters being better than others. Not much to say here

It’s a 6 out of 10. 

Difficulty : 8 

The game offers a challenge, but you can adjust the difficulty on the menu. On normal though, enemies tend to go after you more than they go after others, so it’s more like a 1 vs everyone scenario. Obstacles can get you out of nowhere, enemies can ram you for damage if they’re stronger. One thing the game makes it easier though is that your lives and health replenish with each stage of the game, and saving the game makes it a bit easier for you to continue your progress. I’ll say the final boss and minion be the hardest but they are manageable. 

It’s an 8 out of 10. It’s difficult but not frustrating. 

The game itself isn’t bad. Actually it’s one of the best I’ve played from the series. The tone, the gameplay, even the frame rate but they should’ve lowered the speed at least. I can see why it was a “Greatest Hits” and how popular it was and still is to this day. It’s a hard decision to see which one is my favorite, whether twisted metal 2 or Twisted metal black since they’re both different games but same mechanics and such. Honestly this is a game I recommend picking up if you’re into the series (if you haven’t already) it’s rating justifies the nature of the game and the gameplay and its a shame that a sequel never materialized (an actual sequel not Head on or the PS3 version). 

My rating : 9.0 out of 10
Review rating : 8.2 out of 10