One of the early killer-apps for the PS2, Twisted Metal: Black took the popular Twisted Metal franchise into a new darker direction. From the storylines, to the arenas, and the whole art direction, this game is without a doubt the most Twisted game in the series. Not that Calypso wasn't already a pretty messed up guy in the previous games, but this time he raids a local insane asylum for contestants for his latest Twisted Metal tournament.
Twisted Metal: Black also marked the return to the franchise of members of the team responsible for the first two Twisted Metal games on the PlayStation 1. Singletrac developed the first two Twisted Metal games, but was later bought out by GT interactive, and lost the rights to the Twisted Metal franchise. Sony would then give development privileges to 989 Studios who developed TM3 and TM4 while Singletrac would go on to develop a few lesser known games like Critical Depth and Rogue Trip Vacation 2012.
In 1999, members of SingleTrac left to form Incognito Inc which was a part of SCEA's Santa Monica studios (who would later go on to make God of War). Incog took back the development of Twisted Metal, and gave us arguably the best game in the series (I say arguably, because my personal favorite is TM2), and more importantly reinvented the series which was growing stagnant.
Twisted Metal: Black has all the classic TM gameplay with a great dark atmosphere, and it even added some new things to the formula as well, like new weapons, and, much larger maps with more hidden areas to find. This is easily my favorite Car-Combat game on the PS2, not that there is a ton of competition in the genre for the PS2, as car-combat games pretty much died in that generation. Even though my personal slant is toward Twisted Metal 2, I can honestly say the Twisted Metal Black is the crowing achievment in the vehicular combat genre.
Later, when Sony released the Network Adapter for the PS2, it would come with a voucher to get Twisted Metal: Black Online for free. TM:BO was a multiplayer-only version of TM:B, but was a great freebie for the early Network Adapter adopters. The official servers for the game have long since been taken down, but it still supports LAN play from PS2 to PS2 (which requires the Network Adapter, or a slim PS2). You can play it with your friends from multiple consoles, or more importantly, use a tunneling service to play it online online to this day. TM:B Online isn't a required buy, but you can still get some enjoyment out of it if you have the right setup.
With it's dark atmosphere, well designed arenas, tight-addictive gameplay, and reinvention of the series, Twisted Metal Black has earned the honor of being Station Geek's Game of the Month for August 2018. It is truly one of the last great vehicular combat games, and the pinnacle of the once popular, but almost forgotten genre.
When Sony Released the PS3 version of Twisted Metal, it came with a voucher for a free download of Twisted Metal: Black, but the game is also available to buy, digitally, on the Playstation store. If you missed the hubub over the vehicular combat in the 90's and early 2000's, or are nostalgic for this game, I wholeheartedly recommend you check it out on your PS3 or PS4 systems.
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