DAVE VS DAVE: An Interview with David Jaffe
Posted By: Dave "Boris" Orosz
I’ve always been a huge fan of the Twisted Metal series. I own every iteration except for Small Brawl. It’s also a game that has been teased and hinted at for years. I never expected to actually see it at this year’s E3, let alone play it. My GameCrashers cohorts had wandered away and I rounded the corner looking for them. When I turned around I was standing in front of a giant “Twisted Metal” sign and my jaw hit the floor. It’s reveal to me was emotionally poetic.
The next day I went by to play it one more time and ran into the creator himself, David Jaffe, who took a moment of his time to chat with me about the new game. Here is the interview for your viewing pleasure:
The mode on the showroom floor was Team Deathmatch, Team Dollface against Team Sweet Tooth. I can’t tell if I’m just out of practice, but I feel like there’s a bit more of a learning curve on this game than the previous Twisted Metals. It’s probably the fact that I don’t recognize any of the cars nor their special attacks. For the first time in the series, there is a playable helicopter as well. The helicopter is a lot of fun, but I imagine there are going to be a lot of people exploiting the vehicle early into its release. Hopefully they’ll balance it well.
The special weapons have secondary functions now, which will add a bit more depth to the character’s individuality. The motorcyclist can drag their chainsaw along the ground setting it on fire, then throw it for double damage. Meat Wagon launches an exploding guy on a stretcher, which can be guided after firing. There’s also a homing clown missile that the player can remote control. The characters themselves make much more of an appearance during the gameplay by hanging out the side of the car with weapons. I always felt a connection to certain favorite characters, but it was always an affection towards the car since I could never really see the characters in the previous versions. Now if you get sniped, you get a close up view of your character getting shot in the head.
Overall I like the changes: the chaos looks good and they’re still adding to it. With fully destructible environments, over a dozen cars, 16 player online with simultaneous local multiplayer, 4 player split screen local multiplayer, Story Mode, Nuke mode, Team Deathmatch as well as a selection of other modes, this game has some great additions that will certainly make it the definitive Twisted Metal. Look for it when it’s released in 2011.
Publisher: SCEA
Developer: Eat Sleep Play, Inc.
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1:43 – Jaffe tries to escape, but Boris won’t relinquish his prey?
Nice interview! So how does the leaning out of cars work? Is it a second player somehow (like you can leave your cars in this version?!?) or just a part of the control scheme? Like you aim with the right stick and that gun you’re controlling just happens to visually be a dude hanging out the window?
Um, at 1:43 I was adjusting my spot in the line for the game. He was just keeping up. And thanks, I enjoyed doing the interview.
The characters leaning out is more of just the animation for the particular weapon you’re using. Switch to a shotgun and the shotgunner leans out the window. I like the change cause it gives more of a sense of people actually being in the cars.