There once was a tournament that was held by a man named Calypso, a tournament that required bloodthirsty, destructive, apocalyptic vehicles to battle each other to the death for glory and personal rewards given by Calypso. This event has been called Twisted Metal.

The event first took place on November 5, 1995 when the game was released for the PlayStation. It took the gaming community by surprise as it was the first game ever to incorporate fast-paced driving with third-person action shooting. It was also the first game to include one of PlayStation's iconic characters, Sweet Tooth.

Each character in the game's story mode had his or her unique quests or stories as to why they entered Calypso's tournament. The stories often included graphic and horrific content, which wasn't too pleasant for younger kids. (Yeah, I was definitely one of those kids that had to hide these kinds of games from my mother — I was so bad.) Four Twisted Metal games were released in four years, while the PlayStation was the leading console in the market in the '90s. The game spawned a whole new genre in the gaming world, inspiring the likes of Vigilante 8, Full Auto and more. The next few years saw the release of Twisted Metal: Black (2001) for the PlayStation 2 and Twisted Metal: Head-On (2005) for the PlayStation Portable.

Now, over a decade and a half since Calypso's tournament first made an appearance on consoles, it's back with Twisted Metal. For many fans, this has been the most anticipated game since it was first announced back at the E3 conference in 2010. The game has been in the works for three years, and it's here at last! Let the games begin!

Presentation
I'm going to start off with the bad in this review just so I can get it over with and savour the sweetness of the rest. The game loses points in presentation for the lack of characters' stories to play in the campaign. Going from being able to play through every character's campaign in previous games to only having the option of playing through three in this one is a real letdown. The other thing is the game's poorly done dialogue. The game features really cool Sin Citystyle cutscenes, which make for a rather gruesome but yet satisfying experiences, but the dialogue ruins it. The poor acting is to be expected in a game such as this, but at least they could give us some good quality dialogue when the acting is done off-screen.

Graphics
The biggest source of excitement and curiosity for me when the game got announced was to see how Twisted Metal would look on the PS3, and man oh man, does she ever look sweet! From great car models and details to vibrant maps to the kick-ass special effects during the cutscenes, Twisted gains some points back from its lack of presentation. It's always gratifying to see a missile shooting from your car going 250 mph and watching your victim explode. Don't get me wrong, this isn't Skyrim by any means, but it definitely works for what the game is.

Sound
Twisted Metal games have always been known for their rocking soundtracks that boost the player's adrenaline. With tunes from Rob Zombie, Iggy Pop, Wolfmother and more, the soundtrack will get you pumped up, and the psychotic, heavy Twisted Metal theme song is freaking sweet! The sound effects like the car smashes, explosions, guns, steering and so on are bang-on and really bring out the game's impact.

Gameplay
And here it is, the main course: the gameplay. This is the meat and potatoes, folks; this is what this game is and always has been about.

Twisted Metal is downright fun! The controls have a little bit of a learning curve to them, but once mastered, you're just racing around, "pwning noobs." The game makes up for its lack of extra features with its gameplay. The campaign is short yet satisfying with its over-the-top objectives and interesting though frustrating boss battles. Online play features various maps and gameplay modes, such as the popular Team Death match, and features a reward system that can net you sweet upgrades. There are also the good old-fashioned split-screen fourplayer LAN matches.

Verdict
As a longtime fan of the franchise, I have been waiting over a decade for this game to come back into my life. It is so refreshing as a gamer to see a game that was so awesome from the '90s come back and still rock in the gaming wars of today. For those who are looking to step out of the world of Skyrim to get behind the wheels and blow shit up, Sweet Tooth's got you covered. I give this game 4.5 Sweet Tooth heads out of 5.