Twisted Metal Alliance: Temporary Forum

Twisted Metal

Best -
Tough call, because River Park Rumble, Suburbia, and Rooftops are equally great to me.
I guess I will go with River Park Rumble. The Christmas theme is present in this map so it fits the story and its fun running over fake for-hire Santas. The inclusion of the small ice rink is cool, and the map is sort of a precursor to Downtown in Twisted Metal Black, as well as one of the inspirations for Metro Square in TM PS3.

Worst -
Got to agree with Adonael with Freeway.
The full Freeway map seems like a precursor to Highway Loop of TMB in retrospect, as they share a loopy map design with narrow paths. A challenging map, but not as fun as the others, as you end up feeling a bit lost with the unchanging look of the map. Almost gives the illusion of a never ending freeway, sort of like the endless staircase from Super Mario 64.
The mini version of Freeway does lack the loop however, and is littered with car corpses, including a bus, which is notable as subsequent attempts to include a playable bus in TM games have been scrapped (although one does appear in Rogue Trip Vacation 2012).

TM 2 World Tour

Best -
It's between Paris and Hong Kong Krunch. The image of Eiffel Tower exploding in the Twisted Metal 2 trailer was one of those trailer moments that got me to get the game back in 1996 or 1997 and Paris did not disappoint as a map. When the tower falls it modifies the map in a cool way, making the small building rooftops more accessible. I also like how interactive the map is, with the exploding cars and trees and monuments, the paintings that could be burned, the mimes you could run over.
Hong Kong Krunch, is also very innovative of a map. The center building with the lightning tower feels like a small map within a large map, the subway train path feels like another section that could be its own map, and the port side as well. It is like the Suburbia of the game in how it feels like 3 maps in 1.
The inclusion of moving subway trains was really cool, being the first instance of NPC vehicles that moved & weren't contestants, something that eventually became common in the series - and Hong Kong is also the first map where you can die by drowning.

Worst -
Probably Moscow. This bowl shaped map design isn't my favorite although that concept worked very well with Minion's Stadium in TMB. Although I like the epic explosion that occurs if you plant a remote bomb at the center of the map the location feels kind of empty and lazy in the way it represented Moscow. Also, the lightning ENV attack is useless on this map as very little action occurs on the map's narrow bridges/ramps.

TM III

Best -
Not sure. I almost kind of appreciate how simple Washington DC is, despite not my favorite, because the harder 989 tried on maps in TMIII the worse the matches were at times. The extra maps in the game were similarly lazily-constructed (Warehouse, Club Kid's House).
I thought the best map was probably North Pole though. It's a circular, between medium-large map with a trench that rings around the centerpiece which is Santa's easily destructible home as well as the lightning env attack area. This map sort of takes the TM2 Moscow map but puts a new spin on it.

Worst -
The Egypt map is the worst in TMIII. It's too bumpy with the sand hills, too ugly with the map colors, and poorly thought out with the weapon distribution, and the lightning area location (being at a dead end).

TM 4

Best -
Neon City is probably the best map in the game.
989's finest work, and thus the TM4 demo featured this map as a ruse to get people to buy the game. It has a subway path & train similar to Hong Kong from tm2, it is a multi leveled battleground (like past rooftop maps, paris), but unlike the past city maps Neon City goes for a futuristic look, like something out Joel Schumacher's Batman movies. There is also a way to catch a ride from a flying vehicle to get from one building to another, an early instance of flying in a TM game.

Worst -
Minion's Maze. To me it is a horrible map. Like the name implies, the map is a maze. Probably the worst conceivable map type for a Twisted Metal game and thankfully the only one of its kind. There is an underground cave in this game that isn't any fun to fight in, and the little hills of the maze are not so convenient to fight in, and then you have the teleportation orbs that bring you to a similar looking corner of the map. There is nothing good about Minion's Maze, and Minion was so pathetic in this title that we never saw him in tank form again.

TM Black

Best -
My favorite single player map is either Minion's Stadium or Snowy Roads. I like the intense small map matches and these battlegrounds feel like the most intense to me, plus Snowy Roads is the one map location that looks like it may not take place in Midtown, and the snowy setting and music make it such an eerie level.
In multiplayer/online I have a fondness for small maps too, like Elevators and Sewers.
My favorite big map is Suburbs though. A dark take on TM1s suburbs that unlike the original map features big open spaces to fight in. Despite its big size the map is still fun even in a head to head 2 player fight, something many other extra large maps in the TM series struggled to achieve.

Worst -
Yeah, probably Warhawk. It's a map that lacks strong points, but I don't particularly hate it either. I am glad it wasn't locked out and kept exclusive to the story as TMX did with some boss map locations.

TM Small Brawl

Best -
Favorite TMSB story map was Tree House Rumble. It was a lot of fun using the trampoline.
This game had some fantastic hidden maps too; Buster's Lane bowling alley, Holiday Havoc, and Shock Therapy.

Worst -
Probably Now Slaying, the movie theater map. It's not that I dislike the final boss Piecemeal, but this map has a very sloped design (like movie theaters do with their seating areas) where about half the time you feel like you are driving up a hill and the other half down a hill.

TM Head-On

Best -
Egypt. Just a cool map, the internal pyramid sections are cool to drive through. Proved that Incognito could take any 989 map concept and improve it easily.
I also like the baseball field map that starts the campaign. Mostly just the concept itself since a baseball field would be a cool place to hold a TM match. And blowing up the performing band was funny and appropriate to the dark humor of the game.
and Russia is another I'd consider for best map, because it did a better job than TM2s Moscow in its thematic representation of the country it was blowing up.

Worst -
The Tokyo maps didn't do a thing for me.
That sequence of maps & Tower Tooth sort of ruin an otherwise fun story campaign for me.
Also, the Transylvania map, added to PS2s version of Head-On, was disappointing. It was much too large for the game and provided no real challenge even on the highest difficulty with the max amount of enemies.

TM Lost

Best -
Death Port was interesting. Kind of like a new take on Prison Ship from TMB.

Worst -
Stadium Slaughter didn't really do much for me. Might have been the inspiration for Blackrock Stadium in TMX, which is a futuristic take on the large arena map concept that Stadium Slaughter was going for.

TM PS3

Best -
Thrills and Kills park was pretty interesting. The larger variation Thrills and Spills unfortunately wasn't as good because it was unnecessarily large, even in a full match.
Thrills and Kills had the idea of putting a big roller coaster themed mountain in the middle of the map that you could traverse through that had a pirate themed cave in it. Difficult to navigate through at first, though, but I remember having some of my most fun matches in T&K park.

Runner-up map would be the Old School mini-map of Sunsprings, CA, which is like a new take on Minion's Stadium, or at least the center of the map, with the high school football stadium, comes across that way to me.

Worst -
Worst TMX map... pretty much a tie between Diablo Pass and Diesel City.
Diablo Pass is far too big and linear a map with a long bridge at the center. Its just not that well designed a map and it takes too long to get from point A to point B on the map. There was often an entire portion of the map completely ignored during battles. The mini variations of Diablo were better but not by much, with Dead Man's Crossing a mini variation of the map & Ghost Town a mixture of the small ghost town & the outskirts of that town, with some hills that people annoyingly camped up on.
Diesel City was another unnecessarily large TMX map, with large hills, slums, a parking lot, a red light district, skid row area, junkyard, and freeway areas. I found the color palette this map used to be unattractive visually as well.
The small variation of the map, Skid Row, appealed to some but wasn't my thing.

TM1:
Favorite: Rooftops - It's the level that got me hooked onto the series as a whole. I was on the verge on selecting Cyburbia since I always enjoyed that level on the campaign. Wish I could have played it in its entirety on TM1's Duel mode. Glad it returned in the sequel. Aside from that, Rooftops provides the perfect atmosphere to how it should have ended alongside the final battle.

Disliked: Warehouse - Never enjoyed this level compared to the rest of the game. Layout seemed to bland and weapon pickups lacked variety. Granted, this is at the start of the game but Duel mode brings about no changes aside from putting a crate on the health pickups. That was neat.

TM2/TM2PC:
I'm including both versions here.
Favorite (offline): Antarctica - Tension fills the level as this is the first level that contains more than six enemies. A vast level with different types of areas with the urgency that the land that you're on may be subject to collapsing. Always loved the music for this level alongside the snowy setting.

Favorite (online): Holland - Choosing my favorite map was difficult but this was the final decision after realizing that there's essentially no teleport pads (both can be 'destroyed' here) that can cause another player to resort to cheap tactics. It's an open map with good amount of pickups and showcases the true potential of each player without any surface changes or distractions.

Disliked (offline): Amazonia - It's a level that never caught my interest in both campaign and two player mode. Sure it has the Minion battle but that might be the redeeming factor of this level.

Disliked (online): Moscow - It's a great level offline and for 1v1's online (sometimes) but what hinders this level is the fact that the center piece of the map is more prone to destruction under at least a 3 player session. If you plan to play multiple rounds on here, the center piece won't come back, resulting in missing pickups from the un-destroyed ramps. That also causes the level to have few pickups, including the environmental...which we ban.

TM3:
Favorite: London - One of the few maps that I actually enjoyed. Feels like a classic TM level with its layout and objects to destroy. If there was ever a TM remake of some sort and they had to choose a level from this game, this one is it.

Disliked: Egypt - One of the worst levels in the game, if not, from the entire franchise. It lacks complete character as it is just an open map with slopes and a semi-worthless unique pickup that tries to fit in with the setting. The earlier build looked much better with a Nile-like stream running across the level. Overall, each time I would end up here, I would try to finish this as quick as possible.

TM4:
Favorite: Amazonia 3000 BC - This was a tough one beside the chosen level, Oil Rig, and Road Rage, but this level has an interesting design with a good array of exploration but without the level being too large.

Disliked: Minion's Maze - The fact that I had to read Mosh's post to remember that this level existed should tell you enough as is. Too large, with too few enemies for it alongside frustrations in trying to find where exactly to go at times. If you fall from the top, you'll have to waste time finding the way up again. Rinse and repeat.

P.S.: And for once, the small cars have a leg up over Minion's crappy special.

TM: Black:
For this entry, I'll include both TMB and TMBO.

Favorite (offline): Snowy Roads - It's the only place with a different setting in the world of all dark and grey. The music track here adds more to the feeling of the level, bringing forth more immersion in appreciating it. Level is also difficult if you decide to not resort to cheap tactics.

Favorite (online): Sewers/Asylum - A two-way tie. I know, unfair. Layouts and pickups both provide variety along with a fair amount of pickups. Both levels can be played ranging from a 1v1 or a 4v4, so lots of depth here.

Disliked (offline): None...? - I was originally about to put Movie but I couldn't find any legit reasons to do so.

Disliked (online): Highway Loop - This level does not bode well for online play. I have such a great vendetta against playing on here but allow me to elaborate.
Since there's no center ground, you can only travel around clockwise or counter-clockwise. Also, there are certain parts of the map where you can easily fall off, whether done deliberately or accidentally.

TM: Small Brawl:
Favorite: Meat Your Maker - Loved the music for this level and the level itself feels like a banger after defeating Trapper. Felt like a refreshing second half of the game. You know what, every level from this point afterwards are all great! The grinder part was my favorite part of the level plus the meat tenderizer and the buzzsaws.

Disliked: None - Very close to picking one but again, no real reason.

TM: Head On:
Favorite: Monaco/Greece (short version) - I share Adonael's opinion with Monaco. It's one of the few levels that I enjoyed. It was cool that you could go inside the casino in this one.
I had this as a two way tie with the shorter version of Greece. This is the iteration where you are on a ship in the middle of the ocean it seems. I had a blast trying to defeat 5 Mr. Slams. Challenge was tougher than it sounds like.

Dislike: Big Blue/Paris - For Big Blue, it does have the opening banger for what TMHO would be like and appreciated very much. Although, about 2 minutes in, the energy fizzes out and the stage feels rather boring. At least in the PSP version, they had the live music still playing whereas the PS2 port killed the vibe immediately with some twang like track.
Paris, was quite a letdown for me. Felt like a copy & paste of TM2's level with no radical change aside from entering two museums instead of one. Egypt had a major 180 from its horrendous TM3 design, why couldn't Paris go a similar route?

TM: Lost:
Favorite: Suburban Terror - Probably my favorite level aside from Death Port. Felt like a TMB level if you ignore the TMHO style of weapons. Gave me the impression of what TMHC could have been, although the extra content provided us with more information on said levels.

Disliked: Transylvania - Since this level was available in the PS2 port, I'll include it here since I don't hate the other levels that TM: Lost had. Transylvania felt thrown in there as some type of bonus. Everything on here feels too distant from each other. Pickups and everything. And from what I remember, you can't really engage it any further than 2 player and endurance mode.

TMX/TMPS3:
Favorite: Umm...Sunsprings? - Feels kinda unfair in saying that since this is the only level that I can recall in its entirety in a good sense. I did like how each portion of the level provided the setting that Sunsprings was trying to portray. Its smaller level variants were great.

Disliked: Diesel City...? - One of the largest levels in Twisted Metal history. That helps it in becoming one of the worst levels EVER in Twisted Metal history as well! It's also home to one of the worst missions in the game, and we alllll know what it is. On paper, the level concept looks excellent and initially thought that it had promise. Execution of it was poor.
I will say something good about it though. Its smaller version of the level worked much better.
Ok, Diablo Pass sucked ass too. It had to be created for the racing event, it just had to be. As a fighting level, it is too wide and the weapons/physics in this game cause the vehicles to either hop or fly around. The major issue here is the fact that you can easily fall off the level as there is a pit everywhere here a la Highway Loop.

Twisted Metal Alliance: Temporary Forum
http://temp.tmalliance.com/ General Category >> Totally Twisted >> Favorite/Least Favorite Maps http://temp.tmalliance.com/?num=1585514686 Message started by †Adonael on 03/29/20 at 21:44:46