There's been lots of talk on this board about which of the new entrants to the Twisted Metal contest are our favourites. Three and a half years down the line, we've seen these vehicles mastered with their full depth and diverse playstyles revealed. With the long history of the series and vast array of past contestants yearning to be invited back to the world's most destructive show, and the limited number of vehicles that can partake, it leaves us with the following question. Which of last contest's contestants deserve to be reinvited for another shot to claim the ultimate prize? With the ideal scenario that all vehicles in a future TM would be granted their own unique character and backstory, and balanced among a cast of past and present fan-favourites, I wanted to compile a list from a TM 2012 vet's point of view of what vehicles are deserving to be in a future TM.
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Death Warrant:
Although DW was my primary vehicle both competitively and casually for about two years, I'll be honest that (although it's damn sleek ride) it's a very bland vehicle in TM's roster. Obviously it's unoriginal that it clones Roadkill's special, but even though it's purposefully meant to be one of the worst specials in the game, they could have at least gave it something that have it some identity. While DW certainly serves its purpose well in TM 2012 as the game's skill-based midweight, there's enough of those types of vehicles across TM's roster already. I'd prefer to see Crazy 8 or Yellow Jacket reemerge over DW.
Juggernaut:
I get what they were trying to do with Jugg, and I do respect that this vehicle was implemented to add depth to team modes. But really, I have trouble seeing Juggernaut ever adding anything meaningful to the game. If you eliminate the ways that the vehicle is broken in this iteration of TM, all you're left with is a bullet sponge that has basically no offence or defence. Fighting a Jugg is boring because it's not a challenge to hit, and it'll probably shield most of what you throw at it in the first place, and as a driver of Jugg, it's even more boring and frustrating to be constantly harassed. By yourself, all you can do is try to catch your pursuers off-guard with absorption shields, or try to ram them, but rarely is that ever successful against someone competent.
It comes down to making the teammate's turrets worthwhile to use without being cheap, and requiring skill and coordination between the driver and gunners. I just can't see Jugg coordination being anything more skillful or deep than coordinating in standard vehicles. Jugg could be neat in games as large as 7v7 and up where things are more chaotic and coordination isn't as important as outplaying each individual opponent you encounter. But really, TM plays best with smaller teams to start with, and I don't want to have to deal with a Jugg every single ten minute match. So, I wouldn't be heartbroken if Jugg, or Jugg-like vehicles were scrapped in standard modes, though I'd like to see something like the Chase to Vegas mode come to fruition someday.
Kamikaze:
KK is arguably the most practical lightweight in the game, and it does have some unique traits. The fact that it's the first vehicle in a decent TM to have a special which freezing enemies is really neat, and it makes KK a really accessible lightweight for newer players, with the potential to be mastered by veterans. However, I don't like that KK serves as a spiritual successor to Spectre, and I'd prefer Spectre to return. A neat concept for a future TM would be for Spectre to have its trademark ghost missile which should be easy to outrun or dodge, but have its real power come from the freezing alt special borrowed from its spiritual connection with KK.
Meat Wagon:
Conceptually, MW fits great in the TM universe. It's an original vehicle with a twisted, but humorous special that I'd be curious to know the story behind if it had a unique driver. I also believe its piloted alt special was unique and skillful weapon after receiving its needed delay period before a player can regain control (disregarding extended shields). However, if it were to make a return, it needs a re-imagined primary special.
Funny enough, Meat Wagon was imagined as overpowered in the early on and viewed as the king of juggling, but in reality it's a lower-tier vehicle in current day, and is really only effective as an opportunistic vehicle against enemies that don't have a shield to negate the primary's staggering effect. I think Meat Wagon deserves a second chance, but needs a skill-based primary special rather than fire and forget crap. Otherwise, MW doesn't serve a purpose as long as a superior mid-heavy like Roadboat exists.
Roadboat:
This is the most original vehicle in the new game. Some may equate it to just being a Mr. Slam clone, and in a way, it is. It's your textbook mid-heavy that really has nothing going for it besides its special, but it's really one of the most practical vehicles of that class the series has seen. It has the worst speed and handling in its respective title, plus a large hitbox and only mediocre armour. However, it overcomes this by having what I consider the best combination of specials in the game.
The alt special gives you amazing ability to control your opponents like no other TM really offers. There's obvious magnet combos of filling your opponent with mega guns, dropping them off ledges and holding them for teammates, but it presents even more options to skilled players like outright dragging their opponent, pinning them to walls from the opposite side of buildings, and its deadly Twister-esque napalm combo. But really, it's not overpowered because it takes time for a Roadboat to prepare and coordinate these attacks, and it's always vulnerable to being double-teamed and taking abuse from a player in their magnet, so it takes team coordination for this vehicle to play at its best.
The primary is no slouch either. It acts like souped-up fire missile, but can be skillfully ricocheted for nearly five times the damage. There's always an inherent risk to not shielding the magnets if you don't see their full trajectory, or even for it to rebound back at you after you've dodged them. Roadboat really has a lot of layers of depth to it, and is a really rewarding skill-based mid-heavy. I really want to see Roadboat in a future TM, most likely as a successor to Mr. Slam that's practical in combat without being reliant on freezes or errors made by its opponent.
Talon:
Please, do not include a flying vehicle in a future Twisted Metal. The provisions that need to be made to the weapon mechanics, vehicle balance and map layouts to accommodate a flying vehicle will only detract depth from the game, regardless if it's balanced in the end.
Vermin:
Like Meat Wagon, this is one of the couple new vehicles that really had some character, and would be interested in knowing the backstory of whoever was behind the wheel. But like Death Warrant, this vehicle is bland in combat. It does have some depth in lineup construction since it can cover both the role of a midweight and mid-heavy, being speedy enough to map control while fundamentally being an isolation-based vehicle that is one of the best 1v1 vehicles, but it really struggles when singled out by more than one opponent.
The primary has no depth being a near-undodgeable missile, and while the alt was intended to be controlled manually, it's really only practical for its long-distance auto-aim attack, or an undodgeable stagger attack when aiding a teammate in close range. Based on that, the specials really need an overhaul if Vermin should return. I do want a vehicle to exist to bridge the gap between the two classes and serve a similar purpose to what Vermin serves in TM 2012, though.
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So, that's my opinion. Basically, I really want to see Roadboat return, and I'd like to see certain elements and specials from a couple of other vehicles, but wouldn't be too disappointed if they didn't reappear under the same name. I disregarded Reaper from the list since it's obviously Mr.Grimm, and we're bound to see him reappear. So, what're TMA's opinions?