Just a straight forward question, would you buy a Twisted Metal made by a whole new team without Campbell or Jaffe involved in any way? Personally I would. Why not let some fresh talent create a new game? There really isn't any way they can do any worse than the last game or even as bad as 3 and 4.

As much as I love Jaffe for creating not only Twisted Metal but also God of War, he's a god damn mess right now. He wasn't enthusiastic about working on the last game, and his new game is shaping up to be a flop that will go F2P down the line if it gets lucky. I really wanted to support this new game idea but, there is no marketing for it, there's no set release date, and the game is a very generic multiplayer shooter with nothing really unique to it besides the shitty art style that's like playing a seizure enduing psp game.

In short, Jaffe's Ideas are stale and dated and I don't think he's ever going to do any game right again, never mind a new twisted metal.

 

I voted yes.

I just have to add what I believe would be a realistic scope for a new TM on PS4 just to offer an understanding of what I personally would expect from a TM game here in 2016:

1. Much smaller downloadable game with the emphasis   on multiplayer.

2. A game which tries to capture the 'feel' and spirit of TM2 by having the vehicles handle in a similar way.

3. 8-16 player online depending on what is feasible.

4. 4 of the largest classic maps from throughout the series with the option to cut them down like in TMX for multiplayer.

5. 8 classic vehicles with the emphasis being on TM1 and 2 but allow the TMA community to vote and the top 8 choices get put in.

6. Include the option to download extra cars and maps at a later date if the game sells well.

7. Smaller more focused weapon set with, again the TM2 feel and balance of these weapons being in place.

8. A simple single player campaign mode which has 4 levels per character, these would be the main maps but cut to size for different characters. Each character would have a small campaign similar in scope to V8 Arcade. These would all be Death Match only.

9. A single boss at the end of the campaigns who is none other than a graphical update of TM2 Dark Tooth!

10. Short text (with static art) segments between each level which help explain the ongoing story of each character.

After reading this you might think I'm pretty easy pleased (and I guess I am?) but guys, I really am just looking at what might be realistically possible from a team developing a car combat game in 2016- the update of Hardware: Online Arena from 2003, Hardware: Rivals had a similar scope. It didn't work for that game but TM has such a rich back catalogue of amazing characters and levels that a new dev could pick and choose from all of the games and come up with the (near) definitive TM for a generation that feels it doesn't need car combat any more.

I believe it would be pretty cost effective as well.

I'd just love a new small team to take over the reigns- maybe one who has loved the series from the start and can appreciate it's little quirks and charm.

I'm thinking the effort and soul that was put into Streets of Rage Remake but on a much smaller scale.

Aim the game specifically for the hardcore TM fanatic and expect low sales (but enough to make a small profit), a real labour of love with the core fan first and profit second.

EDIT:  I realise what I'm asking might even be seen as a step back or a regression from previous TM games but I just don't have confidence that a full scale disc based TM game could hold it's own going forward.

It's not that I don't have confidence in the series, it's just that I feel as the generations move on, TM's place is in the downloadable market and it could definitely thrive there.

Let's see the return of classic weapon mechanics: Rico's that have a huge hit box (but add in a charge mechanic for an optional radius blast).
Bring back the old Napalm and add in a charge option for that as well.

I yearn for the return of TM2 remotes which are the most satisfying weapon in the series when used with a bit of cunning (imo at least).

None of this sticky bomb shite...

Have a charge up mechanic that allows you to throw a remote more like in TMB maybe?

I always found that TM2's small but more balanced weapon pick up set always sat well with me- I always felt that every single weapon in that game was equally as useful as the next. In more recent TM games there are weapons I deliberately avoid at all times.

AND BRING BACK DARK TOOTH !!

Varia31 wrote on 07/06/16 at 20:20:49:


I like Batman Forever more than Batman Returns tbh. Returns is an inferior sequel to '89 (no real continuation, what happened to Vicki Vale & Harvey Dent?), and Forever isn't all silly like B&R, and it's probably more serious than Returns actually once you get past the bat-nipples, Tommy Lee Jones' acting, and the neon style of Gotham's nightlife.
If Twisted Metal 3 were the Batman Forever of Twisted Metal it'd be a good game, to me anyway.

I'd consider the Twisted Metal quadrilogy closer to the X-Men & Terminator quadrilogies.

X-Men/Terminator/Twisted Metal - Each showed great franchise potential

X2/Terminator2/Twisted Metal2 - Each delivered the full potential of the series.

X-Men3 The Last Stand/Terminator 3/Twisted Metal 3 - Each fucked up the series.

X-Men Origins/Terminator Salvation/Twisted Metal 4 - Each in a way admit they are shadows of their former selves.

I don't think silliness killed Batman & Twisted Metal though. That's too subjective, considering they were both partly silly concepts to begin with.
I think Jaffe likes to make that argument, doesn't he (about how 989's silly designs ruined TM)? When interviewed about TM3 & 4 he'd only ever really show disgust for how SweetTooth was portrayed, which was a personal thing for him. He never goes deep with the real flaws of the 989 Studio games, which I thought worrisome. For all we know he thinks the gameplay of those games was just fine.
I really don't understand why you think he'd be necessary as a Creative Consultant, Varia31.
Would you want George Lucas as a creative consultant for future Star Wars movies?
Have you seen all the rejected concept art Jaffe has made for Twisted Metal - his attempts at re-imagining Sweet Tooth? D. Jaffe is the George Lucas of Twisted Metal bro. Putting him as a creative consultant for the next TM is a good way to piss off the next team who'll be making the game.

@MoshfieldAsylum
I'm talking about the overall shift in tone and direction. TM1 and TM2 were overall darker and grittier than TM3 and TM4, as was the case with Batman and Batman Returns as compared to Batman Forever and Batman & Robin. I actually like Batman Forever myself. But I'll agree the the X-Men and Terminator parallels work better.

You don't care for what Jaffe does anymore, and I just so happen to still like his work for what it is. I'm not saying he's absolutely necessary to make a new TM work, I'm merely suggesting a potential way that might be enjoyable for him to be involved in a small way since TM is a creation that he played a large part in creating. I'm trying to be respectful of his work.

It's just my two cents...

@Archminion
Yeah, that would be a good way to go about it.

Varia31 wrote on 07/07/16 at 17:51:57:


Okay so you meant strictly tonally, but even so, I wouldn't put Batman Returns & TM2 on the same level tonally. Returns is darker than necessary, like with the first scenes showing a baby Oswald Cobblepot kill a cat.  TM2 is visually violent but the dark humor is apparent, and the maps are colorful. TM1 has a gloomier, more depressing atmosphere, and TM Black's maps borrow more from the TM1 maps than TM2.
As to which is tonally more colorful or sillier - TMIII or TM4 - that is debatable. Either one could be the 'Batman and Robin' of the series. I think TMIII had sillier characters but it had the World Tour feature whereas TM4 made its own world which looked more futuristic and less post-apocalyptic. I think Joel Schumacher's Gotham City does have a similarity to that TM4 universe, with 'neon city' a map & all.

I get you are trying to be respectful of Jaffe, but I never meant any disrespect, I was wondering how he was deserving of it at this point, outside of his past work, when he had the opportunity to make TM 2012 a true revival of the series but failed, abandoned EatSleepPlay, made sure nobody left from that original team would ever be interested in making Twisted Metal again. But maybe that is for the better.
I think a new, young ambitious talented team could really do something with the Twisted Metal IP. It would be better for them not to have someone from the past team interfering, as it would be unnecessary pressure, and it would allow for new ideas, instead of recycled ideas. Like Malefactor said, Jaffe was not too involved in the Gameplay aspect, so all he could offer is much of what you've already come to know - but maybe if what you love about 'Twisted Metal' is mostly the character SweetTooth/Kane, and you have been happy with his portrayal throughout the series, I suppose I understand your want of Jaffe to be involved as a creative consultant, for just that small, tiny aspect of the game. I guess that would be fine - but really, does Sweet Tooth really need to take up so much of the story every time now? We really ought to see new characters next time around. Sweet Tooth would be just as effective in a less central role just like he was originally. I think the whole concept of twisted metal really opens up to the possibilities of many different kinds of characters - yet the excess focus on Sweet Tooth has really diminished that quality, especially when the last game in the series the character makes up 33 percent of the playable story character roster. That's shameful to me ... a waste of potential. And Dollface & Mr. Grimm were inferior versions of their former selves. And the plot twist about Calypso being the devil, when originally he was never intended to be - evidence of a carefree attitude towards continuity. I'd rather see respect to the lore and real originality and creativity next time from a creative team with a passion for what they are doing is all.