A few decades ago the masses believed video games were a waste of time for lackadaisical youths to pacify themselves while ignoring their responsibilities as both kids and young adults. As more and more people started understanding the benefits of gaming so too did the perception of what a video game is and, most importantly, the benefits gaming can bestow on a person’s life changed. Hi, my name is James Bullock and I am a gamer who has spent the better part of my existence testing the laws of physics, exploring the vastness of a world ruined, and been a champion inside various arenas courtesy of digitized worlds both driven by reality and created through pure unbelievable ingenuity unlike anything seen by human eyes. And as a gamer I’ve discovered something else video games provide: life lessons. Today I examine what was once the king of car combat games, “Twisted Metal”.
Be Careful For What You Wish For (“Twisted Metal”)
It’s hard to deny the greatness of gaming’s fifth generation. Unprecedented hardware brought forth video game consoles able to sport more than 32-bits of video quality while developers pushed the believed limits of genres both mainstream (like platformers & fighters) and niche (such as real-time strategy games more appropriate for PCs). It didn’t matter what type of gamer you were as the availability of three different consoles sporting an impressive library early on meant people would eventually take a chance and try out something not within the confines of their comfort zone. When I was able to get an original Playstation for Christmas in 1997 I became one of those people who just couldn’t be content sticking to what was my favorite genres at the time – the aforementioned platformers & fighting games. I would eventually invest copious amounts of time in games that my once closed mind wouldn’t give a second thought of experiencing in full including role-playing games. One genre in particular was one I did enjoy, but hardware limitations or offerings too far removed from the simulation perspective left me wanting more: racing games. Ironically enough, going completely off the grid when it comes to stereotypical racers is what pulled me into a budding genre that really gained prominence during gaming’s fifth generation, Car Combat. Usually set in some type of closed-off arena, a player or players would take control chasing one another while shooting various projectiles in an attempt to be the last driver standing. But the Playstation exclusive “Twisted Metal” series changed the game (no pun intended) as it not only had one of the best examples of gameplay in the genre, but also had stories connected to both the drivers and the series’ overall universe.
According to the original “Twisted Metal” lore, a man of great supernatural power living beneath the streets of Los Angeles named Calypso would host a one-night tournament through the city where drivers of modified vehicular monstrosities could participate in a battle to the death with the hope of the winner gaining anything he/she wishes for no matter the size, price or even context in what would be perceived as reality. In the original “Twisted Metal” a majority of the wishes would result in either something tragic happening to the winner or to the main man himself. The text-filled endings (replacing the lost live-action versions featuring a lot of bad acting) were done away with by the second “Twisted Metal”; being replaced with animated cut scenes that reinforced the overall theme of making a request to Calypso: Be careful what you wish for. Using the winner’s (or winners’ in the case of “Hammerhead’s” Mike & Stu) words against the requestor, Calypso would make some dreams come true and others meet death because of their poor choice of words. Going back to Mike & Stu – the two monster truck-driving stoner stereotypes just wanted to fly; asking Calypso for the ability. Jumping off the rooftop Calypso stood upon awaiting his tournament’s winner, Mike & Stu plummet to their mutual demises while Calypso remarks his joy about having refundable airplane tickets Stu & Mike would’ve attained if they weren’t so hasty in trying to test out their new powers. From the Grim Reaper running out of souls to devour, to an actor’s obsession with fame going to his head, to even Calypso himself being attacked by the ghosts of his past, playing as each character in a “Twisted Metal” game is nothing short of a reminder that what you might be asking for may not be what you want in the end.
Have you learned any major life lessons from playing “Twisted Metal” or any video game for that matter? Leave them in the comments below and, as always, thanks for reading.
