Software:Twisted Metal 4

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Short description: 1999 video game

Twisted Metal 4
Developer(s)989 Studios
Publisher(s)989 Studios
Director(s)Jonathan Beard
Producer(s)Jonathan Beard
Darrin Fuller
William Todd
Programmer(s)Jim Buck
Mike Riccio
Matthew Titelbaum
William Todd
Artist(s)Baz Pringle
Jonathan Beard
Diane Covill
James Doyle
Darrin Fuller
Thai Tran
Nikola Trifunovic
Julius C. Willis III
Writer(s)Jonathan Beard
Matthew Titelbaum
William Todd
Julius C. Willis III
Composer(s)Chuck Doud
SeriesTwisted Metal
Platform(s)PlayStation
Release
Genre(s)Vehicular combat
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Twisted Metal 4 is a vehicular combat video game developed and published by 989 Studios for the PlayStation. The game was released only in North America on November 16, 1999 and was re-released for the Sony Greatest Hits line-up in 2000.[2] Like the previous installment, it was not released in PAL regions.

Twisted Metal 4 is the fourth installment in the Twisted Metal series and the second and last installment to be developed by 989 Studios. The game's plot centers on Sweet Tooth, the long-time mascot of the titular Twisted Metal competition, overthrowing Calypso, the mysterious organizer of the competition, in a coup d'état. He then takes over the mantle of granting the winner of the competition a single wish, regardless of price, size or even reality.

Twisted Metal 4 received mixed to positive reviews from critics, who considered it to be an improvement over the previous Twisted Metal III, particularly in terms of level design.

Gameplay

Quatro in the Construction Yard attacking the Joneses

In concept, Twisted Metal 4 is a demolition derby which permits the usage of ballistic projectiles. Players choose a vehicle and an arena—or a series of arenas in the story mode—to engage in battle with opposing drivers. A variety of weapons are obtainable by pick-ups scattered throughout the stage. The objective of the game is to be the last one standing.

The game's plot takes a different turn of events compared to its predecessors. Its intro video details the tournament's story, starting around the 1900s as a circus-type caravan that traveled across the country spreading destruction everywhere. A young Sweet Tooth finds himself amazed by the contest and runs off in its pursuit, entering and eventually winning. As his wish, he desires to become the star of Twisted Metal, which Calypso gladly grants. At first revered by the chaos he created, as time went on Sweet Tooth became jealous of Calypso, until he decides to initiate a coup d'état helped by a group of little clowns, and takes control of Twisted Metal.

It is also discovered that Calypso's source of powers comes from a mysterious ring that consumes the souls of those who die, increasing his strength and youth, and Sweet Tooth having taken it, finds that he possess the same abilities as Calypso to grant wishes. He tends to cheat people with their wishes like Calypso does as well.

Development

After a contractual dispute with the developer of the first two games in the series, SingleTrac, Twisted Metal development duties were handed over to Sony's in-house development team, 989 Studios.

In development of Twisted Metal III, the source code and physics engine for Twisted Metal 2 weren't available because they were property of SingleTrac. Therefore, new ones had to be created from scratch instead. The new source code introduced advanced physics simulation and AI techniques to the series.

In development of Twisted Metal 4, the game was reworked to improve upon the shortcomings of Twisted Metal III, introducing smoother gameplay and softer physics. Levels were expanded further and an increased arsenal of weapons was created which would ultimately become exclusive to this game.

Characters

The game includes a total of 13 selectable characters from the start. Most characters were original characters created for the game, whereas a few of the returning characters appear as stage bosses without story. Unlike previous games in the series, each stage counts with its own boss (two bosses in The Oil Rig) to defeat in order to advance. Every boss becomes selectable after defeating the story mode at least once. The musician Rob Zombie is included in the playable characters due to the large number of his songs on the previous installment in the series, Twisted Metal III.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
GameRankings68.04%[3]
Review scores
PublicationScore
AllGame3.5/5[4]
Game Informer9/10[6]
GameFan69/100[7]
GameRevolutionB−[8]
GameSpot7.1/10[9]
IGN6/10[10]
OPM (US)4/5[11]
PSM2.5/5[12]
PSExtreme83%[13]

Twisted Metal 4 was less commercially successful than its predecessors, selling 465,000 copies by April 2001. [14] The game received mixed reception from critics, holding a rating of 68.04% based on seventeen reviews according to review aggregator GameRankings.[3] GameSpot's Joe Fielder said that the game was a "huge leap" ahead of Twisted Metal III, commenting on the improved level design, control and physics, but remarked that the latter two "remain a little too touchy and unforgiving", and that the graphics, while "prettier" than those of Twisted Metal III, "aren't nearly as sharp as the graphics in its current main competitor - Activision's Vigilante 8: Second Offense".[9] GameRevolution's Brian Chin also considered the game to be an improvement over Twisted Metal III and noted that the level design has improved from the previous installment, but cited some unsatisfactory levels and physics problems as negative points.[8] IGN's Marc Nix commented negatively on the "toy car" feel of the vehicles, but noted the "colorful" graphics and "well-done" interactive environments.[10] GamePro's Dan Amrich said the game would satisfy fans of the Twisted Metal series, highlighting the addition of more weapons, option to create custom cars and visual improvements, but noted that the increased speed occasionally made it difficult to spot enemies.[15]

The licensed heavy metal and hip hop soundtrack was positively received, with Nix liking some of the more bizarre selections.[10][11][12][15] Fielder and AllGame's Damien Thorpe regarded the soundtrack as fitting, with Fielder singling out the Rob Zombie remixes as the best selections, though he said that the music "doesn't really draw you in",[4][9] and Chin complained of the songs' implementation causing them to become repetitive.[8] George Ngo of GameFan expressed distaste for the Rob Zombie remixes, which he pointed out were holdovers from the previous game,[7] and Shaun Conlin of The Electric Playground was annoyed by the reappearance of "Dragula", which had garnered a pervasive presence in video game soundtracks.[5] Nix described the sound effects as muted but heavy and elaborated on the Dolby Pro Logic support's enhancements to the audio. However, he negatively compared the weak vehicle sounds to toy cars.[10] Thorpe dismissed the sound effects as bland and uninspired,[4] and Amrich was disappointed with their recycling from previous installments.[15]

References

  1. ↑ "Game Informer Magazine - News Story". Game Informer. 2000-05-24. http://www.gameinformer.com/news/news_story.cfm?NEWS_ID=222. Retrieved 2023-04-06. 
  2. ↑ "Twisted Metal 4 for PlayStation". GameSpot. http://www.gamespot.com/ps/action/twistedmetal4/similar.html?mode=versions. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Twisted Metal 4 for PlayStation". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. 2008. http://www.gamerankings.com/ps/199137-twisted-metal-4/index.html. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Thorpe, Damien (1999). "Twisted Metal 4 - Review". AllGame. All Media Network. http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=20452&tab=review. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Conlin, Shaun (1999). "Reviews: Twisted Metal 4". The Electric Playground. Elecplay.com Productions. http://www.elecplay.com/reviewfull_1819.html. 
  6. ↑ McNamara, Andrew; Anderson, Paul; Reiner, Andrew (January 2000). "PlayStation Review: Twisted Metal 4". Game Informer (Sunrise Publications) (81): 37. https://archive.org/details/game-informer-issue-81-january-2000/page/n40/mode/1up. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Rodriguez, Tyrone; Weitzner, Jason; Mylonas, Eric; Ngo, George (February 2000). "Viewpoint: Twisted Metal 4; PlayStation Reviews: Twisted Metal 4". GameFan (Shinno Media) 8 (2): 13, 27. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Chin, Brian (November 24, 1999). "Twisted Metal 4 - Playstation Review". GameRevolution. Net Revolution Inc.. http://www.game-revolution.com/games/sony/action/twisted_metal_4.htm. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Fielder, Joe (November 16, 1999). "Twisted Metal 4 Review for PlayStation". GameSpot. CNET Networks. http://www.gamespot.com/ps/action/twistedmetal4/review.html. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Nix, Marc (November 22, 1999). "Twisted Metal 4 review". IGN. Snowball.com. http://psx.ign.com/reviews/11680.html. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Kujawa, Kraig (January 2000). "Reviews: Twisted Metal 4". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (Ziff Davis) (28): 92. https://archive.org/details/official_u.s._playstation_magazine/Official%20U.S.%20PlayStation%20Magazine%20Issue%20028%20%28January%202000%29/page/n91/mode/1up. 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Reviews: Twisted Metal 4". PSM (Imagine Media) (29): 53. January 2000. https://archive.org/details/psm-029/page/n52/mode/1up. 
  13. ↑ Androvich, Mark (January 2000). "EXrated: Twisted Metal 4". PSExtreme (Dimension Publishing) 5 (2): 58. https://archive.org/details/psextreme-issue-50-january-2000/page/n57/mode/1up. 
  14. ↑ Davison, John (April 2001). "Twisted Metal: Black". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (43): 88. https://archive.org/details/official-us-playstation-magazine-issue-43-april-2001/page/88/mode/2up?view=theater. Retrieved 27 July 2025. 
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Amrich, Dan (January 2000). "PlayStation ProReviews: Twisted Metal 4". GamePro (IDG) (136): 84. https://retrocdn.net/index.php?title=File%3AGamePro_US_136.pdf&page=86. 
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This lengthy approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
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