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Twisted Metal III is the third installment in the Twisted Metal series, and the first made by 989 Studios. It was released in 1998, and later re-released as a part of the PlayStation's Greatest Hits program. The game features several new characters as well as some returning favorites from Twisted Metal 2.

Story[]

Calypso: "I am Calypso. Each year, I gather the twelve worthiest drivers to face off in the Twisted Metal competition. They must face each other -- and some of my friends (Mr. Ash, Minion and Primeval) -- to claim the ultimate prize. I grant a single wish; whatever the winner asks for. To the losers? DEATH! Welcome to Twisted Metal!"

Contestants[]

Returning Contestants[]

VehicleDriver(s)Description
Axel Axel Was disfigured when he freed himself from his vehicle, and now wants to be part of it.
Mr. Grimm Mr. Grimm Wants to capture the soul of Calypso.
Hammerhead Granny Dread An elderly woman who wants some peace.
Outlaw Jamie and Buzz RobertsTwo cops looking to shut down the Twisted Metal tournament.
Roadkill Marcus Kane Homeless man who believes he has the right to win.
Spectre Lance Wilder A ladies' man who wants fame.
Thumper Bruce Cochrane Wants to be with his homies.
Warthog Captain Rogers Wants a head to match his 20-year old body that he won in Twisted Metal 2.

New Contestants[]

VehicleDriver(s)Description
Auger Buster Cobb A construction worker that wants people to see his inner child.
Club Kid Club Kid Wants to party all night long.
Firestarter Damien Coles Wants to have a open barbecue with all of his friends.
Flower Power Amber Rose Wants to stop those endangering the world.

Boss/Unlockable Contestants[]

VehicleDriver(s)Description
Sweet Tooth Needles Kane A clown who wants to eat all the candy he wants. Can be unlocked by completing the Tournament once or via a code.
Darkside Mr. Ash Boss of Washington level. Can't be unlocked with normal means, but is playable with Cheat device.
Minion Minion Boss of London level. Can be unlocked via a code or Cheat device.
Primeval PrimevalFinal Boss and Guardian of the Blimp level. Can't be unlocked with normal means, but is playable with a Cheat device.

Game Modes[]

Single Player[]

Multi-Player[]

Battlegrounds[]

Intro Cutscene[]

Twisted_Metal_III_Introduction

Twisted Metal III Introduction

Trivia[]

  • TMIII was met with a lukewarm reception from critics, many of whom felt it was an "old hat" and did "little to innovate" or build upon the franchise. It has received the aggregate score of 48.97% from GameRankings and 4.7/10 from GameSpot. The fan site Twisted Metal Alliance protested against 989 studios.
    • Many Twisted Metal fans consider this game to be the worst in the franchise, primarily because of disapproving character redesigns and a clunky unrefined gameplay engine which many saw as inferior to TM2's engine, due to the fact 989 Studios did not have access to the game engines used to make the previous titles.
    • Interestingly, although this is considered to be the worst in the franchise, TMIII had still sold enough copies to gain the "Greatest Hits" distinction.
    • Unlike the first two titles, Twisted Metal III was not released outside of North America, nor was it digitally ported to Sony's Playstation Network due to licensing issues with the game's music.
  • This game marks Darkside's first, and (so far), last, appearance as a boss character.
  • This was the first game in the series to introduce a 4-player Deathmatch mode.
  • Unlike Twisted Metal 2 which presented Outlaw as the uncontested winner of the previous title, Twisted Metal III strangely presents several returning participants as having won the previous tournament.
    • Outlaw is driven by both Jamie and Buzz (formally Carl) Roberts, implying Jaimie's wish to rescue her brother from space succeeded.
    • Warthog is once again driven by Capt. Rogers, who wants to wish for a younger head to match the youthful body he received from winning the previous Twisted Metal tournament due to Calypso taking his wish literally.
    • Axel is said to have returned after freeing himself from his vehicle, which he only succeeded in after winning the previous tournament and wishing for the courage to confront his father.
  • Several continuity errors within the Twisted Metal storyline exist because of the events in this game. A good example of this is character ages. TMIII only takes place two years after the events of TM2, but some characters aged more than just two years, including Jamie Roberts, the driver of Outlaw, as an example. These errors were most likely just developer oversights by 989 Studios. However, since the game is considered non-canon with the rest of the series, these errors should be considered null.
    • Here are some examples of continuity errors this game brings about:
    1. Captain Rogers, the driver of Warthog, only aged two years after TM2. Jamie Roberts, the driver of Outlaw, on the other hand, aged five years.
    2. Axel appears in this game, despite tearing his arms free from his vehicle and becoming disfigured. It is possible that he managed to acquire prosthetics, but the game simply states that he climbed back into his machine. In his ending, his arms and feet are shown to be in perfect condition, as if the events of his TM2 ending never occured.
    3. Needles Kane is not a serial killer; he is instead a psychotic clown who is obsessed with candy and ice cream.
    4. Minion is no longer interested in getting revenge on Calypso for stealing his powers.
    5. Marcus Kane's storyline, although not yet fully developed, displays him as simply a crazy homeless man and not as someone who wishes to end his nightmares of the Twisted Metal tournaments.
    6. Darkside's driver is Mr. Ash, as shown in the TMIII manual. The picture doesn't show him as, "Mr. Ash does not reflect light so he can't be photographed." This makes little sense as Mr. Ash never had an alliance with Calypso, in fact the last time they saw each other was when Mr. Ash took Black back from Calypso and even then that was non canonical.
  • This was the second game in the series to offer a first-person view, the first being Twisted Metal (1995). However, the first-person view in this game does not display the interior of the vehicle and instead only has the camera placed directly in front of the vehicle.
  • This game introduced many new weapons, such as the Mortar and the Speed Missiles, which only appeared again in TM4.
  • This is one of the only two games in the series in which Calypso is not outsmarted by any of the winning contestants.
  • This was the first, and so far only, game to introduce the regeneration concept in gameplay, in which computerized opponents respawn after being killed.
  • All characters, upon death, scream with the same voice, despite the gender of the driver. This would also be the case in TM4.
  • This is the only game in the series in which opponents create damaging explosions upon death. To add, this is the only game where a player can be killed from the explosion of a dying opponent.
  • This is the first game in the series to include licensed music in-game instead of original music. This concept would later be applied to TM4 and Twisted Metal (2012).
  • 989 studios put two text boxes in the TMIII manual; one for Darkside, and one for Primeval. Darkside's was to inform the reader why Mr. Ash didn't have a picture. It read, "Mr. Ash does not reflect light so he can't be photographed." The other was for Primeval. (because he didn't have a picture) It read, "Photo not available; Primeval was busy tormenting souls when photos were taken."
  • This is the first of only two games in the series to feature character biographies with voices (The second being TM4).
  • This is the third out of the four games in the series to feature the Password screen.
  • In a scene in the 1999 comedy film Big Daddy, the character Julian "Frankenstein" McGrath is playing TMIII as Sweet Tooth.
  • Footage of an early version of the game shows two vehicles that were discarded in the final version; a delivery van named "Postal" and a BMW M3, with the same model as the first medium-sized car from Twisted Metal 4's Create Car.
    • The footage also shows a scrapped level: San Francisco.

​See Also[]

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