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Twisted Metal Head-On has proven itself to be an ideal launch title. Showing off the possibilities of Sony’s miraculous little PSP, the game takes classic gameplay and firmly shoves it forward with style. The irreverent car combat series feels perfect in the palm of your hand, and still manages to entertain after all these years.

Twisted Driving

Fans of the earlier Twisted Metal games on the original PlayStation will be especially amused by Head-On. The game is much less Black and more in tune with the simple-to-get-into, lighter fare of the original, and everything about the game focuses on pure, frantic playability. The levels are full of jumps, contoured landscapes, blown-out buildings, and respawning power-ups. Controls are kept simple--pressing up is acceleration, down brakes, and the shoulder buttons are your main weapons.

The visuals are sharp and well animated. The overall look is quite good, if not overly done, although many of the textures look rather bland. There are plenty of nice fire and explosion effects to liven things up, however, and the widescreen of the PSP is put to excellent use here--you’ll have a better view of the Twisted Metal play fields than ever before. The sound effects are surprisingly effective, although the soundtrack is, for the most part, a rather uninspired mix of generic rock tunes.

If you’ve never played a Twisted Metal game, the concept is very basic. You and several other combatants, each in bizarre vehicles ranging from an ice cream truck and fork lift to a dune buggy, sports car, and motorcycle, enter an arena and battle it out to be the last car driving. Although the single-player game is excellent with the usual array of story and instant action modes, the ability to play online is what really gives Twisted Metal HO legs to run. You can play Twisted Metal matches online with up to five other players, and (depending upon your connection) it works remarkably well.

It’s Good to be Twisted

One of the best launch titles for the PSP, Twisted Metal Head-On takes the series back to its roots with excellent results. Fast, fun, and incredibly playable, it’s an ideal portable game. It looks sharp, and the inclusion of free Internet play is just what the system needs. If more PSP games come out with such an expansive array of on and off-line abilities, the system is sure to gain a foothold.