Could've been good.
User Rating: 4.5 | Twisted Metal III PS
As a child, having played the previous games in the series, I thought this would be the same as TM2 but even better. So I told my parents I wanted it for Christmas, and once I got ahold of it I played it for hours on end, even though I realized how different it was from TM2. It's only recently that I realized how terrible this game is. I just don't know what 989 studios was thinking when they made this, even by 1998 standards this game looked, felt, and sounded obsolete. While Twisted Metal 2 was fast-paced, fluid and fun, Twisted Metal 3 managed to be the opposite. The framerate is choppy, the level design is uninspired and drab, the cars feel slow and handle like top-heavy cement trucks, the sound is muddled and usually consists of sped-up SFX from the previous game, the character bios are woefully cheesy and stupid, as are the poorly animated CG cutscenes. The worst thing about this game has to be the physics engine, which is absolutely atrocious and not the least bit realistic. As a result of this, vehicles understeer like crazy and flip over with the slightest nudge, and you will often find yourself stuck vertically on a wall or clipped to a ledge, unable to move. This was the killing blow for Twisted Metal 3, sucking all the fun out of what could have been a decent game. The best thing about TM3 has to be soundtrack, which fits the subject matter very well. The final stage probably has the coolest, and most fitting song of the entire game, but that's it really. I liked it back in the day, but now that I've played it as an adult, all I have to say is that this game was just a very weak attempt at capitalizing on a great series and just doesn't have a lot going for it. 4.5/10 because I enjoyed it as a kid and at least 989 Studios TRIED to do something different with their game design, it's just too bad that "different" doesn't always mean "better". 
