The result? Ehhhh...

The premise for Small Brawl is that Calypso, the character who sponsors every Twisted Metal tournament, and who's looked like everything from a hippy in purple velvet to Bruce Willis in 12 Monkeys, is now a schoolyard bully forcing kids in the neighborhood to participate in Twisted Metal. Or perhaps, it should be called "Twisted Plastic," because, since everyone's not quite within driving age, the battle is now carried out with remote control cars. Smaller scale, less-lethal weapons, and a generally more kid-friendly feel. Too bad the game still bagged a Teen rating. But that's the least of its problems...

The primary problem is, like a lot of other genres, car combat on the PS1 has peaked. It peaked with either Vigilante 8 or Twisted Metal 2, depending on who you ask. What that means for Small Brawl is that it would have to be really creative and unique to be of significant note. And if the fifty million Tony Hawk clones out there aren't big enougha clue, innovation and creativity are hard to come by in the games industry.

That's not to say that Twisted Metal: Small Brawl is bad, though. The title contains gameplay that has a very similar, albeit not exactly the same, feel as Twisted Metal 2, which already puts it over on 989 Studio's two attempts at the Twisted Metal series. The graphic style, in its shrunken form, is very amusing at times, with one level featuring a plumber (butt crack and all) bent under a sink trying to fix it. In fact, it could be argued that the title is a very strong entry considering its most contemporary competition on the PSone. The sound benefits from remixed versions of classic Twisted Metal. But have you noticed something about this paragraph?

The title, in essence, is not that far from a retread of Twisted Metal 2. And not exactly a great one either - it lacks the strong level design (no New York or Paris-esque levels!) and a lot of the new weapons just lack the slick feel of the old title. Perhaps Sony would've been better suited trying to stake out some new ground; perhaps not.

The bottom line is - the title is too little, too late. And though it's not horrible, it's not even worth glancing at if you have the option of picking up Twisted Metal: Black instead. But for those of you stuck with a PSone and feeling the itch for a bit of car carnage, give it a try; you may be pleasantly surprised.

· · · Riisuke