Twisted Metal series
No list of vehicular combat games would be complete, or even worthy of recognition, without its most famous and iconic progenitor – the Twisted Metal series. The first Twisted Metal game was a miraculous, strange, and alien form of video game that was radically different from the cartoony kart racing games that were generally the norm. Players were introduced to something completely new – an all-out carnage-filled demolition derby that was bloody, over-the-top, and features a hilariously straight-forward and B-rated plot.
The secret key to the franchise’s success was that it was undoubtedly self-aware of what they were creating, and the fact they embrace the games’ indelible absurdity makes for an all the more fun experience. In successive games, the bar was raised to outdo itself as if on a dare – very much like the development philosophy behind the Mortal Kombat series. For example, in Twisted Metal 2, how mindblowing was it when you discovered that you could collapse the Eiffel Tower into a makeshift bridge?
Similar to the bizarre, larger-than-life, crazed characters that populate the world of the Mad Max franchise (heck – characters like Max Rockatansky, Toecutter, Wez, Lord Humungus, Aunty Entity, Imperator Furiosa, Immortan Joe, or Nux could all easily be swapped into the world of Twisted Metal and would fit in) the soul of the Twisted Metal games lies within its wildly outlandish characters and their respective vehicles – characters as well in their own right.
Source: http://ryanodagawa.deviantart.com/art/Twisted-Metal-Head-On-Lineup-23634140
These characters would duel to the death with every form of weapon imaginable along with insane special attacks unique to each character. For example, early special attacks of the infamous ice cream truck killer clown, Sweet Tooth, involved hurling napalm cones at enemies. In later incarnations, such as Twisted Metal: Black, Sweet Tooth now had the special ability to transform into a towering, hulking behemoth called “Sweet Bot” that launches a salvo of homing missiles at his prey.
These displays of unrepentant acts of absurdity and carnage was what made the games so fun and iconic. Now, if we could only subtly drop a request to George Miller to include an homage to Sweet Tooth or Axel in the next Mad Max movie…