Posted on July 24, 2011, David Moss Comic-Con 2011: David Jaffe Talks Twisted Metal with Fans

The Comic Con Twisted Metal panel got off to a slightly awkward start. David Jaffe tried to play a video from the upcoming Twisted Metal game and couldn’t seem to get the sound working. After trying unsuccessfully to bring the sound up, Jaffe threw up his hands and exclaimed: “Damn Hackers again!” as laughter erupted from the Comic-Con audience.

With the sound issue fixed, fans were treated to a previously unseen live action sequence entitled “The Fate of Sweet Tooth the Clown.” Apparently, Sweet Tooth’s motivation in the latest TM installment will be to find and kill “the one that got away.” The movie was stylish and gritty, capturing the spirit of the game perfectly. However, parts of it are not exactly suitable for a younger audience and Jaffe confirmed that the game will have an “M” rating. I caught up with Jaffe after the panel and asked him when the movie would be available online and he replied: “when I’m happy with it.” If he really is unhappy with it, he’s the only one. The crowd at Comic-Con, myself included, were thoroughly impressed.

After the movie Jaffe turned on God mode and tooled around a few of the beautifully detailed levels. He blew the head off the Statue of Liberty and knocked it around New York like a soccer ball. He showed off environmental hazards such as lava pits, lightening strikes and spiked ceilings that crush cars unfortunate enough to get caught under them. He also demonstrated how to get health and weapon power ups by running down specially marked pedestrians as they flee for their lives. There’s also a new feature that will allow you to swap cars mid-game in multiplayer mode by pulling them into a garage, an ability not seen in previous versions of the game.

The new Twisted Metal game rightfully has fans excited, but when asked about beta testing Jaffe told the audience that the beta would be “private or semi-private.” It looks like the vast majority of fans will have to wait for the game’s release to play it. There was also a rather cryptic reference to a possible Twisted Metal movie when Jaffe mentioned that “two well known movie producers currently have the rights to make a Twisted Metal feature film.” Perhaps a full length movie will provide us with the type of automobile carnage that never materialized during the overhyped Carmageddon.