During an E3 demo this morning, David Jaffe revealed a number of vehicle-specific abilities that will be available in the new "Twisted Metal". If you're interested in crushing your enemy by flinging a taxi at them, you're in luck.
The demo took place in the game's Nuke mode, which is the same rundown city setting showcased during the Sony press conference on Tuesday. Essentially, each faction has a giant statue of their faction leader -- Sweet Tooth and Dollface respectively -- floating around the game's level. Players attempt to grab the opposing team's faction leader by dragging them with their vehicle to a missile launcher. Once there, if the player is able to keep the leader in the defined area long enough, the leader is "sacrificed" and a missile is launched at the enemy statue. Blast the statue enough, your faction wins.
Jaffe stated early in the demo that Eat. Sleep. Play. wants every vehicle in the game "to feel like a character". Staying true to the franchise, each vehicle has specific special abilities.
The first vehicle shown was a full size car with the ability to use a giant magnet on enemies. Turn the magnet on, and an enemy vehicle will latch onto the front bumper. The player can then either slam their new passenger into a wall for triple damage using the Six-Axis or launch the vehicle end over end across the map.
Secondly, Jaffe showed off an exterminator truck nicknamed "Vermin". The truck has the ability to launch a "rat rocket" -- literally a missile with a giant rat head on it -- which is fully controllable by the player.
After showing the helicopter, which was shown during the press conference, Jaffe brought out the tow truck. The tow truck spawns with a taxi being dragged behind it and at the drop of a button, taxis can be hurled across the map in great succession. Ridiculous looking as it may be, the mechanic appears really satisfying. Furthermore, the tow truck is able to drop health packs for fellow faction members.
Jaffe then demonstrated how the chainsaw-wielding motorcycle can actually inflict fire damage. Dragging the chainsaw on the ground, sparks flying, eventually leads to a chainsaw that gets fiery hot. I'm assuming this will require a rather close-quarters combat approach, however.
Lastly, and probably my favorite, was the ambulance. Sure, an ambulance sounds kind of plain, but what about an ambulance that actually shoots its patient, on a stretcher, at the enemy? It should be noted that the stretcher's direction can be controlled by the player -- and that the poor old guy who's forced to go along for the ride has what appears to be dynamite strapped to him.
The vehicles are in addition to 8 returning vehicle characters from the series.