Well as a consumer and gamer I ultimate want to purchase a game that has the most replay value. Multiplayer adds to that value, but also the depth of a game can add even more if done correctly. When a game has depth, naturally that means the game has multiple layers and thus multiple combinations of how you can go about experiencing a game. So naturally you would want to buy a game that gives you the most bang for your buck.
For example, a multiplayer game that has a lot of depth possibly means that in combat you have a large variety of ways to combat your enemies as well as possibly countering their attacks. I am by no means a expert on the fighter genre. But Tekken 6 has to have the most depth then any other fighting game I have played this generation. There is just so much depth there and such a large cast of characters as well as customization I can imagine anyone who buys this game will have hours upon countless hours on replay value.
On the opposite spectrum take Uncharted. The game is oozing with quality, but when it comes to combat there is not much depth there. I played Uncharted 2 online, but I really could not play it ours on end because I would just get burnt out on how shallow the combat was. Uncharted is not the only culprit here, but this is just an example.
Twisted Metal has a lot of depth. You have Vehicle which each one has a different speed,armor,handling,hitpoints,special. Then you have different weapons that can serve multiple purposes on top of your energy bar. Then you have shit like level design, does it have special properties? Does it have environmental hazards (like lava)? Does the layout of the map change in real time? I don't mean to sound redundant and I am sure you have experienced the depth yourself. But when you see all the possibilities and variety that is available to you. You eventually realize just how deep this game really is.
Now lets talk about difficulty. I myself at first was having trouble with the control scheme. Mainly because every game that involved driving/racing cars was either R2/L2 or X/[ ] and then O for E brake. After getting the hang of the controls I realized how smooth the transitions were and how much sense the layout made overall. I don't find myself accidentally smashing the wrong button nor do I find myself having trouble shooting while turning and boosting. So I am sure Eat,Sleep,Play went through a lot of trial and error to find the most fluid control scheme.
I can also understand players being turned off by a game being too difficult, but lets be honest. This generation of gaming has to be the most accessible and easiest to date. Casual gamers are the main culprit, but if they are not capable of owning shit within the first 2 minutes of their gamely experienced they automatically want to trade it back in (Of course this is the most extreme of cases). I think a game like Demon Souls, Dark Souls was so well received because even though it was hard, that difficulty made victory so much sweeter. Most games really lack in providing the player with a elaborate challenge, and so when they beat the game it really ends up feeling like a hollow experience.
From personal experienced I cannot tell you how badass I felt when I would beat a game like God of War/Devil May Cry on the hardest difficultly. I was countering every attack on top of building up a big combo and I felt like I was the shit. And very few games really offer that kind of adrenaline rush. With most modern games today the height of success is hiding behind cover to regenerate your health or dropping a grenade when you die to get a free kill. I may be coming off as a dick, but I am exhausted of players thinking they are good because they accomplish a achievement that the game just hands to you on a silver platter.
I understand that money talks and Publishers/Developers want to reach the highest common denominator. But in the process a game gets created that is so diluted and watered down that lacks its own identity that you end up playing a 1-dimensional game that is ultimately hollow and unsatisfying. It is like Wal-Mart trying to be the end all be all the one stop shop, but ultimately lack the specific item you want to acquire.
If Twisted Metal does not do well it will be because a majority of gamers want a easy accessible game that showers you with praise and worship for accomplishing the most mundane and simplistic task that are not even remotely challenging. Stuff like Call of Duty do well because of this said strategy. They throw big ass numbers in your face as well as "HEADSHOT" making you think your such a over achiever. David Jaffe has already stated several times that this is the best Twisted Metal they have ever done. And if you do not like Twisted Metal the way it is. Then there really isn't much else to say. They have play tested the shit out of this game to make it as fun and as balanced as possible. So if people lost interest, then they just don't like it. But that does not mean Twisted Metal is less of a game.
Games like Unreal Tournament and Quake had no such thing as experience points or leveling/perks. You would spawn, and it was up to you to find the weapon pickups/health/armor. Everyone was on a even playing field. When you nailed someone with a nasty shock combo or when you nailed someone with a mid-air rocket the kill itself was more glorifying then any experience points earned could ever be. Twisted Metal is harkening back to where the kill possessed all the glory itself. Imagine how insane it would be if you nailed Talon mid-air with a flaming chainsaw? Or doing donuts around someone with Crimson Fury as they are incinerated from the flamethrower? Such a grizzly satisfying and glorious moment is rarely experienced in this generation of console games.
It may be difficult to grasp and even more difficult to master. But when you do the taste of Victory is so overwhelming you will find it hard to recreate that feeling elsewhere.
I know this is just my opinion and is probably incoherent ranting to some people. But there it is. WALL OF TEXT.
