Thrust, Twist N' Turn commits you to a white knuckle of a rollercoaster ride at breath taking speeds. T.T.T. offers you a unique driving experience where you have to drive at blinding speeds through insanely deformed tracks, round stomach-turning loops and death-defying jumps, all set on a beautiful futuristic scenario with groundbreaking 3D effects never before seen in a computer game.
Includes:
- Practice tracks to ease you into the loops of death!
- Progressive game structure - the more you win more tracks become available.
- Survive on 16 manic death-defying tracks which would lead to certain death in real life!
- T.T.T. has four levels of play Arcade, Championships, Time Trial and Multiplayer modes.
~ from the back of the box
Everyone wanted to cash in on the uber-cool popularity of WipEout at the turn of the millennium. Even small developers got a stab at it. Carts Entertainment, a short-lived Finnish developer whose members would eventually form Bugbear Entertainment and create the Flatout series, got a stab at it with Thrust, Twist + Turn in 1999. It would be their only commercially released game, but those in its native country would've likely seen their work on the gamer-centric Moon TV channel. It's one thing to create interactive phone-in games for a TV show, quite another to compete with WipEout in the PC gaming market.
Thrust, Twist + Turn, or TTT as it would also be known as, was published by Take-Two Interactive during a time when they were stepping up their ambition, almost doubling the number of games released from the previous year. Perhaps this is why TT feels so rushed and unpolished, despite some obvious flashes on inspiration in there.
More so than anything else in the game, the selling point of TTT is in the track design. Like the name suggests, they twist and turn all over the place like a rollercoaster more than a highway. Roads bend 90 degrees, bank wildly in any direction or even do a loop-the-loop. Evidently, this was before Flatout so it was quite a sight to behold, but it does mark the game's biggest flaw. The track is suspended in mid-air with nothing to stop you careening off the edge other than your own skill. Sometimes, the bumps on the road or a nefariously timed collision can send you plummeting in an inescapable freefall. Sometimes it feels more like luck than skill if you manage to stay on the road.
When you factor in the need for speed, falling is even more inevitable. You have a boost button that is necessary should you wish to pass one of the three opponents. They have some of the most egregious rubber-banding programmed into them so you will not be able to escape their aggressive onslaught. On the flip side, if you get stuck on some geometry, they will patiently wait for you to catch up. Sometimes that's preferable as they'll be easier to pass.
You only have four cars to choose from, each assigned its own difficulty that matches its speed to handling ratio. Whatever you don't choose will be the AI controlled opponents. In truth, their differences are subtle with newbies not having too much trouble with any of them on the opening City tack. By the time you get to the suspended paths of spaghetti of the Clouds course, or the narrow underground arteries of the Cave course, you're gonna need grip more than speed.
While certainly difficult and frustrating at times, the tracks are all at least entertaining to drive through. There are 16 in total, but half of them are just the previous half in reverse (though you can tell they were each designed to be played forwards, being almost impossible otherwise). For the most part, they are good looking for the time, particularly in the futuristic jaunt through Egypt's pyramids or diving under the ocean in the rain-drenched Stormy stage. They are inventive enough to not be out of place if transported into an F-Zero or Fast Racing game. Alas, as they are here using the limited 3DGE engine which, with the exception of a single Western-themed strategy game, seemed to be reserved solely for low-budget racers. It can't handle the ambition of TTT, as the car stutters around the more complex geometry of loops and banks.
If there is one thing I can categorically praise the game for, it's in its soundtrack. All 8 music tracks - four apiece by Charlie Clarke and Raina, and Wonderland.WAV - take you back to that late 90s clubbing scene I was too young (and too alternative) to be a part of. I can't find much info about either of them - for all I know this could be their only musical output - but they do a good job keeping you pumped during each race.
If there's any label you can ascribe to Thrust, Twist + Turn, it won't be any of the verbs in the title. I'd call it Rushed, because I suspect that's what the development team were. Gameplay and bugs needs some ironing out, the presentation requires more personality and pizazz, and the amount of content needs amping up a little bit. I would even hazard a guess that additional vehicles and alternative routes were actually planned at one point. You can see the potential for side roads in some of the level design, particularly in City and Egypt. Alas, what we have is entertaining enough for a half-hour or so but ultimately entirely forgettable.
Thrust, Twist + Turn, or TTT as it would also be known as, was published by Take-Two Interactive during a time when they were stepping up their ambition, almost doubling the number of games released from the previous year. Perhaps this is why TT feels so rushed and unpolished, despite some obvious flashes on inspiration in there.
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In keeping with its title, the tracks twist and turn, though the camera does not with it (left).
Trying to keep you car on track while upside down is a difficult task (right).
More so than anything else in the game, the selling point of TTT is in the track design. Like the name suggests, they twist and turn all over the place like a rollercoaster more than a highway. Roads bend 90 degrees, bank wildly in any direction or even do a loop-the-loop. Evidently, this was before Flatout so it was quite a sight to behold, but it does mark the game's biggest flaw. The track is suspended in mid-air with nothing to stop you careening off the edge other than your own skill. Sometimes, the bumps on the road or a nefariously timed collision can send you plummeting in an inescapable freefall. Sometimes it feels more like luck than skill if you manage to stay on the road.
When you factor in the need for speed, falling is even more inevitable. You have a boost button that is necessary should you wish to pass one of the three opponents. They have some of the most egregious rubber-banding programmed into them so you will not be able to escape their aggressive onslaught. On the flip side, if you get stuck on some geometry, they will patiently wait for you to catch up. Sometimes that's preferable as they'll be easier to pass.
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Egypt during the day (left) and at night (right).
The two tracks are proof that the reversed Shadow Arcade Championship wasn't playtested properly.
You only have four cars to choose from, each assigned its own difficulty that matches its speed to handling ratio. Whatever you don't choose will be the AI controlled opponents. In truth, their differences are subtle with newbies not having too much trouble with any of them on the opening City tack. By the time you get to the suspended paths of spaghetti of the Clouds course, or the narrow underground arteries of the Cave course, you're gonna need grip more than speed.
While certainly difficult and frustrating at times, the tracks are all at least entertaining to drive through. There are 16 in total, but half of them are just the previous half in reverse (though you can tell they were each designed to be played forwards, being almost impossible otherwise). For the most part, they are good looking for the time, particularly in the futuristic jaunt through Egypt's pyramids or diving under the ocean in the rain-drenched Stormy stage. They are inventive enough to not be out of place if transported into an F-Zero or Fast Racing game. Alas, as they are here using the limited 3DGE engine which, with the exception of a single Western-themed strategy game, seemed to be reserved solely for low-budget racers. It can't handle the ambition of TTT, as the car stutters around the more complex geometry of loops and banks.
 |
 |
A cheat will replace one of the cars with a limousine (left).
It won't stop you from falling off the track in explosive fashion (right).
If there is one thing I can categorically praise the game for, it's in its soundtrack. All 8 music tracks - four apiece by Charlie Clarke and Raina, and Wonderland.WAV - take you back to that late 90s clubbing scene I was too young (and too alternative) to be a part of. I can't find much info about either of them - for all I know this could be their only musical output - but they do a good job keeping you pumped during each race.
If there's any label you can ascribe to Thrust, Twist + Turn, it won't be any of the verbs in the title. I'd call it Rushed, because I suspect that's what the development team were. Gameplay and bugs needs some ironing out, the presentation requires more personality and pizazz, and the amount of content needs amping up a little bit. I would even hazard a guess that additional vehicles and alternative routes were actually planned at one point. You can see the potential for side roads in some of the level design, particularly in City and Egypt. Alas, what we have is entertaining enough for a half-hour or so but ultimately entirely forgettable.
To download the PC game, follow the link below. This custom installer exclusive to The Collection Chamber uses dgVoodoo to run on modern systems with with OGG-WinMM, for CD Audio emulation. MP3 Soundtrack available as a separate download. Read the ChamberNotes.txt for more detailed information. Tested on Windows 10.
File Size: 107 Mb. Install Size: 161 Mb. Need help? Consult the Collection Chamber FAQ
Download
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Thrust, Twist + Turn is © Carts Entertainment Oy, Ltd
Review, Cover Design and Installer created by me
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