Twisted Metal: Black Online is a multiplayer-focused car combat shooter developed by Incognito Entertainment and released in 2002 for PlayStation 2, with later availability on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4. Originally distributed as a free bonus with the PlayStation 2 Network Adapter in the United States — and later bundled with the Greatest Hits edition of Twisted Metal: Black — the game carries over all 18 stages and the full vehicle roster from its parent title. Single-player story content and violent cinematics were stripped out to achieve a lower ESRB rating, leaving an experience built entirely around online competition. Four multiplayer modes are available: deathmatch, last man standing, collector, and manhunt, with optional power relic modifiers. At launch, matches supported up to four simultaneous players, but post-release server updates raised the broadband cap to eight. Chat functionality, absent at release, was later made accessible through a lobby screen code.
Black is on a mission for another person to locate and murder Calypso. However the person who sent him has never before been seen and it is never revealed why exactly he is carrying out this mission. According to the original Twisted Metal created in the year 1995, in TM:B the entire storyline is darker, and is referred to as an "alternate universe," in comparison to the other Twisted Metal games. As stated, it is because it is all in Needles Kane's head. But there is even more to TM:B. Black, the driver of Manslaughter, made an appearance in TM(1995), Darkside's driver Mr. Ash's "lost" ending. In that ending he wants his demon "black" back, which makes one believe Mr. Ash is Satan. When he gets Black back, Calypso gets very upset. This is because Black is sent on a mission to kill a darker, more evil Calypso in the "Black" universe.
