Twisted Metal is a storied franchise going back to the original Playstation. The formula for success was simple – “create compelling game play and stories that would allow the user to identify with the character.” The new installment of the series drifts far away from this concept choosing to focus on three of the main characters from the series; Sweet Tooth, Mr. Grimm, and Dollface. If your main purpose for buying this game is to see the twisted ending for each character in the game, I can save you the trouble and tell you not to waste your cash. Rent it and beat it in a weekend.

The new twist in twisted metal is that you can choose any of the cars to play as while you are moving through your single player adventure. This adds an element of game play that is not seen in previous installments. However, since there are no other characters that you play through, the cars themselves become the personalities rather than the driver. All of the cars you have come to know and love are there though.

Player each progress through 6 different stages featuring different levels of difficulty and game mode types. The ending being a large boss battle. The large boss battles are really where things shine and become creative. No spoilers here so you just have to play the game, but the boss battles are well worth it.

The three prong approach to the story portion starts off well with Sweet Tooth as the main character and the story is compelling. However, things fall flat after this. Mr. Grimms story was an older story reused from Twisted Metal: Black with the same outcome and the Dollface story is contrived that the player can tell that single player was an after thought in the creation of this game.

The single player game overall takes around 2 – 4 hours to complete and can only be summed up with the word “disappointed.” As a fan of the series I felt the developer put too much emphasis on the multi-player game and not enough on what Gamer’s actually purchase this series for.

The controls for the single player game are hard to get use to right out of the gate. Using the training area will help the player get comfortable with the controls. Once the player has the controls down head out into the arena and start your adventure.

The game`s creators once again did not spend too much time in the single player mode as evidence by the enemy AI. Pretty much the player can expect to spend most of their time fighting all of the enemies instead of the enemies fighting an equal amount among themselves. The enemies despite being in a contest to try and destroy the other cars in the group will spend all their energy on the players car.
The second glaring issue in the single player is the special non-equipped weapons such as the vehicle freeze which is just a reusable special all cars get. When the enemy AI is focused on one goal, kill the player, you can expect this to be used over and over and over again.

The enemies are too dumb too pick up health and even when they pick it up it does not effect them. The weapons and health are pretty much there for the players benefit. Only in the multi-player universe will see another car racing for a weapons.

Over all this is one of the most disappointing installments in the franchise. I cannot stress enough to rent this game first and buy second. Over all this game ranks a 10 out of 25 for simply the multi-player portion which I did not cover. Buy or rent the game and have fun with your friends if you are looking for a car combat appetizer, but just know that there is not a whole meal here.

eBay is also a great way to make money from what you may think is trash. I’ve used eBay to sell a burned out power supply, a worn out wallet and some old luggage, all items I may have just thrown away.

I never deceive customers or misrepresent the items, in fact I do the opposite, I go overboard to describe and depict the items and their flaws and damage in detail, and I am able to list them on eBay as to be exposed to the widest audience possible. With the millions and millions of people on eBay in the US and around the world, there really is someone out there searching for whatever you might have to sell.

eBay is like a garage sale open to the world. The old luggage set I was selling went to store owner in Belgium who wanted them as a window display. The old ripped Louis Vuitton wallet went to a craftsman in Paris who specializes in restoring and selling vintage Louis Vuitton products.

This whole concept was really brought home to me about two years ago when the power supply burned out on my HP desktop computer, the same computer I’m writing on right now. After about two years of faithful service, I suddenly smelled the acrid odor of burning electrical stuff in my office. I sniffed and traced it to the computer, which now would not turn on and had a small black soot mark where one wire entered the power supply unit. I checked online and most information pointed to a bad power supply. I located a brand new unit on eBay, which cost about $100. I bought it, replaced the bad unit with the new unit and was up and running again.

Just to see what would happen, I listed my burned out, used power supply on eBay, clearly indicating it was burned out and not functioning. Bidding was brisk and I sold the unit for $70. Turns out the power supply was only made for a limited time by HP and the connectors are rare, not made anymore and needed for many applications. People didn’t really need the whole power supply, just the plastic connectors.

This burned out, useless (to me) power supply, something I was about to throw away without thinking twice, was worth almost as much as the new unit I bought.

eBay is also a great place to sell old clothes. Not old clothes, “vintage fashions”. It’s all how you label the items in the title and description.Vintage clothing is a big business and trendy stores in Los Angeles and New York take old, unwanted clothing. You may have old clothing at home, if you list the items correctly, you can reach this hipster audience, and charge them hipster prices.

You may be surprised at what old blue jeans, cowboy boots or accessories may bring. Also designer clothes from any era, also may bring top dollar if listed correctly.

I found a great product for when I am traveling. It is Samy Fast Style Styling Mist gel amp; hairspray all in one. I purchased the small can, net weight 1.75 ounce (50 g) (50 ml) at Walgreen’s drugstore for just $1.29.

The can looks a silver color with a light blue label on it, but in actual fact the blue is part of the can. It has a silver color bottom, and near the top of the can. It has a white spray button, and a blue plastic cap, that pulls off.

What attracted me to this product is the fact that it is a styling gel/mist product, as well as a hairspray. It is also small enough to be put in a quart size Ziploc bag, and go as carry on luggage when flying.

What Samy state about their product:

“Designed with the styling flexibility of a gel together with the volume and hold of a hairspray. This ultra fast drying formula leaves hair soft and manageable with incredible shine, body, and lift. Perfect for quick restyling on any hair length or texture.”

I flew to visit friends and took the Samy Fast Style Styling Mist with me. When I arrived at the airport, I went into the ladies room and checked my hair. Where I had been using earphones, I had a flat area of hair. I got my teasing comb out. I sprayed the Samy Styling Mist and sprayed it on this area. I then took the pick end of my comb and lifted my hair away from my head.

My hair lifted really easily and I was able to restyle it, the way it had been, before flying. I used the bathroom and then went back to the mirror. I felt my hair and it was firm. It wasn’t hard but didn’t move.

As we were only gone for a long weekend, I used my styling mist for the weekend. It eliminated me having to buy a hairspray, as it did two jobs in one.

On the bottle the directions are:

“For wet hair, towel dry, spray 10-12 inches from hair. Blow dry and style. For dry hair spray throughly and style. For maximum volume and hold, flip head and spray hair at roots. Can be reapplied as desired.”

I don’t think that this would be my regular gel/spray, but for traveling I think it is a winner. I like my hair to hold really well, so after washing my hair, I use a gel, blow dry my hair, curl it, tease it, style it, and then use a lot of hairspray. I spend a considerable amount of time putting my hair into a French pleat so I want it to stay in place.