The makers of bond are back (Time Splitters (PS2))

Member Name: Ghostfacekilla

Product:	Time Splitters (PS2)
Date:	19/02/01 (109 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fantastic detail and story

Disadvantages: Too many Controls

This is the game that the Playstation 2 was worth buying for. The makers from Bond are back with this all new 4D shoot ‘em up. The fourth dimension is time; experience this change in this exciting new game for the PS2. Who’d of thought of basing a game on time? Once you have played this superb game you will know why, travel back and forward in time conquering each level as it comes, work on your own or attack as a pair, complete the objective set and return to the time portal.

The game itself is fantastic. The story mode is a mission based game mode, which allows you to play different characters in different locations spanning a century from 1935 to 2035. When I first looked at the game I was disappointed as it only had three levels but more and more appear as you complete each level, which is good, as you don’t know where you are going next it is all a surprise. Firstly you start with three missions, when you have completed all three another three appear and so on. In each mission there is a choice of two characters, which you can be, a male and a female.

The arcade mode is compares well to goldeneye except for weapons and enemies. You can go head to head against friends in a four-player multiplayer or go co-operatively. The four-player multiplayer is just what the ps2 needed as its opening games lacked a good 4 player shoot ‘em up. This great multiplayer option allows you to battle it out with friends and have a good laugh at the same time. The arcade options are, Deathmatch this is really great and brutal, kill as many combatants as possible without getting killed yourself, the player or team with the highest score at the end wins. Bagtag its quite a good laugh when playing with mates but is a little repetitive basically you have to obtain the bag and keep it for as long as possible, you can guess how you win… Capture the bag, this game is great fun, a gimmick of capture the flag consists of two teams trying to capt
ure each others’ flag, this game is great fun playing two verses two. There are a few more exciting games in arcade mode but I don’t want to spoil the game for any potential buyers!!! There are obviously things to adjust like time, score method, score limit and handicap etc…. You can also add bots to fight against so if you are bored at home and all your mates are out you can take on a few bots. It may not be as much fun but is still quite exciting and you can practice at the same time.

The third and final main menu option is challenge mode. This can only be unlocked when all the story missions are completed in easy. This is great as it allows you to quickly get into a fight. That is if you don’t want bots and are happy with the pre-set weapons, which I’d prefer to change. The challenge levels are interesting and good fun but still extremely challenging.

When you are either in a mission or challenge there is an easy accessible gauges on the screen, they are well lit and easy to see. There is an Armour gauge, which fills up as you collect body Armour but empties as you get hit. A health gauge which is pretty self-explanatory, an ammo gauge in cartridge and how many cartridges you have in total, and a few other including rank.

The controls are pre-set from the start but you may want to edit them, as they are a bit complicated. I think there is too many controls to cope with for a fast shoot ‘em up. You have for example primary fire and secondary fire which is good as different guns can do more than one thing but can get a bit annoying, like say you are facing a wall, you have a gun with primary fire which fires normal shot and a secondary fire with fires grenades then your are done for. There are also a lot of other controls to deal with and my opinion is that it is too much. There are some good points like crouching and auto aim as well to look at so don’t think it is all bad, I mean the more contr
ols the more options.

The in game menu for this game is great it has all the options you need from, edit controls to mission briefing to quitting the game. I don’t particularly like games where you have to restart near the beginning for example and it then takes a while to load up again, but on this game the reaction to the menu options is great, it is quick slick and sharp. The in game menu is different for each mode due to the fact that it list kills in arcade and challenge for example.

When I heard this game had a mapmaker I didn’t believe it, the thought of being able to create your own map is fantastic. The mapmaker itself is easy to use however if you really want to create a good map a lot of time and care is needed to perfect it. The controls for it are easy to use, they are clearly marked and the options for building things are easy too. You can choose between tile, item and light. The whole thing is based on a placement grid so everything is clearly labeled and easy to see. There are various other options you can add towards your map e.g. lighting, the effect of lighting and previewing your map however far through it you are. The down side to this has to be the fact that creating even a half decent map will take a lot of time and effort. Whereas most people only want to play the game, good thinking though!!!!!!!

The graphics on this game are unreal; the detail gone into the enemies, both men and skeletons are superb, the detail, which has gone into the levels and personal characters, is also brilliant. The effect some weapons have on enemies makes you crack up with laughter. The overall graphics and detail for this game I would say are unbelievable.

The overall effect this game has had on me is that I want to complete more of the missions. I have had lots of fun already with friends playing on the multiplayer and will definitely spend a lot more time on this game, the multiplayer options are the best for any
PS2 game so far, the storyline is different and cool and the overall detail put into the game is phenomenal, I would recommend it to a friend and give it 9/10.

When’s the next game coming out eidos?

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