"This game deserves all the recognition it gets" (Time Splitters (PS2))

Member Name: ps2update

Product:	Time Splitters (PS2)
Date:	16/02/02 (46 review reads)
Rating:

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TimeSplitters? Yes that’s it. No numbers, no year, no expensive endorsement and very much an unrecognized game. Simply because a game is new and fresh doesn’t mean it won’t make the grade. New PlayStation, new games, new original fresh ideas, so are you ready for something new?

Free Radical Design have developed TimeSplitters as their first game on any console anywhere. However, the companies experience is not as short lived as that of its name. The employees of Free Radical Design are experts of the great art of console games and in particular first person shooters. Many of them were involved with either GoldenEye or Perfect Dark on the Nintendo 64.These 2 games were with the highlights of the N64’s lifetime and possibly the only reasons to get involved in the system. The developers have since decided they needed a new challenge and wanted the chance to play with the power of Sony’s new “super computer” to prove what can be achieved. The personnel with so much first class experience of first person shooters have created just that. The title is exclusive to the PS2 - brilliant news for PS2 owners as other 1st person shooters have also been available on other formats (normally the PC). Will Free Radical Design be able to recreate that magic of Goldeneye and Perfect Dark? The game had little outsider hype but those in the know were greatly anticipating this PS2 launch title all those months ago.


GRAPHICS


TimeSplitters has been developed as a next-gen PS2 title and so displays a leap in graphical boundaries. It is by no means the worst looking of the launch titles and is only beaten by no more than 2 titles in the graphical department (of which SSX would certainly be one). The characters and background look mind-blowing (should you want to get that close to any enemy). The characters run, jump, roll and duck with ease, joints and limbs are all in place and move convincingly. Other elements s
uch as water, fire, windows, barrels etc all look brilliant. The water in the Chinese level is amazing, the demo that Sony showed of the ducks floating on the water looks just as good as the water in the levels and that’s using the in game graphics engine! Windows shatter and smash around the bullet hole breaking into uneven pieces and crumpling to the floor. The feeling of achievement when you pick off a headshot from 25 metres above you, through a window will keep you coming back again and again. The shattering glass and your opponent’s defeated body slumping to the floor is something that would never have been achieved on any other format in the world – and that includes arcade machines. This however does bring me to the one thing that many wish had been included in the game – blood. Shooting a character will make him stagger around depending on where he was hit but no blood will be split whatever happens. At some points the blood is not missed much as the action (especially in multi player) is so fast that the player doesn’t have time to worry about cosmetic things such as blood while simply staying alive is enough of a worry as it is. However other times blood is a necessity, your opponents do make a very good job of slumping when they are killed. Sometimes though the player gets the feeling that having taken a rocket launcher to the torso or a sniper bullet to the head that slumping is just not enough and that that little more is required. The gore level wouldn’t need to be excessive, just enough to add that little extra something the game needs – a few detached limbs flying around every now and then.
17/25


SOUND


TimeSplitters uses the sound to further the gaming experience (sound cliché anyone?). Background music is used in each of the levels to create the right kind of atmosphere - Mansion music is creepy and the Spaceways airport music is futuristic. The music does add to the suspense
of the game and ensures that even in the slower deathmatch moments (should you find any) you are not in complete silence. The next layer of sound is little character touches. As you wonder corridors screams of pain can be heard in the distance. Each time a character is shot an exclamation of pain is released making it just that bit more believable. Each character makes different noises as they are shot – adding to the feeling that the character selection has an impact on the game. The last layer of sound is constructed of sound effects. This is everything from guns firing, footsteps and reloading to explosions and ricochets. These sounds are done very well. Reloading and ricochets are particularly good noises. Anyone who has the audible pleasure of Dolby 5.1 surround sound will appreciate the footsteps and other noises “targets” make – zombies squelchy footsteps being a great example.
19/20


LIFESPAN


Well what can I say? I kid you not when I say that TimeSplitters is probably the game that will last you the longer than any other game. That includes Gran Turismo (Ed – debatable here as well), Final Fantasy (hmmm debatable there), Tony Hawks, Resident Evil and all the Tomb Raiders to date. To 100% TS the player has to not only complete but beat the clock on every level on all 3 difficulties. That’s all 9 levels that are playable in the story mode (one player). This is a feat that will only be achieved by gamers dedicated to the cause, with no life and immense spare time (Ed – a little harsh). When you first look at the time trial times they look impossible. It is true they are very unforgiving and will not be achieved first time but they are achievable. Be prepared to replay one level 10 times over to try and shed that extra 5 seconds or get that one headshot that would speed everything up. Indeed for these time trials it is one shot kills, quickly dispatching enemies and headshots that are of t
he most importance. At one point a certain character was my “favourite character” simply because I had attempted the time trial for that level so many times! The challenges are also infamous for their infuriating addictability. You will be hooked on beating your record even when you have passed them. Sometimes you’ll think you must be nuts – spending hours trying to finish a challenge and wanting nothing more than to advance but then returning to the level weeks later, having completed it, to try and beat that record. Another brilliant and truly innovative way the people at Free Radical Design have crammed in more and more lifespan into their already bursting title.

So all these challenges and time trials are worth the effort? Well yeah…you’ll want to be using the best characters when you show off the game to your mates. There aren’t any “best” characters as such although some choices will make sense. Got a mate that always shoots below the waist? Then pick Float Alien – you can’t shoot what isn’t there. Similarly got a mate who also aims above the chest? Instead of just ducking all the time, and let’s face it that’s unoriginal, play as Robofish (more about him later). There are also more deathmatch levels, bot sets to fight against and other cheats such as paintball mode and big head to access.

So you’ve finished all that and still want more action. Well for you sir we have the bot skill levels. You see bots come in a range of skills varying from the sheer dumbness of 1 star to ducking, diving and overall better aiming among other things level 5 bots. When you get to the point that you can beat all the bots on level 5 easily you can begin experimenting with the handicaps. The handicaps bring down your total health and so make you more vulnerable. Once you have mastered this it is time to move to very biased team deathmatch settings. If you complete all this t
hen the year is 2020 and you really should have started playing Tomb Raider 23: Lara’s Legacy. You get the idea: nothing short of internet access is going to give Timesplitters a longer lifespan. Except maybe this…

By now having played the game so much that the image of explosions and having a weapon in front of you is burnt into your retinas you’re going to have played the game a hell of a lot. Therefore any gamer is going to be whizzing round knowing exactly where the health, armour and best weapons are. For this reason, or maybe just for a laugh, FRD has included the option to design your own levels. This adds a whole new dimension to the game as you can decide the setting, placing of items and even the lighting in addition to the usual placing corridors and halls. The level design has been thought through thoroughly (try saying that quickly) and clearly has not just been thrown together carelessly a month before release.
25/25

GAMEPLAY

TimeSplitters has too much gameplay to cram into the web space provided here at PS2Update. The satisfaction that can be got from making a 300yard head shot on a running target is un-paralleled. As the body crumples to the floor and you feel the satisfaction and wow-factor come over you – a bot comes up behind you and pops you in the back with a blunderbuss. That’s TimeSplitters! There are amazing kills that you will look at in awe but picking out a bot not paying attention to the radar is nearly as satisfying. The same can be said about the ricochet shots. You know an enemy is round the corner in the narrow corridor – go round the corner and the little health you have will diminish and that spells the end. However, half turn the corner and fire a minigun at the wall and your problems solved. I wouldn’t go as far as saying that TS is a puzzle game, far from it in fact, but it does have that potential. Play in a doom gun-ho style or tragically pick off opponen
ts Solid Snake style – it’s really up to you and both tactics can be highly successful. The levels themselves have that “one more time” effect upon the gamer that exists in games like Tetris and the Tony Hawks series. The three game modes included in the make up of TimeSplitters are not exactly innovative – it’s the way they are carried through that is truly new and refreshing. The arcade mode is essentially the excellent multiplayer mode that can cater for you, and your mates. You can make up numbers with bots playing. The story mode is essentially the one player game. This includes a selection of 9 levels ranging from ancient Egyptian tombs to alien worlds. Each of these 9 levels can be played on 3 difficulty levels.

It gets better though. The story mode levels can also be played co-operatively with a mate. You choose the tactics yourself: one goes in Doom style while the other mops up, you both go stealth or both go in all guns blazing. It really is up to you – only one of you has to get out alive to complete the level. The four-player deathmatch adds to the fun and satisfying thrills of the game. You get back from the pub with your mates, including that self centered bastard that ruined your chances of pulling by mentioning a few too many old ‘events’ that even your greatest pulling shirt can’t recover from. You load up TS for a 4-player deathmatch and wade through bots and other innocent mates to confront the offending one. You whip out your minigun, dive to your right to avoid the attempts of your mate and, as he reloads, nail him to the wall with bullets. You feel proud and happy to have released that tension – so much so that you hardly notice the bot behind you with the blunderbuss….
24/25


ORIGINALITY


Doom, Wolfenstein, Duke Nukem, Half Life, Dues Ex, GoldenEye and Quake. TimeSplitters is not without competition from the First-Person-Shooter cr
own. The idea is not new. Walk, or run, around shooting the ass of anything that dares to cross you with a variety of weapons. It’s a very successful concept and one that many developers have taken on board and cashed in on. Having read the above you’d be forgiven for thinking that TimeSplitters wouldn’t score very well in this section. Having said that though the challenge mode and character design must bring the score into at least average-dom - if not beyond. Have you ever played a FPS as an Elvis clone? How about a 3-foot tall figure with a goldfish bowl for a head? No? You haven’t seen anything yet…

The challenge mode is a similar streak of genius. Ever had to shoot 100-armed 6-foot tall ducks in 5 minutes? No? Ever had to punch 30 zombie heads of in 60 seconds? Not that either? Ever had to defend Elvis “The Impersonator” from dying without killing more than 3 times yourself? Oh you deprived child. As you can see from these examples the challenge mode in TimeSplitters is very extremely original. You’ve not seen quirkiness, oddness or plain out-of-your-head-insane-ness anywhere near the level achieved by this ever before. Ever. I personally don’t think this original streak will be bettered by any game for some time. The ideas, brain storming sessions and strange dreams that have gone into this game are numerous and it shows. In TS you can experience what happens when boundaries are left behind and developers are only limited by their own imaginations. Shooting 6 foot ducks with shotguns is the result…
8/10

So you wanted an opinion of this game. It’s why your reading this review isn’t it? In a word “yes” you should definitely be buying this game. I know its 14 months old and starting to show it in places but no one deserves the punishment of missing out on this. As an added incentive because it was released way back at the start of the PS2 reign and a sequel
is on the way it now features in pre-owned sections (yes some people are selling up!) and you might even pick it up cheap new off the shelf if you shop around. Yes buy it. Yes buy it now. This game deserves all the recognition it gets, as it is a true classic. Now if you’ll excuse me – I have withdrawal symptoms…

93%

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