Timesplitters: Future Perfect (Gamecube) Review
Introduction
Ah yes, those were the days. Running around without a care toting whichever gun you pleased, blasting anything from Zombie Ruskies to monkeys to calamari and it was even more fun if they were your mates. No, I havent escaped from a mental institute. Instead I am making reference to a glorious game that we call Timesplitters 2. Receiving critical acclaim and regarded as the best first person shooter on the gamecube, the ingenious mixture of witty humour, flawless gameplay and a bucket load of multiplayer fun proved to be quite the successful cocktail. Now comes the sequel. Things have changed though and the franchise is now under EAs wing. So does the sequel live up to the original and has it improved on the faults of the original? Well rather confusingly, the answer is rather yes and no.
Gameplay
After returning from the timesplitter space station with the time crystals in Timesplitters 2, the earth resistance constructs a time machine, which allows Cortez to return to the distant past to eliminate the threat of the Timesplitters and the time crystals before it exists, basically by jumping back and forth throughout history. The gameplay remains, on a large note, mostly unchanged from the original. Movement and strafing is stilly mapped to the control stick and aiming to the C stick. The R trigger still fires, L is manual aim and the A button is still used to open doors and activate a variety of mechanisms. Now, come the few changes. Following the trend of many other shooters we now have the inclusion of various types of grenades, which are now mapped to the Z button. The secondary fire function has been switched from Z to up on the D pad, which changes weapon mode each time you press it. The last inclusion is the ability to do a melee attack with any weapon by pressing either the X or Y buttons.
One fault of the previous instalment was that the story experience wasnt really all that expansive. Free Radical have improved this in Timesplitters 3, but at the same time they havent. During your story mode adventure youll be accompanied by a variety of sidekicks from the comical Captain Ash and his charming British accent, to Harry Tipper the swinging grooving secret agent. Each character adds atmosphere to the game. Besides being absolutely hilarious they act and fit in with whichever time period youre visiting. Also, unlike in other shooting games, your partners will shoot bullets that actually have an effect on the enemy, instead of just looking cool. Each story level is very large and carefully constructed to look realistic for the given time period. Throughout each level the gameplay is varied, between sniping, dogfights, commanding gun turrets and driving around in heavy machinery. The balance in the gameplay means that youll hardly ever get bored in a level and the various side bits of the game never seem like a chore. This is attributable to the fact that the game is programmed quite well. Youll hardly ever be fighting against the controls to get something done and most mistakes are usually the fault of the gamer with an absence of any bad glitches. However the story mode in co-op takes a hit. Large areas of the story are cut out due to the absence of the sidekicks, which is rather annoying since they are some of the most enjoyable. No mine cart ride with headsprouters hanging from the roof. No blowing Jungle Queen out of jail and no sniping to protect Harry Tipper from afar. Little things also become annoying in co-op. For one example when one player reaches a certain point the other is warped instantly next to them, no matter what they were doing. This sometime puts you in some sticky situations, such as being warped in front of enemies while you have a weak weapon equipped. The other flaw is just that you dont have the commentary from your partner around. Simple things like two people standing on a lift to activate it become surprisingly hard to realise, and you end up really missing the help from your partner. In a way the story mode is one-step forward one-step back.
Multiplayer still happens to be the games biggest selling point. All your favourite modes return. Everything from Deathmatch to virus to assault. However it seems flame tag has been scratched for some reason or another. There is no longer any difficulty setting in the arcade mode however, the enemies are now all one difficulty level. Theres probably even more characters to choose from this time as well, with all the clone characters (You remember all the Russian troops which were essentially the same in TS2) done away with. Its just as fun as it was before and there are more levels to choose from. This is one game, which you will almost certainly drag out every time your friends come over. Its just that fun. To add one more thing for the serious Timesplitter fan, the arcade now has optional commentary, which can be nice sometimes when you blow your friends head off and it screams lobotomy. All in all the gameplay is still the same top-notch stuff from the original, tweaked to perhaps even being slightly better.
Graphics
The same style from Timesplitters 2 has been carried over into Future Perfect. Characters are still rendered in a cartoon style in favour of being photo-realistic, which works quite well with the games comic aspect. In short the game looks pretty good. Explosions are nice, plus theres more blood and gore than the original, although its nothing over the top. Character detail and such is good. Timesplitters 3 could basically be likened to a high resolution Timesplitters 2.
Sound
Gunfire sounds very realistic and almost every sound effect adds to the games atmosphere of whichever time period you happen to be in. The sound of constant shelling can be heard in the 1924 island Naval attack and Laser Fire in the machine wars. The music also performs this task very well. The tracks played in each level are carefully selected to be reminiscent of that particular time period. On a final note the characters now have a variety of quirky catch phrases when you select them in the arcade, which are just plain hilarious. Sound is of high quality in the game.
Replayability/Lastability
There are a huge number of arcade challenges and arcade leagues to best along with the main game, plus the multiplayer experience is the best with lots of new maps plus some old favourites. Whether youre sliding monkeys along the ice or blatting melons off their heads theres never a dull moment. Plus there are a huge number of unlockable characters and weapons. All your favourite modes return in the multiplayer mode, plus the mapmaker returns. Its basically more fun than a barrel full of monkeys. Just grab a friend, set them down and youll see what I mean. If youre looking for a game that you want to last, look no further. Unless you live in an attic this game will never gather dust.
Final thoughts
If you find yourself even remotely interested in the FPS genre then this is a must have game for you. It will keep you enthralled for hours on end and will be a truly unforgettable experience. Youll kick yourself if you miss it. The atmosphere is perfect, making the game in itself an experience. Hell, its even got 4 types of monkeys this time around. And you cant go wrong with monkeys can you? This game improves even on the original, if only slightly. Ill even go as far to call it the best FPS on the cube at the moment. TS3 has the whole package, so dont miss out on it or youll regret it.
