finalark
SNORLAX
Link to original post: [drupal=1195]Review: TimeSplitters: Future Perfect[/drupal]
For the small amount of people who read my post on some upcoming games might remember me saying that I was getting sick of serious shooters and that I like games that know how to have fun in their plots. Originally I thought I would have to wait until Eat Lead came out to finally play a not-so-serious shooter. Turns out that I was wrong, for one day I was at a local game store and picked up a game called TimeSplitters: Future Perfect (TS:FP from here on) from the bargain bin. The game got my interest when I saw the title, and then grabbed my interest and held it really really tightly when I saw that the game sure as hell isn't very serious because of the monkey holding two semi-automatics on the back of the case. So I bought the game and played it. One of the best experiences ever.
I suppose I'll start with what I think is the best part of the game, the story. Okay, so the game starts with a guy named Cortez flying to a ruined earth with these things called the Time Crystals in his ship. He rushes to his base while fighting these evil dudes called TimeSplitters who humans are at war with. After entering his base he is quickly sent on a mission back in time by his superior to stop the war before it ever started. This is when the seriousness stops and the funny starts. As Cortez, you'll travel through various eras using a verity of weapons from different time periods and will meet some... colorful, characters along the way. But eventually it boils down to you tracking down this evil scientist named Jacob Crow, who must be an ex-employee of Umbrella because his organizations seem awfully similar to theirs. He likes to do genetic experiments on humans, gets limitless funding and has this habit of building secret labs under random places. This game's plot might not be exactly novel-worthy but it sure as hell is fun to watch. Cortez is quite possibly the most likable character I've seen in years, all of the levels have a fun parody style to them and this game is littered with references. First level of the game and I get an Aliens reference, how cool is that?
Now onto game-play. The game-play is fun, almost as much as the story is. And one thing worth pointing out is that the controls are completely customizable, so if you don't like the default ones then you can just set it to whatever you want. Your arsenal of weapons is wide and interesting, although it always boils down to pistol, assault rifle, sniper rifle, grenades, and weird exotic thing that's hard to get ammo for and you'll only use it when fighting certain enemies anyway. The action is really fast, it's like Half-Life where it's better to just run in guns blazing rather than take turns ducking under cover and exchanging fire with whoever you're trying to make dead. There are also parts where you get to team up with yourself due to time travel, awesome. And after you finish story mode there's still stuff to do. There are a number of challenges you can do, the game has online play with a notable amount of game modes and there's a map maker. That's right, a map maker. Your usual problem with make-your-own-thing modes in games is that they're either too complex or too limited. But that's not the case here. In TS:FP you just choose your theme and then you drag and drop your way into making just about what ever you'd like. Maps are easy and fun to make, you can also download other player-made maps online.
I really wish there was nothing bad I could say about this game, but there is. And sticking to my usual style, I will now point out these flaws. My first complaint is that the story mode is a bit on the short side, I think I would have liked it to be a bit longer, or at least a bit harder. I played through the game on medium difficulty and easily cleared it, had I played the game the entire day I bought it I could have beaten it in one day. I'm kind of confused on how the Time Crystals fit into all of this, because when you go back in time you have to get them again (even though you already have them) or something like that... I guess it's because I never played the previous games so that's a personal flaw rather then a flaw in the game. The computer AI is pathetic, adding to the game's low difficulty. Enemies will jump out in front of you, begging you to pump them full of lead. They're all bad shots, missing you by a mile (I guess the "Stormtrooper" rule applies here) and they tend to get stuck behind objects.
This game is awesome, and it's one of the best games that I've played in a long time. If you have the means to, get this game. You might get through it in a day or so, but you'll never experience anything like it. Now do yourself a favor and try to find this game, you won't be disappointed.
For the small amount of people who read my post on some upcoming games might remember me saying that I was getting sick of serious shooters and that I like games that know how to have fun in their plots. Originally I thought I would have to wait until Eat Lead came out to finally play a not-so-serious shooter. Turns out that I was wrong, for one day I was at a local game store and picked up a game called TimeSplitters: Future Perfect (TS:FP from here on) from the bargain bin. The game got my interest when I saw the title, and then grabbed my interest and held it really really tightly when I saw that the game sure as hell isn't very serious because of the monkey holding two semi-automatics on the back of the case. So I bought the game and played it. One of the best experiences ever.
I suppose I'll start with what I think is the best part of the game, the story. Okay, so the game starts with a guy named Cortez flying to a ruined earth with these things called the Time Crystals in his ship. He rushes to his base while fighting these evil dudes called TimeSplitters who humans are at war with. After entering his base he is quickly sent on a mission back in time by his superior to stop the war before it ever started. This is when the seriousness stops and the funny starts. As Cortez, you'll travel through various eras using a verity of weapons from different time periods and will meet some... colorful, characters along the way. But eventually it boils down to you tracking down this evil scientist named Jacob Crow, who must be an ex-employee of Umbrella because his organizations seem awfully similar to theirs. He likes to do genetic experiments on humans, gets limitless funding and has this habit of building secret labs under random places. This game's plot might not be exactly novel-worthy but it sure as hell is fun to watch. Cortez is quite possibly the most likable character I've seen in years, all of the levels have a fun parody style to them and this game is littered with references. First level of the game and I get an Aliens reference, how cool is that?
Now onto game-play. The game-play is fun, almost as much as the story is. And one thing worth pointing out is that the controls are completely customizable, so if you don't like the default ones then you can just set it to whatever you want. Your arsenal of weapons is wide and interesting, although it always boils down to pistol, assault rifle, sniper rifle, grenades, and weird exotic thing that's hard to get ammo for and you'll only use it when fighting certain enemies anyway. The action is really fast, it's like Half-Life where it's better to just run in guns blazing rather than take turns ducking under cover and exchanging fire with whoever you're trying to make dead. There are also parts where you get to team up with yourself due to time travel, awesome. And after you finish story mode there's still stuff to do. There are a number of challenges you can do, the game has online play with a notable amount of game modes and there's a map maker. That's right, a map maker. Your usual problem with make-your-own-thing modes in games is that they're either too complex or too limited. But that's not the case here. In TS:FP you just choose your theme and then you drag and drop your way into making just about what ever you'd like. Maps are easy and fun to make, you can also download other player-made maps online.
I really wish there was nothing bad I could say about this game, but there is. And sticking to my usual style, I will now point out these flaws. My first complaint is that the story mode is a bit on the short side, I think I would have liked it to be a bit longer, or at least a bit harder. I played through the game on medium difficulty and easily cleared it, had I played the game the entire day I bought it I could have beaten it in one day. I'm kind of confused on how the Time Crystals fit into all of this, because when you go back in time you have to get them again (even though you already have them) or something like that... I guess it's because I never played the previous games so that's a personal flaw rather then a flaw in the game. The computer AI is pathetic, adding to the game's low difficulty. Enemies will jump out in front of you, begging you to pump them full of lead. They're all bad shots, missing you by a mile (I guess the "Stormtrooper" rule applies here) and they tend to get stuck behind objects.
This game is awesome, and it's one of the best games that I've played in a long time. If you have the means to, get this game. You might get through it in a day or so, but you'll never experience anything like it. Now do yourself a favor and try to find this game, you won't be disappointed.
