Time Splitters
for PS2
Review
by : Craig
Youngblood
Timesplitters
for the PS2 is a game that is rather difficult to review.
It was one of the titles that released very near or at launch
of the system, and haven't exactly flown off the shelves.
However, on the recommendation of some gamers, I went ahead
and picked up a copy. I still haven't decided if I should
feel cheated or happy about the game.
The game
itself is a first person shooter that takes place in several
different locations and times, ranging from 1930's Egypt a
la Indiana Jones to a future starport reminiscent of Blade
Runner. It is your duty to stop the onslaught of the Timesplitters,
a race of time-traveling aliens. In each phase you can choose
between one of two characters- male and female. The characters
themselves are interesting and each has a little introduction,
but which you choose really has no impact on the game other
than the sounds of pain when you're hit. Then you're off into
the level, to grab some item and get it back to a waypoint,
killing baddies along the way. Sound fairly simplistic? It
is -the only difference between each level is the bad guys
you're fighting, which range from zombies to black ops to
aliens, and the terrain. In the story department, Timesplitters
is sorely lacking.
However,
in other areas, this game plays a good game of catch-up. The
graphics are sharp, and the characters are very unique- each
one looks like they probably need a good dinner at your grandmothers
to fatten up, but that was the style they were going for.
The bad guys are unique, and nothing's better than blowing
the head off of a few zombies or one of the Timesplitter aliens.
The scenery is nice and different in each level, with breakable
glass and the ability to leave bullet holes everywhere you
go. Sound is also nice, with some foes screaming out in fear
as you shoot at them, while others die like heroes. Music
and background noise is nice as well.
The controls
are a serious pain to get used to. You use the left analog
stick for forward, backward, left and right strafe, and the
right analog for up and down and turning. Players use the
shoulder buttons on top to shoot and crouch, and reloading
and switching weapons are handled on the main pad. At first,
I really disliked this system, but after a little tweaking
and a sharp learning curve, I think it works well.
Game play
is fairly addictive. There are several different modes in
Timesplitters, including story mode, challenge mode, deathmatch,
capture-the-flag, and others. The "bots" you can fight against
are almost too good, but that could also be because I'm still
new to the game. You can tweak their AI and play on several
different levels. More characters are opened up through story
mode.
All in
all, I think I'm glad I got this game. There's absolutely
no story to it at all, but the fun factor of this game is
pretty high. Besides, they even have a challenge of destroying
50 zombies in less than 2 minutes by blowing their heads off.
Excellent simulator for the Inevitable Zombie Apocalypse!
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