TimeSplitters
2 is about as much fun as you can have in a First Person Shooter. The
developers at Free Radical have created a sequel that expands upon what
we loved about the first game and fixes nearly all of its problems. It
goes the extra mile in every respect with a solid story, cooperative
play, an almost infinitely customizable multiplayer mode, tons of
challenges and mini-games, and an upgraded mapmaker. All that and I
havent even mentioned the psychotic, gun-toting monkeys. TS2 is quite
simply one of the best games of the year.
First on
Free Radicals agenda was to provide players with what they were lacking
the first time arounda true story mode. The story has our heroes
travelling through time collecting time crystals in order to defeat an
evil race of aliens known as TimeSplitters. At first glance, this may
seem a lot like the shallow "run and fetch a crystal" scenario of the
first game. It is not. The game uses opening movies and cutscenes to
tell the tale of mankinds last stand against the TimeSplitters. Each
level contains a unique set of challenges that are specific to its time
and place. The game is structured with three levels of difficulty, which
operate much like FPS classics Goldeneye and Perfect Dark. Each level of
difficulty adds new areas and objectives, as well as amping up the
ferocity of your foes. In this way, the single player game remains fresh
and challenging for at least a few times through. You also have the
choice of playing through the story alone or with a friend in 2-player
cooperative mode.
Okay,
so maybe it doesnt rival Half-Life in terms of storytelling. Like its
predecessor, TS2 is all about atmosphere. This isnt a wartime saga like
HALO, or a bleak political thriller like Red Faction 2. TS2 is all camp
and fun. Its story plays more like a sitcom than melodrama, and it works
terrifically. The opening cinematic of the first level, which has you
infiltrating a dam in Siberia, says it all. A couple of clumsy soldiers
encounter a zombie in a cave. But rather than aiming for suspense and
terror, it is like a scene out of Abbot and Costello Meet
Frankensteinlots of goofy expressions and scream takes. Never one to
take itself too seriously or back away from a good gag, TS2 places as
much emphasis on its clever sense of humor as it does on action set
pieces.
TS2
makes good use of a premise that offers endless possibilities for
gameplay. This is perhaps the only series of its kind that immerses you
in a completely new time period, environment, and genre of storytelling
in each level. One level has you fighting gangsters in prohibition era
Chicago. Another has you dueling with six-shooters in the old west. Yet
another has you infiltrating a futuristic robot factory in the year
2315. There are ten levels in all. Each time you enter a new time
period, you occupy a new body. One of the pleasures of the game is not
only discovering what crazy situation you are transporting into, and
what challenges you face, but in whose body you will face them. The
player one character is usually fairly normal. The player two character,
on the other hand, is often a part of a challenge or comic relief. For
instance, in the Wild West level player ones first challenge is to find
the sheriffs office and break player two out of jail (a task requiring
lots of stolen gunpowder and a cleverly devised igniter). On the comedic
side, in the Aztec Ruins player one is a proper English explorer on
safari while player two is the scantily clad Jungle Queen. It plays a
bit like Richard Harris Parker to Bo Dereks perpetually nude Jane in
that terrible 80s remake of Tarzan, the Ape Man--only this is
intentionally funny.
Adding
to the single player experience are the Arcade and Challenge Modes. In
all, there are forty-five different mini-games and twenty-one challenges
that, when beaten, unlock various characters, levels, game types, and
cheats in the multiplayer game. Mini-games include things like
Elimination, a last man standing scenario in which you and the computer
controlled bots have a finite number of lives, and Leech, where you
actually steal health from your opponents by shooting them. You can also
set up custom Arcade matches to suit your tastes. The challenges are
much like the ones available in the first game. In Glass Smash you try
to shoot out as many windows as possible in a set amount of time; Behead
the Undead is essentially target practice on zombies, et cetera.
If the
single player and co-op experiences are robust, the multiplayer mode is
a tour de force. This may very well be the most customizable multiplayer
game ever created, far exceeding even that of the original. There are
sixteen game types, beginning with usual fare such as Deathmatch and
Capture the Flag, then growing as you unlock more stylish games like
Elimination and Leech (described above), Shrink, Vampire, Thief,
Regeneration, and more. Ill let you discover the stranger games for
yourself. There are sixteen maps to unlock. Some are based on actual
levels, others completely original. All are top notch in design and
function. There are over one-hundred playable characters, some
thirty-two weapons, and you can include up to ten bots of varying
difficulty. Then there are the little things you control, like score
limit, score method, time limit, radar, handicaps, powerups, the list
goes on. You can even link up to eight consoles together for
sixteen-player games (eight consoles with 2-way split screen or four
consoles for 4-way split screen), but unlike HALO you can include bots
in your TS2 LAN bash.
For
even more variety, there is an enhanced Mapmaker that allows you to
create your own multiplayer levels. This proved invaluable in the first
games longevity, and with more options than ever, TS2 should make
players happy for the long run. This Mapmaker is more streamlined and
user-friendly than the previous one. The piece preview makes all of the
difference in the world. You should be up and creating stylin
deathtraps in a matter of minutes.
The action in
TS2 moves at a relentless pace. The game is fast and frenetica battle
of reflex, skill, and firepower. Most of the weapons from the first
title make a comeback. Among the many weapons added to the mix are the
lasergun, whose secondary function is a shield; the plasma autorifle,
which can launch a timed explosive that sticks to walls and enemies
(much like plasma grenades in HALO); and the electrotool, which fries
your enemies with a devastating, continuous bolt of electricity. There
is the usual array of explosives as well. Making a more pronounced
appearance this time, in the story and multiplayer modes, are the
powerful stationary guns and computer controlled miniguns.
The graphics,
aside from a few lackluster moments, are outstanding. The performance is
rock solidthere is never any slowdown whatsoever, which is amazing for
a game that roars along like TS2. Even in the multiplayer the visuals do
not take a hit of any kind. Much improved from the last game are the
lighting effects. Some of the sci-fi weapons are a light show unto
themselves. In terms of style, TS2 takes the exaggerated cartoon look of
the first game and goes wild. The series has always had a unique, zany
approach and it works. We are talking about a game that counts among its
playable characters cowboys, gangsters, robots, zombies, aliens, some
scary women, a giant duck, a gingerbread man, and a monkey. A few of the
effects could have come off better. The UFO invasion during the Escape
from Planet X seems to be rushed, as the flying saucers fly
unconvincingly and special effects like laser beams and explosions drop
out for no reason. Moments like these are few, however.
The sound is,
and I say this without hesitation, perfect. The music plays a key role
in each level, creating the perfect tone for each time period. Some of
the highlights include the gothic organ music of Notre Dame and a
western score that would have made Sergio Leone jealous. The vocal
effects are just as affecting. I am not necessarily talking about the
voice acting, although the actors have a knack for accents and comic
timing. What are better are the intonations such as the haunting groan
of a zombie or the shrill laughter of a monkey.
Monkeys. They
have been mentioned several times in this review, and for good reason.
First of all, let me say that the monkeys in this game are deadly. They
are small, hard to hit, and absolutely insane. Second, some of the best
gameplay moments involve the little bastards. Put one in a multiplayer
game as a 5-star bot (the most difficult setting), and youre in for it.
Set up a capture the flag game with four players against ten monkeys,
and I defy you to win. Its a lot of fun, though. There are even monkey
mini-games and challenges. But the best of the bunch is a multiplayer
game called Monkey Assistance. In this game, whenever the game gets a
little lopsided, you will hear a rescue charge and several monkeys will
teleport into the game--hellbent on killing the player in first place.
On that players HUD a monkey icon will appear, letting them know
theyre going to die. The whole spectacle is hilarious to watch: a group
of heavily armed monkeys, rushing past all the other players in pursuit
of the first place player. And the mayhem that ensues once they find
that player is classic.
The
differences in performance between the PS2 and Xbox versions are
minimal. The load times are a bit shorter on the Xbox. However, there
are two key differences, one favoring each system. In the PS2s corner,
I liked the controls better. They work the same as any other FPS, but
the PS2 has those two extra shoulder buttons, one of which brings up the
targeting reticule. This makes for more precise run-and-gunning. On the
Xbox version you have to press down on the right stick, which works,
just not as well on the run. But if I had to recommend one or the other,
I would go with the Xbox version for one reason: the hard drive. You can
make as many multiplayer maps as you want with virtually no concern for
storage space. That, to me, is a huge selling point.
TimeSplitters
2 has so much to offer: a great single player experience, cooperative
gameplay, one of the greatest multiplayer modes around, a mapmaker, plus
great visuals and sound. But most of all it is just plain fun. You will
find yourself laughing out loud, I guarantee it. In fact, the only
disappointing thing about the game is that the online support, which was
promised early in its development, was sacrificed due to time
constraints. This is truly unfortunate, as online play would have been
amazing. Still, TS2 is destined to become one of the greatest FPS games
that either the PS2 or Xbox will ever see. And it is unique enough in
style and purpose that it can be played side by side with a slower, more
precise game like HALO, and neither one will detract from the other. If
you are a fan of the genre, you must own this game.