Post by failureisanoption on Jul 15, 2015 14:57:06 GMT
Hey guys,
Welcome back,my friends, to another look at some older games.
Ya wanna play a shooting game, but ya don't really know which one? Ya don't feel like playing "oh look, another set piece" Call for Money? Ya don't want boring space-marine crap HOLA? Warfield to spawn-campy for ya? Ya actually want to have a good time while shooting stuff?
Well, damn, I got just the game for ya. Hmm, maybe it's not the game for ya, not sure, actually.
So let me tell ya what game I'm talking about: It's this one:
A shooter that's fun for the whole family. But why is it fun, ya ask? Because it is. Simple as that. Haha, no, I will tell ya soon why it's fun.
But first the boring stuff.
Released on 24st of March 2005 in Europe, 21st of March in America, and 28th of March in Australia for the PS2, Original Xbox, and the Gamecube (I miss mine....). Developed by Free Radical Design and published by EA (blergh) it is the third game in the series. The franchise is now owned by Crytek, and a fourth game had been announced in 2007, but low demand has stalled development until people actually want another game. I know I do. In the meantime, Timesplitters Rewind is in development, made by a group of part-time programmers, and sanctioned by Crytek itself, it will be released sometime in the future for PC and PS$. The best thing about it? It will cost ya absolutely no money whatsoever. So that's something to look forward to.
Wanna hear some story stuff? Even if ya don't want to, I will talk about it anyway. If ya still don't want to hear hear about it, just skip this part.
The year is 2401, mankind has finally managed to get people into space, and we start with our Hero Sergeant Cortez returning from his mission to retrieve the Time Crystals (ya did that in the second game) that strange creatures called Timesplitters use to travel through time and cause havoc wherever they go. I think they actually just want to kill us all. So now ya are on yer way back to Mars (yes, Mars) to return these dangerous crystals.
The reason ya need to bring them there is that scientists have developed a machine that allows for timetravel, but it need some sort of power source.
Apparently, Time Crystals are great for that. On yer return, yer ship is shot down, and ya crashland some distance away from the base, and ya need to walk the rest of the way. But it seems that the base is under assault by some mysterious hooded figures. So of course, in true space marine fashion, ya just shoot yer way through, only to discover that once ya reach the base, it is under assault by the Timesplitters themselves. More space marine heroics ensue, and at last. the attack is repelled, and ya can finally deliver the crystals.
But as soon as ya deliver them, your superior straight away sends ya on another mission (no rest at all....). This time ya need to go back in time (again) to find the source of the Timesplitters and eradicate them once and for all. In yer search ya will visit various time periods, ranging from 1924 to 2401. In each time period, ya will always encounter someone who will team up with ya, though most of them have their own objective, so they are more like accidental allies. But no matter, any ally is welcome.
A great thing about the story is that it is really quite humorous (I like to laugh), and many times it is quite worth it not to kill every enemy straight away,as ya will miss some dialogue. During yer adventures, due to the nature of time traveling, ya will also many time have encounters with yerself. It really is rather interesting. Many wild and wacky characters will be met, and many giggles will be had.
But enough about story mode, as that is not what Timesplitters is about.
What it is about is having fun with yer friends. Got a mate over and a second (or third or fourth) controller? load the game up, and have some fun doing Story co-op, playing a few random arcade matches (more about that soon), or do some Challenges and see who is the best player out there.
Story mode obviously let's ya play the story that I already talked about, and comes in three difficulties. Clearing the story is needed if ya wanna know how it ends, and it also unlocks some characters that ya can use in arcade mode.
Arcade mode is where ya go when ya wanna just want to play a quick game against bots or yer friends (if ya have any). Or ya can participate in the Arcade league, which will also unlock some new characters. League play will throw into the various game modes that are on offer, though some of the team based ones are quite hard as it will be only yerself against a team of bots, so they definitely will have an advantage. I still only have silver trophies....
Challenge mode will really challenge you (....), and this is where the fun starts as ya will have to do some ridiculous stuff ya won't find in other shooters. Doing these will also unlock characters.
A quick sidetracking before I get back to challenges.
It sure sounds like there is a lot of characters, and ya right, there is. 150 to be exact....!!!! Yes, ya read that right, I said 150.
But how can there be so many characters to pick from ya ask me? Well, it's simple really, ya just make up some weird ones. Like a Cactus man. Or a Duck. Or maybe ya like Gingerbread men? A Snowman on a flying carpet is more yer thing? Got that, too. Also got various Cyborgs, an assortment of Undead, Monkeys, and some other crazy stuff that I won't spoil.Now back to tell ya about some challenge ya can do.Don't like zombies? Well, now ya can take yer revenge by beheading them. Sounds easy? Well, it mostly is, apart from the last one, as ya have to throw boxes at them. Where do ya ever see a game that let's ya kill zombies with boxes?Or how about Cat driving? Yea, ya heard m,e, I said Cat driving. Some evil genius thought it would be funny to attach little wheels to the paws. Now ya can control Strudel and try to finish the race courses in time. Quite hard as a cat on wheels doesn't exactly handle easy.
A picture of Strudel:
"Tell me about other modes." Ya like monkeys? Of course ya do, everyone likes monkeys. So why not try yer hand at monkey curling? Or how about electrocuting dancing Cyborg Chimps so they keep dancing...much fun is to be had, and many trophies to be earned. Some other modes are available, but I will let ya discover them for yerselves.
Some dancing Chimps and the Electrotool:
So instead I talk about the weapons in this game. Some of them are quite normal, and ya would expect them to show up in a shooter, like Shotguns, Handguns, and Sniper Rifles, though I guess the fact ya go through some of them time periods, ya can't really have Sci-Fi stuff everywhere.
But ya can also use some more ridiculous weapons, like laser pistols that can bounce shots of walls. Rather dangerous, as ya can hurt yerself with it. But if ya trying to actively kill yerself, I guess that's not a problem. Ya can also kill others with Flare Guns. Or Electrotools. Or how about a sniper Rifle that can generate a shield to protect ya from enemy bullets? Or a Mag_rifle that can shoot through walls? (Which is a rather cheap way to win in multiplayer.....). Rocket Launchers and Miniguns are also available. Or an injector that will expand people until they blow up. Or ya can just punch them....though it really isn't very effective.
Ya want to challenge yerself against some bots? Play the arcade league for some rewards, or just play a custom match.
Arcade League will have some pre-defined goals for ya to achieve, while in Arcade Custom ya can set up a match to yer liking. Pick a game mode, pick a map, pick rules like frag limits, radar on/off and others. Also decide which characters ya wanna play against and what weapons ya want to have available during the match. Every character also has some traits, like resistance to certain weapons, or differing speeds and amounts of health. Those traits can be turned on and off also, and if the game is still to easy or to hard for ya, ya can also give yerself some modifiers to make yerself stronger or weaker. Many possibilities await, and many hours of fun will be had, especially with friends and a few beers. Just don't invite yer serious Pro-gamer FPS friends, it's not a game for them...it's all about frantic fun.
Gamemodes include the standard Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch, Zones (like Domination? in CoD), Capture the Bag (Flag for ya normal people).
But ya also get some other modes, such as Vampire, where yer health gradually drains away and the only way to recharge it is by killing others. Or how about Shrink mode,where the worse ya do, the smaller ya get, so ya are harder to hit. Monkey Assistant mode , which will periodically support the player in last place by deploying a squad of monkeys with guns that go around killing stuff. And maybe ya wanna try Gladiator mode? Only the Gladiator can actually score points, and to become the Gladiator, ya have to kill whoever currently is the Gladiator. Tough when you are it, as everybody and their sister is gonna try to kill ya. Maybe ya like running? Then Virus is the mode for ya. Whoever is "It" has to try and infect as many players as possible before time runs out, and the infection will inevitably spread, so try yer best not to get caught.
But much fun is the assault mode, where two teams play against each other, one is defending an objective, the other is attacking it. Some are easier than others, and their lengths vary as well. Some other modes include Bag Tag, where ya have to hold on to the bag the longest, and Thief, in which ya will have to pick up the coins dead enemies drop, and Elimination, in which each player has a pre-determined amount of lives. Once they are all gone, ya are out and have to wait until the match is over. Try not to die, as it is boring to watch.
Also, depending on yer actions, various awards will be given to ya. Examples include: Most Lethal, Most Losses, Lemming Award, Pathetic Shot, I Hit Dead People, Brain Surgeon, Fists of Fury, Most Cowardly, Most Sneaky, Most Dishonorably, Bully, and many more. And yes, those are taken from my awards....though i have altogether so far collected 48 out of 60. (Brag brag.....)
The game also features a Map editor. Which is pretty cool, though it is rather limited due to system limitations I guess, but ya still do much stuff with it. Make yer own multiplayer maps, or try yer hand at making challenges for yer friends, or create some mini story modes. Many possibilities await, and if ya the creative type, it surely will give ya some stuff to play with.
Graphically the game is rather pleasing, though I guess the PS2 get's the worst graphics as the other two consoles are much newer and therefore have quite some hardware advantage, but even so, the game still looks great with it's distinctive art.
Controls are quite responsive and as it is more casual orientated ya can really pull off some shots that would never hit in a serious game. Not a flaw in my book, and even so, it does not happen all the time, some luck is needed. Also, it is no problem to set the controls in whatever way ya like, a feature I miss in many modern games, and not just FPS games.
Music wise I don't really remember too much, so it can't have been that great, though I really like a few tracks.
And since I just remembered, the game also features some unlockable cheats. Such as Big Head Mode, Cardboard Charcaters, Paintball, and Human Gun Sounds, which is one of my favorites. Every time a weapon is fired, a person goes pew, pew in a somewhat high pitched voice. There is more, but I will let ya discover them yerself.
In conclusion, all I can say is that I love this game, it can be played alone or with others, and if ya the type of person that arranges game nights with friends, ya should include this game in yer line-up, it is a great way to finish the evening in an entertaining manner.
Next time I will be covering a whole series, so consider this an advanced warning if ya don't like to read at all.
As usual, maybe ya can give some comments, criticism, love letters, or whatever else, and I will be back soon.
Welcome back,my friends, to another look at some older games.
Ya wanna play a shooting game, but ya don't really know which one? Ya don't feel like playing "oh look, another set piece" Call for Money? Ya don't want boring space-marine crap HOLA? Warfield to spawn-campy for ya? Ya actually want to have a good time while shooting stuff?
Well, damn, I got just the game for ya. Hmm, maybe it's not the game for ya, not sure, actually.
So let me tell ya what game I'm talking about: It's this one:
But first the boring stuff.
Released on 24st of March 2005 in Europe, 21st of March in America, and 28th of March in Australia for the PS2, Original Xbox, and the Gamecube (I miss mine....). Developed by Free Radical Design and published by EA (blergh) it is the third game in the series. The franchise is now owned by Crytek, and a fourth game had been announced in 2007, but low demand has stalled development until people actually want another game. I know I do. In the meantime, Timesplitters Rewind is in development, made by a group of part-time programmers, and sanctioned by Crytek itself, it will be released sometime in the future for PC and PS$. The best thing about it? It will cost ya absolutely no money whatsoever. So that's something to look forward to.
Wanna hear some story stuff? Even if ya don't want to, I will talk about it anyway. If ya still don't want to hear hear about it, just skip this part.
The year is 2401, mankind has finally managed to get people into space, and we start with our Hero Sergeant Cortez returning from his mission to retrieve the Time Crystals (ya did that in the second game) that strange creatures called Timesplitters use to travel through time and cause havoc wherever they go. I think they actually just want to kill us all. So now ya are on yer way back to Mars (yes, Mars) to return these dangerous crystals.
The reason ya need to bring them there is that scientists have developed a machine that allows for timetravel, but it need some sort of power source.
Apparently, Time Crystals are great for that. On yer return, yer ship is shot down, and ya crashland some distance away from the base, and ya need to walk the rest of the way. But it seems that the base is under assault by some mysterious hooded figures. So of course, in true space marine fashion, ya just shoot yer way through, only to discover that once ya reach the base, it is under assault by the Timesplitters themselves. More space marine heroics ensue, and at last. the attack is repelled, and ya can finally deliver the crystals.
But as soon as ya deliver them, your superior straight away sends ya on another mission (no rest at all....). This time ya need to go back in time (again) to find the source of the Timesplitters and eradicate them once and for all. In yer search ya will visit various time periods, ranging from 1924 to 2401. In each time period, ya will always encounter someone who will team up with ya, though most of them have their own objective, so they are more like accidental allies. But no matter, any ally is welcome.
A great thing about the story is that it is really quite humorous (I like to laugh), and many times it is quite worth it not to kill every enemy straight away,as ya will miss some dialogue. During yer adventures, due to the nature of time traveling, ya will also many time have encounters with yerself. It really is rather interesting. Many wild and wacky characters will be met, and many giggles will be had.
But enough about story mode, as that is not what Timesplitters is about.
What it is about is having fun with yer friends. Got a mate over and a second (or third or fourth) controller? load the game up, and have some fun doing Story co-op, playing a few random arcade matches (more about that soon), or do some Challenges and see who is the best player out there.
Story mode obviously let's ya play the story that I already talked about, and comes in three difficulties. Clearing the story is needed if ya wanna know how it ends, and it also unlocks some characters that ya can use in arcade mode.
Arcade mode is where ya go when ya wanna just want to play a quick game against bots or yer friends (if ya have any). Or ya can participate in the Arcade league, which will also unlock some new characters. League play will throw into the various game modes that are on offer, though some of the team based ones are quite hard as it will be only yerself against a team of bots, so they definitely will have an advantage. I still only have silver trophies....
Challenge mode will really challenge you (....), and this is where the fun starts as ya will have to do some ridiculous stuff ya won't find in other shooters. Doing these will also unlock characters.
A quick sidetracking before I get back to challenges.
It sure sounds like there is a lot of characters, and ya right, there is. 150 to be exact....!!!! Yes, ya read that right, I said 150.
But how can there be so many characters to pick from ya ask me? Well, it's simple really, ya just make up some weird ones. Like a Cactus man. Or a Duck. Or maybe ya like Gingerbread men? A Snowman on a flying carpet is more yer thing? Got that, too. Also got various Cyborgs, an assortment of Undead, Monkeys, and some other crazy stuff that I won't spoil.Now back to tell ya about some challenge ya can do.Don't like zombies? Well, now ya can take yer revenge by beheading them. Sounds easy? Well, it mostly is, apart from the last one, as ya have to throw boxes at them. Where do ya ever see a game that let's ya kill zombies with boxes?Or how about Cat driving? Yea, ya heard m,e, I said Cat driving. Some evil genius thought it would be funny to attach little wheels to the paws. Now ya can control Strudel and try to finish the race courses in time. Quite hard as a cat on wheels doesn't exactly handle easy.
A picture of Strudel:
"Tell me about other modes." Ya like monkeys? Of course ya do, everyone likes monkeys. So why not try yer hand at monkey curling? Or how about electrocuting dancing Cyborg Chimps so they keep dancing...much fun is to be had, and many trophies to be earned. Some other modes are available, but I will let ya discover them for yerselves.
Some dancing Chimps and the Electrotool:
So instead I talk about the weapons in this game. Some of them are quite normal, and ya would expect them to show up in a shooter, like Shotguns, Handguns, and Sniper Rifles, though I guess the fact ya go through some of them time periods, ya can't really have Sci-Fi stuff everywhere.
But ya can also use some more ridiculous weapons, like laser pistols that can bounce shots of walls. Rather dangerous, as ya can hurt yerself with it. But if ya trying to actively kill yerself, I guess that's not a problem. Ya can also kill others with Flare Guns. Or Electrotools. Or how about a sniper Rifle that can generate a shield to protect ya from enemy bullets? Or a Mag_rifle that can shoot through walls? (Which is a rather cheap way to win in multiplayer.....). Rocket Launchers and Miniguns are also available. Or an injector that will expand people until they blow up. Or ya can just punch them....though it really isn't very effective.
Ya want to challenge yerself against some bots? Play the arcade league for some rewards, or just play a custom match.
Arcade League will have some pre-defined goals for ya to achieve, while in Arcade Custom ya can set up a match to yer liking. Pick a game mode, pick a map, pick rules like frag limits, radar on/off and others. Also decide which characters ya wanna play against and what weapons ya want to have available during the match. Every character also has some traits, like resistance to certain weapons, or differing speeds and amounts of health. Those traits can be turned on and off also, and if the game is still to easy or to hard for ya, ya can also give yerself some modifiers to make yerself stronger or weaker. Many possibilities await, and many hours of fun will be had, especially with friends and a few beers. Just don't invite yer serious Pro-gamer FPS friends, it's not a game for them...it's all about frantic fun.
Gamemodes include the standard Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch, Zones (like Domination? in CoD), Capture the Bag (Flag for ya normal people).
But ya also get some other modes, such as Vampire, where yer health gradually drains away and the only way to recharge it is by killing others. Or how about Shrink mode,where the worse ya do, the smaller ya get, so ya are harder to hit. Monkey Assistant mode , which will periodically support the player in last place by deploying a squad of monkeys with guns that go around killing stuff. And maybe ya wanna try Gladiator mode? Only the Gladiator can actually score points, and to become the Gladiator, ya have to kill whoever currently is the Gladiator. Tough when you are it, as everybody and their sister is gonna try to kill ya. Maybe ya like running? Then Virus is the mode for ya. Whoever is "It" has to try and infect as many players as possible before time runs out, and the infection will inevitably spread, so try yer best not to get caught.
But much fun is the assault mode, where two teams play against each other, one is defending an objective, the other is attacking it. Some are easier than others, and their lengths vary as well. Some other modes include Bag Tag, where ya have to hold on to the bag the longest, and Thief, in which ya will have to pick up the coins dead enemies drop, and Elimination, in which each player has a pre-determined amount of lives. Once they are all gone, ya are out and have to wait until the match is over. Try not to die, as it is boring to watch.
Also, depending on yer actions, various awards will be given to ya. Examples include: Most Lethal, Most Losses, Lemming Award, Pathetic Shot, I Hit Dead People, Brain Surgeon, Fists of Fury, Most Cowardly, Most Sneaky, Most Dishonorably, Bully, and many more. And yes, those are taken from my awards....though i have altogether so far collected 48 out of 60. (Brag brag.....)
The game also features a Map editor. Which is pretty cool, though it is rather limited due to system limitations I guess, but ya still do much stuff with it. Make yer own multiplayer maps, or try yer hand at making challenges for yer friends, or create some mini story modes. Many possibilities await, and if ya the creative type, it surely will give ya some stuff to play with.
Graphically the game is rather pleasing, though I guess the PS2 get's the worst graphics as the other two consoles are much newer and therefore have quite some hardware advantage, but even so, the game still looks great with it's distinctive art.
Controls are quite responsive and as it is more casual orientated ya can really pull off some shots that would never hit in a serious game. Not a flaw in my book, and even so, it does not happen all the time, some luck is needed. Also, it is no problem to set the controls in whatever way ya like, a feature I miss in many modern games, and not just FPS games.
Music wise I don't really remember too much, so it can't have been that great, though I really like a few tracks.
And since I just remembered, the game also features some unlockable cheats. Such as Big Head Mode, Cardboard Charcaters, Paintball, and Human Gun Sounds, which is one of my favorites. Every time a weapon is fired, a person goes pew, pew in a somewhat high pitched voice. There is more, but I will let ya discover them yerself.
In conclusion, all I can say is that I love this game, it can be played alone or with others, and if ya the type of person that arranges game nights with friends, ya should include this game in yer line-up, it is a great way to finish the evening in an entertaining manner.
Next time I will be covering a whole series, so consider this an advanced warning if ya don't like to read at all.
As usual, maybe ya can give some comments, criticism, love letters, or whatever else, and I will be back soon.
