Timesplitters: Damn Near Perfect
Introduction:
TimeSplitters: Future Perfect, is the third game in the excellent TimeSplitters series. Quite a few fans of the series thought that being published by EA would have somehow changed the game for the worse. Do not worry. This is old school TimeSplitters with a mix of new features that enhance the already tight gameplay we have come to expect from this franchise.
Graphics and Sound:
If I had to sum up the graphics in one word, it would be: Ultra Magnificent!!! (ok so its two words, sue me.)
The character models are the usual Free Radical style. You either hate it or love it. Smooth texturing and brilliant use of colors makes each character stand out in their own way. Weapon effects, such as muzzle fire, explosions, and the occasional on fire enemy are recreated quite well. The animations are also well done. I'm not sure if ragdoll physics are in effect here, but you'll notice little things like if you kill and enemy who is leaning out from behind a wall to take shots at you, he will keel over in the direction he was leaning if hit just right. The environments are simply spectacular, but don't stare at your surroundings to long, you'll end up dead, real quick.
Minor graphical glitches are the only flaw in this game. Sometimes during boss fights the frame-rate drops a bit, nothing that detracts from gameplay but it's noticeable. There's also the occasional “now you see it, now you don't.” during cut scenes. A character model will be in plain view one second, and then totally vanish the next. Again, it's not a big deal, but it happens now and then.
The soundtrack for TimeSplitters is one of the best I have heard in a while. Each stage has it's own music that fits the time period and current situation perfectly. The sound effects are clear and vibrant. Gunshots have just the right tone to them adding to the realism in a otherwise non realistic game. The voice acting is on par with the first two TimeSplitters games. Finally, the ambient noise in some of the stages are pulled off great. This is best noticed in the mansion and in the Vietnam stages.
Story:
The campaign/story mode is actually quite good. It's a story that has you hooked from the first cinema right until the ending. The best thing about the story is even though it's a hardcore, time traveling, shoot ‘em up, save the universe from evil deal, the story isn't too serious. It makes you want to beat the current level so you can see what happens next and get a laugh at the same time.
Replay Value:
TONS! While story mode takes about, 4 to 6 hours to beat, the real replay value lies within the arcade and challenge modes. Arcade lets you play a multitude of modes ranging from your typical deathmatch to flame tag. Don't like playing against bots? Can't get a group of people over for a 4 player deathmatch? Now you can jump online and test your skills against people around the globe.
The challenge modes test your shooting skills in a variety of wacky ways. Want to shoot melons out of the hands of thieving monkeys? You can do it here. Ever felt like driving a cat across a frozen wasteland? Wish granted. Do you dream about being let loose in a Chinese restaurant with a sack of bricks and nothing but fine china and windows galore asking to be shattered? Your dream has come true.
Add to the massive amount of arcade, challenge, and other game play modes you can choose from, there is the ever present addictive mapmaker. This mode allows you to design your own arena of death! As an added bonus, now you can even swap them online with friends!
Gameplay:
Control is typical of a first person shooter. One thumbstick moves your character. The other controls your aiming/view. Trigger buttons function as gun triggers allowing you to fire away pretty accurately while moving around. My only complaint is that alternate fire now requires you to push up on the directional pad. During the heat of a battle switching to alternate fire might result in switching weapons entirely by accident. The custom control set up allows you to change most of the other settings of the controller, but not the alt fire or even the switch weapon buttons. It's a minor gripe, but this would have been no problem if they allowed you the ability to customize all the controls how you prefer.
The difficulty of the game ranges from easy to hard, and that's not including the insane difficulty of some of the challenges and arcade league modes.
Rent, Buy, or Return to store?
As always, I'd recommend you rent this first if this is your first time getting into a TimeSplitters game. If you already played any of the previous games, this one is a definite buy.
The minor graphical glitches and lack of 100% controller customizing are the only flaws in an otherwise perfect game.
