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Review written by Ryan Blocher.
December 20, 2003 | 10:00 PM PSTby: Donny Simpson
The first-person shooter genre has truly begun to transcend the ‘shooter’ part of its title. Metroid: Prime’s adventure elements and effortless transitions between different visual modes have solved the age old problem of finding important elements in a room. I will never be satisfied with a game that requires me to run along the walls of a large empty room looking for an object which is only triggered by my proximity. Samus’ visor allows you to scan the room you’re in requiring only a relative proximity and line of sight. I would hope that after the Thief franchise, we’d all be playing games in much more responsive environments. If you’re standing next to a guy, chances are he could hear you. After Half-Life, I will have trouble justifying another game’s complete lack of plot and will usually hold any game up to the fantastic standard set by Half-Life. Timesplitters 2 doesn’t live up to any of these criteria but somehow manages to not have to. The plot requires a lot of faith. There’s a lot of switch flipping to open secret doors and the developers didn’t seem to think our characters should be allowed to jump. Despite these factors, Timesplitters 2 (TS2 from now on) comes across as a technology set-piece highlighting the versatility of the engine and its developers to create nearly any imaginable environment.
Gameplay:
I first played TS2 off a demo disc on the Xbox and am happy to announce that the graphics and controls work better on the Cube. From the introduction, anyone who has ever played GoldenEye will know right away that some of its creators were involved in this game’s development. Our story starts at a Russian base near an imposing hydro-electric dam. Sound familiar? There *is* this little story relating to something about aliens and time crystals that supposedly runs throughout this game but… just skip it. You’ll have a whole lot more fun looking at each level as its own animal. Whether we’re in the Old West busting pretty ladies out of jail, in Notre Dame assisting the Hunchback, stymieing bootleggers in Prohibition-era Chicago or playing in an Indiana Jones-esque South American forest avoiding booby traps and pygmies--this game never stagnates. I found myself ignoring the cut-scenes between levels because of their obscurity and, rather, paying a lot of attention to the details about the world they were about to drop me into and the story that was unfolding aside from the main arc. I believe this is the first game where a barrel of black powder is used so ingeniously. Hefting a tommy-gun and unloading it into a passing car full of Capones was a treat. In many first-person games the danger for your character lies in avoidance of anyone who’s got a weapon. In TS2 you can develop tactics around *how* weapons are fired and on who is attacking whom on the screen. It’s not necessarily you. One level alerts you to the fact that the other guys with guns will be killing each other whether or not you’re involved so just make sure that you’re not shooting at the guys who are doing a better job and they’ll pretty much leave you alone.
The controls are great. I had a lot of misgivings about the Cube’s controls when I first saw a picture of its gamepad. I had no idea how I’d be able to handle games that emphasized one big green button for everything. The multiple analog sticks allow for quick changes between weapons and items. There is a motion sensor that you’ll be well served in learning how to use very quickly. Free Radical has given us the option to change the controls as well. This is an amazingly fresh development for the Cube and I really hope that other developers follow suit. I couldn’t stand the control structure for early console first person games. I’m getting stuck in my ways with my old age. I have a general setup that I know very well and any deviation from this brings significant pain. Halo was a breath of fresh air. But even Bungie could learn a lot from the gameplay tweaks in TS2. In Halo, difficulty was measured on a scale with three steps where each step up simply meant it took more ammo to kill the aliens. I wish I could say I’ve taken down every level of Halo but really, I just couldn’t bring myself to waste that much time on tedious enemies. I’ll discuss this more under “Replayability” but the level design of TS2 is more akin to the strategy thresholds evident in more intelligent games like Tom Clancy’s Rogue Spear. The enemies don’t simply take more rounds to fall—the complexity of the objectives require greater technique to complete. One level has numerous bombs requiring deactivation. The higher the level, the more gutsy you have to be in figuring the amount of fire you can plausibly take to still get through to the next health boost before time runs out. In a game where careful planning can precede any attack, a helter skelter run takes on new challenges.
Creepy
Graphics:
better than X The developers at Free Radical have made a smart move in attempting to create more cartoon-like characters rather than go through the trouble of making human-like animation. In our pursuit to make games ever more life-like we often settle for half-baked graphics which don’t quite impress as much as the technology probably merits. The characters in TS2 have the flexibility of cartoon characters rather than the sometimes sclerotic attempt at mirroring human motion. It looks so good because we offer them the same kind of flexibility as we do the animators of The Flintstones or Popeye. TS2’s characters are often keeping watch on patrol, scratching the backs of their necks, hopping in place to keep themselves warm or standing on one leg. They’re never just pacing about aimlessly “on patrol”. The camera keeps a breezy side-to-side motion when you’re moving to more closely mimic the motion of the other characters in the game. One of the myriad bonuses in multi-player mode is the ability to play half-pint size versions of the characters. These little guys see the world around them as though they were walking through a land of giants. I played a deathmatch round against a bunch of these little guys. It was a special round. But this is where I’m beginning to see the Cube’s technology shine through over its competition. Xbox has amazing graphics but there’s a sharpness to them which often seems unnecessary. For the animations more like cartoons, the Cube seems to allow for softer environments.
Sounds:
It’s easier to complain about a game’s sound because it was bad than praise it because it was good. And good sound is seeming harder to pull off these days because the bar is so high. Slapping John Williams soundtracks on to Star Wars games and grabbing the original gunfire from the movies is getting to be an old trick. TS2’s weapons sound good. You feel like you’re unloading some serious fire-power when they’re blasting away. The frenetic sounds of some of the alien weapons are only matched by the crazy vibrations accompanying them through the gamepad. And there are a lot of different weapons here. Each era has its appropriate tools for the task along with some rather surprising itms. The soundtrack is great. The developers tried to get scores that would match the era of the set each level is in without sounding too familiar. It never disappoints and fills in to the overall production seamlessly.
Replayability:
TS2 feels like the pieces of a bunch of other games all thrown together, like a comprehensive demo for what a company *could* develop along a bunch of different lines. Regardless of what Free Radical does next there is one element of TS2 which I would like to shine a special light on because more games should have it; a co-op mode. Playing online shooters like Counterstrike or Return to Castle Wolfenstein with a whole bunch of people over the Net is grand. But being able to play through a game’s story with a buddy is truly sublime. The best part of Halo was being able to spend a long weekend with a friend playing through the entire thing, stopping only long enough for the necessities of life. We went through combat together and saved the universe. I also remember the kid who took down Contra with me back in sixth grade. The co-op story mode is brilliant. The developers gave the only motion detector/sensor to the first player. I recommend a high level of communication between the two of you in the chase level as the only way Player Two will be able to get through is by keeping a good eye on the sensor and close step with Player One. Running around an arena shooting each other is good fun. It’s growing old. Let’s have more games with co-op modes. TS2’s fragmented structure is actually better in this regard *because* of its broken episodes. Each chapter can be looked at as a different arena for two people to get through. My brother was completely dumbfounded in the Old West level when I freed the girl. The mechanics of the operation were just fun to watch.
There are numerous deathmatch modes for TS2 which are unlocked by completing levels in the game with varying awards. The developers were quite creative in this regard. One option allows you to run through the Russian base with bricks trying to break as many windows as you can. Okay, but it’s the closest thing to Vice City-like vandalism we have for the Cube. Not too shabby. The graphics engine changes in deathmatch mode. Characters move very fast. After playing through so much of the single-player game the deathmatch characters felt greased in comparison. Still, we could not jump.
Closing Comments:
TS2 is not going to hold the powerful memory of games like Zelda, Metroid or Half-Life because it never takes itself too seriously. I think it is best described as a brilliant advertisement for what these folks are capable of handling in the future. I feel that we’re going to see much more from this team and that hopefully someone will write them an amazing story that takes advantage of all the brilliant but scattered elements they were able to bring to this production. But by no means would I encourage you to hold back and wait for the next effort. In fact, the only criticism I will hold against Free Radical now, something that was a serious game-foul on their part, was the lack of a jump. Feel blessed, Free Radical. I enjoyed this game a lot but have high expectations for your next project.
Gameplay:
I first played TS2 off a demo disc on the Xbox and am happy to announce that the graphics and controls work better on the Cube. From the introduction, anyone who has ever played GoldenEye will know right away that some of its creators were involved in this game’s development. Our story starts at a Russian base near an imposing hydro-electric dam. Sound familiar? There *is* this little story relating to something about aliens and time crystals that supposedly runs throughout this game but… just skip it. You’ll have a whole lot more fun looking at each level as its own animal. Whether we’re in the Old West busting pretty ladies out of jail, in Notre Dame assisting the Hunchback, stymieing bootleggers in Prohibition-era Chicago or playing in an Indiana Jones-esque South American forest avoiding booby traps and pygmies--this game never stagnates. I found myself ignoring the cut-scenes between levels because of their obscurity and, rather, paying a lot of attention to the details about the world they were about to drop me into and the story that was unfolding aside from the main arc. I believe this is the first game where a barrel of black powder is used so ingeniously. Hefting a tommy-gun and unloading it into a passing car full of Capones was a treat. In many first-person games the danger for your character lies in avoidance of anyone who’s got a weapon. In TS2 you can develop tactics around *how* weapons are fired and on who is attacking whom on the screen. It’s not necessarily you. One level alerts you to the fact that the other guys with guns will be killing each other whether or not you’re involved so just make sure that you’re not shooting at the guys who are doing a better job and they’ll pretty much leave you alone.
The controls are great. I had a lot of misgivings about the Cube’s controls when I first saw a picture of its gamepad. I had no idea how I’d be able to handle games that emphasized one big green button for everything. The multiple analog sticks allow for quick changes between weapons and items. There is a motion sensor that you’ll be well served in learning how to use very quickly. Free Radical has given us the option to change the controls as well. This is an amazingly fresh development for the Cube and I really hope that other developers follow suit. I couldn’t stand the control structure for early console first person games. I’m getting stuck in my ways with my old age. I have a general setup that I know very well and any deviation from this brings significant pain. Halo was a breath of fresh air. But even Bungie could learn a lot from the gameplay tweaks in TS2. In Halo, difficulty was measured on a scale with three steps where each step up simply meant it took more ammo to kill the aliens. I wish I could say I’ve taken down every level of Halo but really, I just couldn’t bring myself to waste that much time on tedious enemies. I’ll discuss this more under “Replayability” but the level design of TS2 is more akin to the strategy thresholds evident in more intelligent games like Tom Clancy’s Rogue Spear. The enemies don’t simply take more rounds to fall—the complexity of the objectives require greater technique to complete. One level has numerous bombs requiring deactivation. The higher the level, the more gutsy you have to be in figuring the amount of fire you can plausibly take to still get through to the next health boost before time runs out. In a game where careful planning can precede any attack, a helter skelter run takes on new challenges.
Creepy
Graphics:
better than X The developers at Free Radical have made a smart move in attempting to create more cartoon-like characters rather than go through the trouble of making human-like animation. In our pursuit to make games ever more life-like we often settle for half-baked graphics which don’t quite impress as much as the technology probably merits. The characters in TS2 have the flexibility of cartoon characters rather than the sometimes sclerotic attempt at mirroring human motion. It looks so good because we offer them the same kind of flexibility as we do the animators of The Flintstones or Popeye. TS2’s characters are often keeping watch on patrol, scratching the backs of their necks, hopping in place to keep themselves warm or standing on one leg. They’re never just pacing about aimlessly “on patrol”. The camera keeps a breezy side-to-side motion when you’re moving to more closely mimic the motion of the other characters in the game. One of the myriad bonuses in multi-player mode is the ability to play half-pint size versions of the characters. These little guys see the world around them as though they were walking through a land of giants. I played a deathmatch round against a bunch of these little guys. It was a special round. But this is where I’m beginning to see the Cube’s technology shine through over its competition. Xbox has amazing graphics but there’s a sharpness to them which often seems unnecessary. For the animations more like cartoons, the Cube seems to allow for softer environments.
Sounds:
It’s easier to complain about a game’s sound because it was bad than praise it because it was good. And good sound is seeming harder to pull off these days because the bar is so high. Slapping John Williams soundtracks on to Star Wars games and grabbing the original gunfire from the movies is getting to be an old trick. TS2’s weapons sound good. You feel like you’re unloading some serious fire-power when they’re blasting away. The frenetic sounds of some of the alien weapons are only matched by the crazy vibrations accompanying them through the gamepad. And there are a lot of different weapons here. Each era has its appropriate tools for the task along with some rather surprising itms. The soundtrack is great. The developers tried to get scores that would match the era of the set each level is in without sounding too familiar. It never disappoints and fills in to the overall production seamlessly.
Replayability:
TS2 feels like the pieces of a bunch of other games all thrown together, like a comprehensive demo for what a company *could* develop along a bunch of different lines. Regardless of what Free Radical does next there is one element of TS2 which I would like to shine a special light on because more games should have it; a co-op mode. Playing online shooters like Counterstrike or Return to Castle Wolfenstein with a whole bunch of people over the Net is grand. But being able to play through a game’s story with a buddy is truly sublime. The best part of Halo was being able to spend a long weekend with a friend playing through the entire thing, stopping only long enough for the necessities of life. We went through combat together and saved the universe. I also remember the kid who took down Contra with me back in sixth grade. The co-op story mode is brilliant. The developers gave the only motion detector/sensor to the first player. I recommend a high level of communication between the two of you in the chase level as the only way Player Two will be able to get through is by keeping a good eye on the sensor and close step with Player One. Running around an arena shooting each other is good fun. It’s growing old. Let’s have more games with co-op modes. TS2’s fragmented structure is actually better in this regard *because* of its broken episodes. Each chapter can be looked at as a different arena for two people to get through. My brother was completely dumbfounded in the Old West level when I freed the girl. The mechanics of the operation were just fun to watch.
There are numerous deathmatch modes for TS2 which are unlocked by completing levels in the game with varying awards. The developers were quite creative in this regard. One option allows you to run through the Russian base with bricks trying to break as many windows as you can. Okay, but it’s the closest thing to Vice City-like vandalism we have for the Cube. Not too shabby. The graphics engine changes in deathmatch mode. Characters move very fast. After playing through so much of the single-player game the deathmatch characters felt greased in comparison. Still, we could not jump.
Closing Comments:
TS2 is not going to hold the powerful memory of games like Zelda, Metroid or Half-Life because it never takes itself too seriously. I think it is best described as a brilliant advertisement for what these folks are capable of handling in the future. I feel that we’re going to see much more from this team and that hopefully someone will write them an amazing story that takes advantage of all the brilliant but scattered elements they were able to bring to this production. But by no means would I encourage you to hold back and wait for the next effort. In fact, the only criticism I will hold against Free Radical now, something that was a serious game-foul on their part, was the lack of a jump. Feel blessed, Free Radical. I enjoyed this game a lot but have high expectations for your next project.
November 20, 2009
