Time Crisis 2 sets new standards in Light Gun gaming and it introduces a 2 Player mode as well as extra modes and a.....
Game Title: Time Crisis 2
Platform: PlayStation 2
Developer: Namco
Publisher: Namco
Genre: Light Gun Shooter
Age Rating: 15+ ELSPA
Release Date: October 1st 2001 (North America), October 4th 2001 (Japan), October 19th 2001 (Europe)
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Game Score: 8.5/10
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Summery:
Time Crisis 2 sets new standards in Light Gun gaming and it introduces a 2 Player mode as well as extra modes and a new Light Gun for it's console release.
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After years of waiting for Time Crisis 2 to come to home consoles as well as Project Titan that ended up as being the shallow version of the 4 year old Time Crisis game on the PlayStation, the real Time Crisis sequel finally makes it's way to home consoles on Sony's new PlayStation 2 system. This enhanced rendition of the arcade classic features better graphics, extra cutscenes as well as new modes and minigames for an excellent value.
Time Crisis 2 can be bought on it's own or with the G-Con 2 peripheral in it's own package box. The G-Con 2 has a very improved layout of buttons and the model design looks really cool. The gun has the Same A and B buttons on the side of the gun but it has Start and Select buttons as well as a C button on the bottom handle of the gun, there are also Directional buttons which are used for selecting stuff as well as either moving a character or reloading a gun. The gun is also really accurate for these types of Light Gun games in comparison to how the original G-Con 45 worked with the newer games in the genre. It is recommended that you stand about 1 to 1.5 Metres from the screen. As much as the game supports the G-Con 2 the game also works with the original G-Con 45 and it's still reasonably accurate and you can calibrate the Light Guns anytime in the Options screen. Reloading with the buttons still tires your arms out unless you want to use your old Steering Wheel's pedal for reloading.
Time Crisis 2's plot is simple but the extra cutscenes bring out a bit to the action, A corporation named Nerodyne Industries kidnaps V.S.S.E's undercover agent Chirsty Ryan and they plan to launch a Nuclear Satellite into space. It's up to you and a friend armed to the teeth with Namco guns in hand to stop Nerodyne and their schemes as well as facing off against Wild Dog again. The added cutscenes are quite impressive and the voice acting and the script are reasonably good.
Time Crisis's Duck N Cover is fast paced and engaging as ever and as always there is a Time Limit so it's frantic to shoot down everything on the screen quickly before time runs up, if it does then you'll lose a Life instead going to a continue screen. You got multiple enemies on screen and also there accuracy has improved in which even the blue guys can land a critical shot on you. The red guy and brown guy shots are just about as deadly as ever and also there's Orange guys which boosts your points and there's also white guys to keep an eye out for. A helpful feature is that you can see the critical gun shot coming for you so that you can react to it by ducking quickly before it shoots you. Everytime you clear out a wave of enemies you move to the next cover points through either the City, the Train Station and the Fortress. Every Ending Stage will have a boss battle which all take tons of bullets before they fall down letting you advance to the next stage.
You start the game with 4 Lifes and 4 Credits when you first boot up the game and each session of pay increases your Credits and Life. It makes the game challenging but however it becomes frustrating that you have to restart the game when you run out meaning that it's Game Over.
Time Crisis 2 can be played either alone or with another player. You have the Story mode to playthrough with 3 stages which have about 4 different acts to plough through and also a One Stage Trial where you attempt to beat one of the games Three Stages with the best Time and Score possible. It's simple for a One Player game but Time Crisis 2 features tons of ways to play.
One of Time Crisis 2's biggest inculcation is the 2 Player mode which allows 2 people to shoot down bad guys together, however Time Crisis 2 on the PlayStation 2 has only a few issues with it. You can play 2 Players on a Single screen but you'll have 2 screens that are very short to see. This makes the game harder to see when trying to watch out for incoming bullets pixels will trick you into thinking that there was an enemy there. You can play 2 Players the way it was played in the Arcades with the use of the iLink Cable which allows two PlayStation 2's to be linked together, you'll then need an extra Television, an extra Time Crisis 2 disc and also an extra Light Gun controller if needed. The problem with that setup is that it's a more expensive setup but it's a really fun addition to be able to shoot together with a friend.
Upon beating it unlocks a mirror mode where the game screen is reversed and also you can unlock different weapons like the Shotgun, Machine Gun and Unlimited Bullets and both players can select their weapons before they start playing.
You can also play the game with 2 Light Guns in hands in Double Gun Mode which makes clearing out the entire screen of enemies so much more fun and also you can try to do this mode with a friend if you wish. You can select 2 different weapons for the 2 guns you're using which is another cool feature.
In addition to the Arcade and Trial Modes there are also 3 different minigames including an unlockable which include the shooting practice Agent Trainer and 2 of Namco's arcade shooting classics Quick & Crash and Shoot Away 2. Agent Trainer is like a training simulator where you have about 6 Bullets and you have to score the Highest Score possible by shooting the centre of the target. You can play it with the Round Target or the Human Target and there are 4 Levels which the targets pattern so you'll need to aim carefully at the target before firing away cause if you're lucky you'll might hit an X-Block which distinguishes your accuracy. Agent Trainer is fun with another friend and it can be competitive to see who earns the highest score.
Quick & Crash was released in arcades in 1999 and it's console add-on includes the main game along with 3 unlockable modes. In the game you got to shoot the targets with limited ammunition. Your targets range from targets being still, moving targets and also the cup which can explode into pieces. You also have One Shot which you try to the target without missing in the fastest time, Chain Hit where you successively shoot down as many targets as possible with missing and 10 Seconds where you shoot down as many targets before time runs out. The game's 2 Player mode is a competitive mode where you shoot a number of targets to fill up the meter so that you can shoot the cup. Quick & Crash is a simple but really fun shooting minigame to play.
If you're old school then you'll enjoy Shoot Away 2 an Electro-Mechanical game of 1993. In this game you have 2 shots and you play through 10 sets before advancing to the next round, If you don't have enough points then you lose the game and there are 3 rounds to play. You got to shoot down 2 Clay targets within 2 shots and with well timed shots you'll earn more points. There is a difficulty setting in which changes the pattern of the targets. There are about 3 different courses to play though and beating them will unlock a remastered mode where it's in 3D. It's weaker then Duck Hunt on the NES but still a fun game neitherless.
The unlockable minigame is Crisis Mission where it's objective based and you have to clear different goals in order to advance to the next mission. Missions involve kill a target number of enemies, getting a certain amount of points, avoiding civilians or taking out a group without missing. These conditions are challenging for the most part and also you can unlock bonus challenges to play which I won't spoil out. You will take dozens of attempts on some of the objectives if they are very hard to beat.
Time Crisis 2's presentation has been updated with improved graphics, visuals and soundtrack. While PlayStation 2 games are not the most graphically impressive but however Time Crisis 2 manages to bring the advanced graphic capabilities of the system with impressive visual effects like explosions amazingly detailed models and lighting effects. The enemy designs is reused all the time. The soundtracks received impressive remixed tracks used from the first game as well as some original tracks with instrumental beats.
Overall Time Crisis 2 is a huge Light Gun package that is enjoyable to both newcomers and hardcore fans. For it's price tag along with the G-Con 2 controller it's a fantastic deal. If you looking for a change in your Light Gun games or looking for something else to play on the PS2 then Time Crisis 2 sets new standards in Light Gun gaming and it introduces a 2 Player mode as well as extra modes and a new Light Gun for it's console release. Just be warned that getting the 2 Player mode on a separate console will be difficult task unless you can handle the 2 Player mode on the same screen.
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The Good Points:
1. The G-Con 2 layout buttons are nicely layed out and it does support the original G-Con 45
2. Player mode is so much fun with a friend
3. Plenty of enjoyable Minigames and other extras
4. Double Gun Mode is such a huge blast
The Bad Points:
1. Costs so much for a true 2 Player experience
2. Requires a lot of playthroughs to get extra Lives and Credits which is frustrating
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Reviewed by: Anthony Hayball (AQWBlaZer91)
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