Arcade shooting at it's very best

User Rating: 9.5 | TimeSplitter: Jikuu no Shinryakusha PS2
By pigfish2 | Review Date:
Timesplitters 2 is a game that is just brilliant from start to finish. It has no bad sections. Even the stealth section in the story is fun. You don't play timesplitters 2 for the story however, you play it for the arcade mode. Running and gunning in arcade mode is put simply a total blast. The games menu screens are vibrant and the music is light and electric which is in keeping with the game. Everything on the menus is laid out in an easy to navigate manner but still manages to be fairly immersive at the same time. The pause menus are the same and it all helps the game to feel fun all the time. The game is split into three main sections. Story mode which follows the collection and use of the time crystals, Arcade mode which is basically battles between up to 10 bots and 4 players in a variety of game modes and challenge mode which requires you to do set things within a time limit to get medals and unlock characters. Graphically at first it seems a bit lacking. But if you take a moment to jusr step back and look at it you realise that it has it's own persoanl graphical style and that actually it's pretty good. Others may disagree but i think the graphics are great.

All the characters have their own death sounds which helps to keep them all feel different and like an actual character rather then just a skin. The music is also vibrant, uplifting and fits the game to a T. Each level in story mode has it's own place in history allowing for a change in level design each time which keeps the game fresh. For example the first level is in Siberia, another is in the wild west and another in a Neo Tokyo future city. Thus the levels continue to feel interesting which can be a problem in some first person shooters when every level looks the same. The arcade mode arenas are generally based around the story creating diversity and there are also some which are more related to different arcade characters that you can use. The story doesn't have a lot of depth because it's all really just shooting but get to arcade and challenge modes and the game just keeps getting deeper. In arcade mode there are over 120 characters to choose from and at least 15 different maps to fight on. You can even design your own maps or levels in map maker and it is very detailed as well. A whole host of different game modes make it even deeper as well. You can choose from deathmatch to team deathmatch to capture the flag to virus and many, many more. There is even an arcade league in which you battle in pre set levels to gain medals which unlock more characters and maps. Challenge mode retains some depth by mixing the gameplay up a little. Sometimes it is just the straight shooting but at others you will have to et to checkpoints or even collect things and return them to a base area. The controls are simple and easy to use. It's on ebutton to shoot, one bitton to crouch one button to shoot etc. You don't even need to press a button to pick up a new weapon because it's doen automatically when you walk over it and you can store an unlimited amount of weapons at one time. The simple controls work very well with the game.

The game doesn't do anything really original but what it does, it does very well so that's not really a problem. The way it does everything so well could be classed as originality in a way I suppose. Timesplitters 2 will keep you playing and playing and playing. It never gets boring. It's the right mix of everything to make the perfect cocktail that nevers grows tiresome. It's one of the funnest games ever created. Especially with a friend.

Gameplay-10
Graphics-9
Sound-9
Controls-9
Lifespan-10
Tilt-10
Overall=9.5

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