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TimeSplitters is the critically acclaimed shootemup for PlayStation 2.
Developed by the Nottingham based company Free Radical, and published in 2000 by Eidos, TimeSplitters soon proved itself as one of the best wholly new titles for the young PS2 console.
A fast paced First Person Shooter set over 100 years of past, present and future, TimeSplitters boasts an incredibely fast gameplay, demanding the player keep their wits about them at all times.
The look of the game is substantially more Comic Book than those of many in the genre such as Half-Life or Red Faction, with often over the top character models and expressions, that has been known put off some gamers.
Also, although nearly five years old, the game's graphics and animations are still crisp and fluid, even with many characters on screen at once.
TimeSplitters has spawned a highly successful sequel, TimeSplitters 2, with a third, TimeSplitters: Future Perfect due out this year.
Story
Story mode is a series of 9 short yet frantic missions, based upon the retrieval of a key object and it's return, usually back to the maps starting point. Enemy AI is simple, yet determined, and there's rarely room for error, certainly on the harder settings. Enemies can appear literally out of nowhere and there are no checkpoints to allow breathing space.
The difficulty curve in this game is very steep, and the player will notice the change when playing in the harder settings. The enemies become more numerous, better armed, and the maps themselves can change to make things harder.
The Story mode is also where most of the games unlockables are found. Completing a mission will often be rewarded with a new character or characters in the Arcade game. Other rewards include new cheats and new Arcade maps. Completing a mission in a set time limit will also garner a reward.
Weaponry available to the player is determined primarily by the time setting of the mission, Tommy Guns and Mausers, through Uzis to rayguns can all be found throughout the game.
Arcade
The game's multi-player Arcade mode when fully unlocked, boasts a selection of 6 game types, 18 maps, over 60 characters and all story mode weapons, coupled with almost complete customisation of individual match settings, and finished with a quality mapmaker.
The individual game types are:
Deathmatch: Be the first to reach the kill limit. Teamplay and an optional time limit can be set in which case, the leader at the close is declared winner.
BagTag: Hold the bag for as long as possible within the time limit. Teamplay can be set.
Capture the Bag: Capture the enemy team's bag and return it to your base to score. The player must defend their own bag as they lose points for it's capture. Also, a player cannot score while the bag is out of their base, but they only need touch it when out of enemy hands to return it. A time limit can be set.
Knockout. Bag's spawn onto the map (usually in the same basic area) and the player must take then to their team's base to score. A time limit can be set.
Escort: Only available on some maps. Escort an NPC to a pre-set base while defending him or her from respawning enemies.
Last Stand: Only available on some maps. Hold of increasing waves of enemies for as long as possible, points are awarded for both efficient kills and completion of phases.
The characters available as playable or bots, are made up mostly of Story mode heroes and villains and are many and varied. Everything from Robots, Cyborgs and Zombies to Gangsters, Aliens and even the odd Furry are selectable.
Challenge
A series of 9 sets of 3 single player challenges, often based around a pre-set Arcade match. Rewards are given for successful completion.
Cheats
None. The player will have to play the game to unlock everything, with the games own unlockable cheats cancelling out any reward gained through their use.
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