If you know me well enough, you know that I don't play 'pop' games. I mean games like Gears of War, Call of Duty and Assassin's Creed. I just cannot get into them. GOW is boring and dull, COD is boring and dull, and Assassin's Creed is... something. Okay, I didn't acually play any of the ACs, but what i've seen of the games they actually look fairly unique and fun.
The point I'm trying to get at is that I like playing cirtain games, e.g. Dynasty Warriors, Gradius, Oblivion and most of all, Timesplitters. why? because It's a very old-school FPS, very arcade-like and because it's bat-shit insane! Now, I am going to elaborate, but first:
Timesplitters was released on the PS2 in the year 2000, being very close to the release of the Playstation 2 it's self. Needles to say, despite what it was back then, It just doesent hold up today. the graphics are simplistic, the gameplay is beyond simple and the difficulty can fluctuate from piss-easy to damn-near impossible.
So the first game was not very good, but things got better by the sequal... MUCH better. In 2002, much to the joy of the fans, Timeplitters 2 was released and oh... was it glorious.
TS2 was in many ways similar to TS1 but in so many other ways completely different to it. It both stayed faithful to the original 'classic' and changed enough to feel fresh but not alienate the rooted fans of the first installment. So in short, It blends both arcade and story to the perfect balance of tooty-shooty fun and interesting story-telling.
<SIGH> I actually tell a lie. That's what the story-telling could have been like. before we get to the pulsing vein that is TS2's biggest problem lets look at the game's pros.
The graphics, for 2002 are gorgeous. Even on the PS2's nasty habit of texture blur, the game never ceases to be interesting to look at. The craracter models are also very well done and although the characters are not capible of pulling facial expressions (exept in game cut-scenes) there are 126 playable characters to play, all of them unique, ranging from millitary personel to zombies, Duckmen to circus freaks and aliens to monkies.
The music is complete genius, having some great tracks varing in style and mood, from the chilled jazz tracks of Chicargo downtown to the peppy energetic melody of planet X. If you havent guessed yet, the game involves time-travel, having you to go to many different settings and places, all of them distinct from each other. This is one of the things what makes the games so enjoyable to play. the vast selection of weapons to fit each time period (which you can then mix'n'match in MP) makes it so that every stage has somthing different to offer. this is one of the problems with it's predessesor, Timesplitters: future perfect, where the weapons are too generic and the settings don't jump around nearly as much, wich makes the game seem more monotonous.
Like I said, TS2 still has a firm grasp on the retro gameplay mechanics of the first game: run around and shoot stuff, but also changes it up with objectives, which are different on each stage. sure It's not such a bug deal now, but back then, especially considering what the first game's 'objective' was (i.e. fina an item in the level and then find and stand in the "goal"), it gave a much fuller experience, something the first game lacked.
Now... time to talk about the story. The basic plot goes like this: in the year 2401, the human race is hanging on a thread because of a alien species known as the Timesplitters. At the start of the story mode, the Timesplitters have captured a spacestation which has the cool ability to time-travel. how is time-travel possible? by the use of the time crystals, of course! so when sargent Cortez and corporal Heart are sent to find and retrieve the crystals, the Timesplitters escape, taking the crystals with them to different times and places. So ol' Cortez has to find all 8 of them which are scattered throughout time.
Now when Cortez passes to a different time, his appearance or 'character' changes acordingly. This is the part of the story wich I don't get. Why does he change into different people? Shouldn't he stay just as he is? because the Timesplitters don't change into anything. They stay as freaking Timesplitters. It does give a different story to each scenario, however. You get to see each character's motivation during the cutscenes. I still feel that it's unnecessary to do this. It could have been Cortez travelling through time, retreiving Time Crystals and Slaying Timesplitters, but instead it's, for example, Hank Nova, the space pilot retreiving Time Crystals and Slaying Timesplitters. It doesen't add up to the characters motivations either, whatever they may have been. The only characters who actually want the crystals are Harry Tipper and Captain Ash, which were original TS craracters to begin with, So I guess they know the score.
But y'see, when the characters find the crystal and complete all primary objectives a portal appears leading back to the space station and to complete the level you have to go through... So the characters whose motivations are clearly set in stone come across a ominous time portal and without hesitation jump in? You may be thinking 'because it's Cortez!', but why then does he care about the character's pre-determened motivations?! why doesen't he just find the crystals instead of-
Y'know what, forget it. If you're wanting a compeling story-arc you're playing TS2 for the wrong reason. You play TS2 for fun. Y'know, fun? the age-old concept that was the purpose of video gaming ever since it started? I am a man of simple tastes and personally, I don't look for compelling stories in games. I don't EXPECT compelling stories in games. Thats what a book or film is for. A game is a chance to let loose of your current worries and dive into a big warm pool of F.U.N. And that's what exactly TS2 is.
Rating: 9/10
Go check it out. It's a real doozy!
