TimeSplitters Review

By 5thHorseman

1. Selection of Dates
In Timesplitters 2, every level was a different date, each with its own unique characters and environment. Some of the weapons had to be reused, though, which I can't say I was too impressed with, seeing the same sniper rifle in 1990 and 2019; I understand, however, that different/more guns means more time and more disk space. Nevertheless it was still a surprise to see what would come up. In Future Perfect there are only 6 dates covering the span of 13 levels. By doing this, a new set of guns did not have to be made for each level; since they were the same dates, you would obviously see the same guns again. I'm aware that returning to the same dates was necessary for the TSFP storyline, and they did a fine job with it. I, personally, was hoping for more selection in time periods.

2. Jump
In case Free Radical hasn't noticed, many people complain or comment about there not being a jump button in the TS series. The way Free Radical makes the series, some people say that it doesn't need a jump button or believe that it's not necessary. They are right in that the series does not require a jump button and does not take way from it, but having one would make it better. Free Radical would be able to make environments take longer to explore with more places to go, and create places you couldn't get to (like being able to jump up on boxes stacked next to a building and jumping through a window. Just use your imagination, for godsake!). I don't need to talk about this any longer, it's basically common sense. Why Free Radical didn't make a button, I don't know, but in the future I recommend that they do.

3. Split Paths
Another major thing that I wasn't too pleased with was feeling that there was only one road to follow. In many games, there are rooms to explore which hold ammo, items, health etc., or have you back track to a door that you went passed already but is now unlocked. In the TS series, especially FP, these types of things weren't offered often. The ammo, health and armor are all on that one path, leading to the end of the level. I think that the level that disappointed me the most by doing this was Mansion of Madness. There were doors everywhere, but of course they were all locked except for the ones that brought you to the end of the level. Very upsetting. On the Russian Connection level, I was looking forward to investigating that large building with the clock on it after I mowed down all the people who came out of it. To my disappointing surprise, the door was locked. That's the kinda stuff I'm talking about. My last example is the level You Genius. U-Genix. That level is like a random maze of long hallways, (who would create a complex like that??) which is why it is one of my least favorite to play. Free Radical should do their best to fill up the levels. Sadly, they did not.

4. Timesplitters
Where did the reaper and scourge splitters go? Surely they weren't all destroyed in TS2. Free Radical made a poor decision to keep them out of FP. When I first saw the Timesplitters in TS2, I gave me a good first impression of a cool-looking, strong, and intelligent (because of their technology) species. In FP, the only Timesplitters that make an appearance are the gorilla-like berserker splitters. In my opinion, they don't look as cool as the reaper splitters and aren't as intimidating; I think maybe it's because they seem to quickly scuttle from place to place (which is kinda crazy for their size even though I guess it could be possible) because of their color (bright orange never really seemed as menacing as some darker color) and because of the high pitched screech they make, which is awkward when seeing how burly they are. I would rather have seen the reaper splitters and the scourge splitters again (maybe they're the ones flying the ships in the first level, ha) but the berserker splitters aren't bad either; they just should've used them all. or should have at least included the reapers.

5. Longer/More levels
I know there is only so much room you can cram onto a disk, but some of the levels seemed way too short, like Breaking and Entering (another straight-path level) or the Russian Connection. I think they should be at least as long as Scotland the Brave (the second to longest level, for me). I'm not gonna say much else except that Free Radical should put more into the story mode (if they can) or at least make it harder. In TS2, on hard, it was almost impossible to get past Atom Smasher. Now I'm not saying that FP should have been that difficult because that was just nuts, but it really shouldn't be as easy as it is (on hard). The story mode on both games are good and I have replayed them several times. They both have their good and bad points, but I won't go into it (it basically comes down to the whole date thing again).

6. Detail
In TSFP, there are many examples of good detail, such as Bunker (I spent a good 15 minutes in Bunker [w/o bots] just admiring the opened file cabinets with papers strewn all over the place, all the bulletin boards, the locker room, and the shading; all very impressing. By the way, notice the exit to the surface), Hotel and Kallos Express (one of the few story levels with decent detail, esp. in the room with the projector) and then there are the levels that lack detail such as You Genius, U-Genix (needs more [even if they're fake] doors or something), Scotland the Brave (inside the castle is kinda bland) and the arcade level Spaceport (which is basically one straight path with the best detail being the ship and the windows). In TS2, I noticed that there wasn’t too much detail in the levels compared to other games and was hoping for more in FP, which there was, but not as much as I expected.

7. Easy mode
Personally, I don't think that there should be an easy mode in any game. It seems like a cheap way to win a game if you just wanna get through it to say that you beat it [and then lie about beating it on normal or hard] or for the people who really suck at video games. There should only be a normal mode and any mode(s) harder than that. I liked the idea in TS2 that if you chose easy mode you weren't able to get the full experience of the game because the levels were cut short. In FP, the easy mode was so excruciatingly easy that anyone could easily blast through story mode in less than 1 hr to 1 1/2 hrs. When I bought FP, I started out on normal mode which was way to easy and so by the 3rd level, I restarted and replayed it on hard. I'm not bragging or anything, because if you played the easy mode, you'd know.

8. Ending
I don't know about you, but I was pretty let down by the ending cut-scene of FP. One thing is that there were no explosions shown when the time crystal is destroyed, only audio. Another was the cheesiness factor. First, everything starts to disappear because they wouldn't have been created if it weren't for the Timesplitters. That part's fine. It's when Anya says "look" (or something like that) and nothing is happening, and then a couple seconds later everything flashes and turns 'normal'. Does Anya have foresight or something or was that just a long delay? However it was supposed to be presented, it was definitely awkward. Also, why would the general care about the robot? It was from 2243! That's like us worrying about a stolen 1990's computer! It's primitive technology compared to 2006, practically worthless. In this case it's 2401, there should be MUCH better technology than R-110 (even though he is a cool character, sorry). The last thing is what Anya says to Cortez. It looks like Free Radical planned that to be cheesy and lame, and that's alright but when I saw that that was the end of the ending scene, I was pretty disappointed.

MINOR DETAILS: these are mainly small, insignificant details I noticed that would, in my opinion, improve the series, but not as important as what is listed above.

1. Explosions - The explosions in TS could use a facelift to appear more like a 3d dome explosion (like in Aliens vs. Predator or the BFG blast from Doom3) rather than looking like just an expanding puff of fire. (also, zombies [or even regular people] could explode into limbs. It's not necessary at all, but just a thought)

2. Two hands, one Pistol - When holding one/a pistol, two hands could be used (like on the revolver in FP [if you can't see the two hands, turn the movable aim on, grab a cloak, and point up, you'll notice two hands holding the gun handle), rather than one.

3. Flamethrower Flame - It should also be improved to look more like a stream of liquid (also like in AvP) than a soft flame.

4. Heatseeker - It should travel must faster and shouldn't be able to circle around the enemy like 5 times or until it hits them, that's just nutty.

5. Minigun Kick - When firing strong weapons, such as the minigun, the screen should shake to show the force of the kick (which should be umm...A LOT! It's a minigun, c'mon).

6. Anya's advice - In FP, whenever a puzzle-like situation came up, Anya would be there to tell us how to solve it, even if it was obvious. The game is rated for 17+. I think we're all capable of solving them ourselves, not to mention it would be more fun.

7. Variation in missions (not the same as dates) - What I mean by this is how the mission objectives are set up and how you have to act. In TS2, Siberia, when it was on hard, required you to be sneaky cause if you went in trying to mow people down, you wouldn't get very far. The same applies to NeoTokyo, on any difficulty setting, because if you were to rush it, then the cameras would sound and you'd never get in the underground research base. Then there were levels where you just simply went in shooting like in Notre Dame or Return to Planet X, and also levels where you needed to use both these skills (being cautious and trigger happy) like in the Wild West and Atom Smasher. In FP, you see less variation of this. With all the levels, you can just run in, kill them all, and get to the next level. There is no need to be sneaky about anything. I'm sure things would be different if there was a harder hard mode (would have to be more careful). The closest Future Perfect level where you had to be stealthy (which was really an option) was the Russian Connection, but even then you could get everyone's attention and then just kill them all. Like in TS2, I was just hoping to have had to play differently depending on the level. This aspect could also be a major issue.

8. Interactivity - Being unable to interact with many things in TS makes the game feel somewhat cheap. In TS2 there were little things like being able to open file cabinets in Siberia, along with the cash register in Chicago and being able to play pool. In some levels, you could also control guns turrets from a computer or control robots on rails. Sadly, there is not much like that in FP. It's pretty much a stiff environment. There are a couple things like driving around vehicles, including the cat on Kallos Express (useless thing), which is cool (not the cat, the actual vehicles) but I don't they did enough with the idea, and being able to open the cabinets on the Mansion of Madness (Which, by the way, supplies you with WAY too much health, even on hard). The uplink is also another way of interacting with objects, but I don't think that it was used enough, and being able to break open boxes is expected (on the Khallos Express level, there is a wooden box behind a metal crate in the room with the turret, and if you break it open, there is armor inside. I thought that was pretty neat). Levers are also expected, duh, but in Scotland the Brave, I thought that being able to reopen the fireplace after Crow leaves was kinda nifty (before I found that out, I thought the small elevator at the end of the level was just there for decoration or something. I didn't know that's the one Crow used). I wasn't really expecting much interactivity seeing how TS2 came out, but I believe that adding some more in the next project (like being able to blow up cracked sections of wall with explosives or something) would be a nice addition.

9. Barrel Rotation - This is just a glitch that I noticed when playing. When you turn the minigun barrel on so it spins without firing, it spins fast enough to synchronize with how fast the bullets come out of the gun once you start firing. When you don't press second, however, and just start firing, look at the barrel and you'll notice that it spins much slower than it should. Another point I would like to add about the minigun is when you're looking at another character holding it. It you've noticed, they hold it like they're holding a regular machine gun, so their hands aren't holding it where they should be. Miniguns should always be held like portrayed in Doom 3, AvP, or almost anywhere you see someone holding one. It should be held with two hands at about waist level. Just look for a picture and you'll see what I mean. This is just another thing I noticed, but nothing to have a heart attack over, though it would look much better.

10. Run 'n' Reload - In multiplayer, when someone is running and reloading at the same time, it appears as if they are sliding along while reloading. Someone should have realized this when testing the game, but unfortunately it's still there. FRD should've made different movement frames for this.

Arcade Levels -
Here are my ratings for the arcade levels, with 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, and 6, not 5 as the average.

Vietnam 7/10 - The gun emplacements can be helpful; helicopters and bombs add good effects; good cover

Hotel 5-6/10 - Excellent detail but doesn't make up for the map's poor design. It's easy to get lost and hard to find other players depending where you appear)

Venice 5-6/10 - A decent map; not really any good or bad points

Temple 8/10 - Good layout; great for capture the bag; both open and enclosed

Disco 6 or 7/10 - A decent map; not really any good or bad points; can play turn table, drums, and guitar [if shot]

Subway 8 or 9/10 - Symmetrical and simple; easy to find your way around

Zeppelin 4 or 5/10 - Makes the radar practically useless; very hard to find people

Mars Prison 10/10 - (excellent map [my personal favorite]; looks good, has good layout, awesome for capture the bag, people are never too far away)

Siberia 9/10 - Good for sniping; challenging capture the bag [if set up right]; helpful jeep; fun for practicing long distance accuracy or just nailing people.

Bunker 4-5/10 - Excellent detail; semi-decent layout, but definitely not my first choice.

VR 6/10 - It looks way too plain. fun for capture the bag. could've have been made better [maybe larger] with more detail. It looks like something a five year-old could've designed

Spaceport 4/10 - The worst map for capture the bag [hard to escape/survive because of the long trip back] basically linear, not too fun to play on. I was expecting something better judging by the name [something more like UFOpia from TS2]

Chinese 7-8/10 - Good overall map layout. can sometimes take a while to find people; above average detail

Mexican Mission 9/10 - Easy to find people; good for trigger-happies; simple symmetrical layout that works [unlike hotel for example]; capture the bag, however, is very unfair

Training Ground 8-9/10 - Easily one of the best maps; works very well with capture the bag; would give it a 10 if gun mounts and turrets hadn't been removed; [was my favorite map in TS2]

Things I miss about TS2

Weapons (some of the weapons I wished would be in FP)

Luger Pistol (one of the best sounding and looking pistols)
Tommy Gun (a classic to see any time traveling game)
Soviet (a familiar gun is always nice to see [we know it as the AK-47])
Minigun (I liked the metal bullets, but the new one is just as good too: having both in the same game would be sweet)
SBP900 machinegun (a nice glimpse at near-future machine guns)

Arcade Maps (some of my favorite maps of TS2)

Training Ground (because it had the guns mounts and turrets)
Streets (one of the best capture the bag levels in TS2 and FP)
UFOpia (very good detail, especially the reflections)
Hangar (a decent, all-around map that I played on a lot)
Ice Station (good for capture the bag; gun mounts are always fun, good stage for anything, really)
Hospital (kinda gloomy [which is good, having variation] and had a good layout)

Story Levels (the story mode levels which I had the most fun playing)

Siberia
Chicago
Notre Dame
Wild West
Return to Planet X
Atom Smasher
Aztec Temple

Summary (some things I won't re-mention because they are all ready to the point)

1. Needs more dates like in TS2

2. Could use a jump button

3. Needs more level variation to allow for the need for backtracking and a more free environment.

4. Should include other Timesplitters such as reapers, scourge, and drone splitters.

5. Story mode levels should be longer, more involved, and include more levels.

6. Needs more detail in the story mode levels to add to realism and remove the feel of cheapness.

7. Difficulty needs to be adjusted to be harder (almost as hard as TS2 with a little more health/armor)

8. Needs and ending that looks better and brings better closure to the end of the game.

9. Avoid giving obvious advice, allow gamers to figure out puzzles themselves.

10. Design levels which require different techniques to complete them to make environments feel unique and not so monotonous.

11. Add objects into levels which players can interact with to create an environment that feels more real.

12. Bring back the best points of TS2 (and TS1 if there were any [I never played it, remember])

Whenever the next Timesplitters game is made, I hope that it will be better than FP was/is whether it's made by Free Radical or not. I really don't get why the series isn't more popular than it is, but hopefully people will take more interest in it as it gets better (if it does). Like I said in the beginning, these are just my solutions to things that I find wrong with the game; things that I believe could make it better. You read all this and then think how can I say I'm a fan of the game, but how would I notice all the details if I wasn't, and don't you notice these things too? I know my suggestions might sound picky, but it takes a lot for something to be great, especially a game like this with all the competition around, such as Halo 2. Timesplitters, I think, is already close to perfect, and has that potential, but just doesn't know how it could be improved. These are simply all the bad points that I believe could be fixed or adjusted. With the next generation systems coming out, the series should be able to do a lot more including better graphics, more challenges and arcade league levels [which there were less of in FP than TS2], a longer story mode, more characters [150 is plenty, though], more weapons, and more detail.