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OK on single player, great on multiplayer

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 9 / 9
Date: November 09, 2002
Author: Amazon User

TimeSplitters was a popular game when it came out. It took the normal shooter game and added in changes in environment - you moved through time to persue your enemies. TimeSplitters 2 expands this with better graphics, sound, and multiplay features.

The plot isn't much to get enthusiastic about. An evil enemy race is trying to wipe out humanity, and they have a time portal. They run back through time with crystals and you have to go back into each time period to track down the crystal and do other miscellaneous tasks while you're there.

The graphics are indeed nice, from flaming torches to dreary sewers and polished marble floors. But when you compare them to the likes of Halo or Kingdom Hearts, they're a bit old looking. There aren't shadows. The backgrounds aren't very dynamic. You shoot walls and get tiny holes, unlike the deformable terrain of other current games. The textures seem flat and a bit repetitive.

They did make an attempt to have the sounds match the eras, with lovely chanting during Notre Dame and twanging during the Western era. Even so, you don't feel 'immersed' in the game. Characters don't make noise when they walk. There isn't really any ambient noise.

The weapon choices are fun and time-appropriate. In Chicago of 1932, you've got Tommy Guns. In Notre Dame you're playing with shotguns. So there's always new variety as you go from level to level.

The missions aren't very challenging compared to other games that are out. They are extremely linear and there's rarely any brainpower involved. There's side missions like "blow up file cabinets along the way" or "shoot out whiskey barrels". There's usually a rationale given but it's pretty flimsy.

There are other 'mini-games' that you can play. Do things like fight off the living dead, smash the glass and so on. Try to get the best times to get high rankings.

Where the game really shines is multiplayer. There are HUNDREDS of characters to choose from in multiplay, and tons of ways to play that you unlock as you go. There are the standards like deathmatch as well as more interesting variations. The game is savvy about game hook-ups and LANs to open the game up to as many players as possible for your system.

In addition, TimeSplitters 2 comes with a MAP EDITOR. This is something rarely seen in a console game!! You can choose from a beginner or advanced mode and design your own maps, and then have your friends play through it! Customize the tile set, bot placements, choose weapons, music, you name it. You can create your own full maps and play a new game every day!

A great game if you're into multiplayer or map creation, and a fun shooter if you're not too particular about graphics or sounds.

Best multi-player on Xbox

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 8 / 8
Date: January 17, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Ok, First the good.

Timesplitters2 is argueably the best multi-player shooter on the Xbox. There are a wide variety of levels, all of which are designed to be especially suited to the multi-player function. Unlike HALO where there are only a few of the multi-player boards that are very good (Blood Gulch etc..), here virtually all of them are. They are wide open with plenty of places to hide and are easy to navigate around. The guns in the game are excellent and are vary greatly from crossbows to plasma weapons to heat-seeking rocket lauchers. All in all, the weapons in this game are much better suited to a 4 person shooter then Halo's (think perfect dark for any of you out there).

The multi-player itself earns the game 5 stars, but the rest of the game is only about a 3. Here's why.
1. There is alot to unlock in the game and this is a problem. I have to admit I like games that just allow you to play what and only what you want.
2. The aiming system can be a bit screwy at times. The auto-aim is fine but it would have been nice if the cross-hairs didn't recenter after aiming.
3. The story mode is pretty poor, at least story wise. It does keep you interested on a level by level basis, but after making it through several levels i'm still not sure who i'm fighting or why.
4. The graphics are arcadish. Now this isn't such a bad thing, but don't go into it thinking you're getting polished Halo graphics, you're not.

To summarize, if you want an awesome multi-player experience then this game is for you. This game, its board designs, and it's weapons set were clearly made for multi-player. And since you can play with bots in the multi-player it can become less of a game of tag when only 2 are playing.

I am the Master!!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 8 / 8
Date: June 15, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This is one of the best shooters on the xbox. It has a very high replay value. I got this game 2 and a half years back, and I still play it. The story mode is good, but it isn't a goldeneye. The arcade league, challange, mapmaker and multiplayer modes are what keeps you playing it. There are 126 characters (I unlocked them all, there's no cheats for this game though). all the characters come from different time periods. You have sci-fi, military, western themes, etc.
The multiplayer has a lot of modes (deathmatch, capture the bag, zones, etc). There are plenty of maps, circus is my favorite. You can have up to ten ai bots, so you can play by yourself. They acually give you a challange. You can also make your own maps, it's really easy too. The graphics are cartoonish, but the textures are smooth.
TRUST ME, getting all the characters isn't even close to easy. I got really frustrated with this game. I praticed the challanges a lot though. Just so you know I'm only 12, and someone else please write a review if you unlocked all the characters.
This is Perfect Dark or Goldeneye, just on the three newest consoles. This is my favorite game (check out for Timeslitters: Future Perfect). And that my fellow gamers, is the name of the game.

Don't believe the hype

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 15 / 22
Date: October 29, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I was pretty excited when I finally got this game, especially after all of the great reviews it's gotten in the game magazines. Unfortunately, the more I play it, the more disappointed I am. This game has been highly overrated by the gaming magazines and websites. The biggest disappointment is the graphics. While there's always compromise in graphics quality when a game is designed for three systems at once, the graphics in TS2 just aren't anywhere near as good as they should be. The game totally fails to take advantage of the capabilities the XBox has. In fact, with a few exceptions like higher poly count, a lot of the graphics are PS1 or N64 quality. Textures aren't really used, and surfaces are bland and flat. There isn't much in the way of lighting - characters don't even seem to have shadows. The level designs are fairly lame, both in story mode and in multiplayer - most levels are basically no more than a maze, with you as the rat. Levels are fairly small, simple and linear, not much room for the kind of exploration that Halo allows, and there are very few objects in the levels, save the odd box or barrel. How boring. The game's "story" mode isn't much of a story - there are a lot of different elements that don't really go together, so you're really just running around shooting stuff. The sounds in the game are incredibly lame. In many cases where you'd expect to hear something, like footsteps, there's no sound. Where sounds are used, they're pretty cheap, generic stuff. Gameplay in TS2 gets old quickly, in part because of the boring levels, in part because of the speed. If all you want to do is run around and shoot things without thinking much about what you're doing and having to use any real tactics, then this game might interest you. The game runs at 60 frames per second (and the framerate is smooth), but unfortunately this makes the game almost too fast-paced to be enjoyable. The game will appeal more to Unreal fans than to Halo fans.

On a positive note, the game does support system link play or play over a LAN with an ethernet hub, so you can get up to 4 XBoxes and up to 16 players playing at once (no support for XBox Live, though). There are a wide variety of game modes and different characters in the game, and that can help stave off the boredom for a little while. There's also a map editor feature that lets you build your own levels. It's not as good as the map editors you might see with some PC games, but console gamers that are new to the idea will probably have a lot of fun with it.

As for the comparisons to Halo: Sorry, there's no comparison. This game is not anywhere near the quality of Halo. If you're expecting it to be, you'll be disappointed.

Tons of options and unlockables combined with solid action.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: August 31, 2005
Author: Amazon User

THE SHORT: A pretty good story mode, and tons of things to unlock in the addictive challenges and combat modes- all of which can be played alone or with multiple players. Decent but limited mapmaker.

THE LONG: I flat out didn't like TS1. The single player or "story" mode consisted of running back and forth for fetch quests, and the mapmaker let me set up corridors but gave me just a tiny handful of patterns to design it with. It was fast and it was pretty (minus the overly stylized goofy characters) but I didn't think it was much of a game.

This first sequel improves on almost all of what I had issue with. For starters, the game's just as pretty and runs very smooth and very fast (keeping fairly consistent in multiplayer as well). The storyline is better too- it's like Goldeneye with actual mission goals that change or grow as the level progresses. But I personally had the most fun with "arcade mode", which is multiplayer combat. I want to specify here that this is where the game excels over such titles as even the much hyped Halo (and even more recent games): like Perfect Dark, this is one of the very few games where I can play multiplayer matches against computer opponents. If you're like me you don't always have enough people around for 16-player, 4 system links and whatnot. Frankly I usually prefer to play alone anyway. And in this way, Timesplitters 2 accommodated me.

For example, like Perfect Dark, this game features some levels that I liked more than others and so, not wanting to play the story mode, I wanted to just jump into that cool level and fight some opponents. This game allowed me to do so, picking not only what opponents I fought but also how tough they were and what weapons were used. In addition, I could set parameters such as time/kill limits, and by the time I unlocked them, could choose among more than a dozen different combat variations such as "Flame Tag". In other words, this game lets you play multiplayer, storyline stuff, or plain old combat- with or against other humans in each case.

There are loads of unlockables, as well. There are more than 100 different characters in the game, with at least half of that number representing legitimately unique and interesting choices. Each has their own stat rating such as speed and accuracy, and some characters such as robots have extra advantages like immunity to fire. This adds even more strategy to deathmatches but can be turned off as well.

In addition to unlocking the characters, you'll be unlocking goofy cheats such as pirate hats or practical things such as new levels and combat modes. This is one of those games where every level, challenge, or combat scenario rewards you with new stuff once completed, so there's a very satisfying feeling of constant progress and perpetual motivation to try to meet each goal. Some of it is tough- sometimes tuned to be just barely within your grasp, but there seems to always be other stuff to accomplish if you get stuck. For each of three nights, I went to bed satisfied that I unlocked some of the cool stuff I'd wanted, then played the next day and opened up even more. It was addicting.

Thankfully, this was all set up within a very pretty package. The stylized, exaggerated look from the first game is still here for those that liked it, but for people like me it's nice that characters are a little less goofy looking. And with more than a hundred, it's easy to develop favorites. The graphics during gameplay itself are solid and the game moves quite fast for being several years old, even during multiplayer combat with a
handful of AI opponents thrown in.

And again, that's where the game gets its highest marks from me. While the storyline is interesting enough and fairly engaging in its disparate levels, it was that combat that made me keep playing this game. By the time I played through most of the basic and "arcade league" challenges, I'd unlocked around 15 different deathmatch types- modes such as capture the flag, king of the hill, last man standing, and more bizarre stuff such as monkey helpers- in which the person in last place gets monkeys with heavy weaponry. When you figure that you can pick from a dozen or so stages, add up to 10 AI opponents whose difficulty you set, throw in weapons of your choice, and then pick the score type and combat parameters, that's a huge amount of customization. As I said, it's a level of single-player control and immersion the likes of which I haven't seen since Perfect Dark.

Controls feel natural and very intuitive, the graphics and sound are appropriate (and downright amusing) and the options are very thorough. The pace of unlocking stuff is great, with a couple dozen hours of perpetual new stuff. Altogether this is a fine game, which at this point you can grab for just $10-15 bucks. Do it, especially if you're a guy like me and doesn't want to rely on a bunch of others to have some good interactivity with your first-person shooters.

A Great First-Person Shooter

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: October 14, 2002
Author: Amazon User

If you like the FPS genre, then get this game. If you ever played Golden Eye on the N64, the second you pop this game in you will be reminded of it. I just played the PS2 version of it today and I loved it. All I'm waiting for is the XBOX version. What is so great about it is the variety. Not only does it have a story mode, but multiplayer and challenge modes (like Perfect Dark on N64). The reasons I make the comparisons to great N64 games made by Rare is because the development team, Free Radical, left Rare to make Timesplitters 2. The game, I will admit, is not story driven, but then again neither was Golden Eye. The games strengths are in it's missions and and mastering those missions (To unlock secrets) and the mulitplayer. Some people complain that there is not enough blood and guts, but that kind of stuff does not make a game good. Great gameplay does. And Timesplitters 2 has an abundance of it. It runs at a cool 60 fps (frames per seconds) and the graphics were great on the PS2. Imagine it on the XBOX. And for the grips about the aiming...the controls are very senstive, but once you get used to the speed of the game, you adapt. Besides, you can go to the menu screen and change the senstivity if you like, JUST LIKE IN HALO!!! Well, I hope I helped convince you to get this great game.

Don't even try to compare this to Halo

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: November 22, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Timesplitters should not have compared themselves to Halo. This is not Halo. It is something much different, but just as fun. The graphics are cartoon-ey, but are still detailed and well crafted. The single player story mode isn't the deepest, but it works. Traveling through time is cool, anyway. The true joy of this game is in the multiplayer. It is fast, frantic and totally AWESOME. Tons of players to choose from, all with their own unique abilities. Don't have a friend to deathmatch? Just plop ten computer bots on a map and enjoy killing them all. Speaking of maps, did I mention that you can make you own? One word can describe that---SWEET! This game is definitely a solid purchase with tons of replay value.

Excellent FPS with a lot of variety.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: July 27, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I consider this game a must-have for XBOX or PS2.

Personally, I have gotten more gameplay out of Timsplitters than Halo. It's a solid game with a lot of things to do.

The storyline is a bit weak, but, who cares (the original Timesplitters didn't even have one)? It offers what few FPS do: variety. One level you're handling a futuristic plasma rifle, the next it's a crossbow, and then six-shooters. The variety of weapons and locations means that you can have a different experience depending on what you feel like. I'm partial to the retro weapons myself.

If you feel like doing something other than the story mode, try the challenge or arcade modes. They are often intended to be a bit tongue-in-cheek, so here is where you pick up off-the-wall characters, like the gingerbread man (one of my favorites). There is more to unlock, and getting a high enough score can sometimes be pretty hard.

Multiplayer offers Bots, and you can customize the character set to change difficulty, so you can still have a fun multiplayer experience by yourself or with just a couple of friends.

Some have complained about the cartoony look, but I feel that is a strength. I can play this around people where I might feel a little guilty pulling out Halo. The violence takes on a Wile E. Coyote feel.

My main complaint is that the controls are often a little twitchy when compared to Halo. If they had been more polished, it would probably take top billing, in my opinion. It's problematic, but not enough to make me dislike the game.

Ultimately Timesplitters is not a game that takes itself seriously. Really, what else can I say with challenges like "Behead the Undead"?

I've noticed that even the people that complain endlessly about the game still give it about 4 stars. This game is definitely worth buying, especially at the current pricing.

hard

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: January 29, 2005
Author: Amazon User

When I was going to get Timesplitters, I was thinking I was going to be getting it and just shooting stuff like crazy having a good time. However, what really becomes addictive about this game is attempting to unlock all of the characters(there are 130, I think.) You start out with 20 or so by default, and from there you earn more in one of three ways:

Beating levels in Story Mode. I haven't played too much of the story mode, and only really on easy(I played some of the first level on Normal, and it was going good until I got to the boss, which is a helicopter gunship, and I got torn apart). It's a time travelling game so you go from 1990 Siberia to 1920s Chicago to alien planets, Tokyo in the future, the old west, etc, etc. There's AMAZING variety in the levels. Each has its own special characters and, in something of an ode to classic gaming, each level has a boss.

Next, you can unlock characters in Challenge mode. You get series of events based on one action. For instance, the first series is glass breaking. The first event has you breaking out all the glass in the area with the grenade launcher on your soviet machine gun. The next one puts you in the same place with a brick. The final one has you using a normal grenade launcher in Notre Dame Cathedral. You have to complete the challenges within certain time limits to pass with Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Platinum. The medal you get determines what things you unlock. Platinum doesn't unlock anything Gold doesn't, it just gives you bragging rights if your friends are playing and can't achieve it.

Finally comes the best mode. Arcade League. Arcade is the regular multiplayer mode you play with friends, Arcade League is preset challenges within the mode. If you've played the challenges in Perfect Dark, it's pretty much like that only more of them, and it's set up like the challenges--there's several series, and each series has 3 events. Also, Arcade League is split into Amatuer(Easy), Honorary(Medium), and Elite(Hard). You have to go in order. You can breeze through Amatuer League, and probably only have to go back for better medals on the flame tag/virus levels and the assault level.

Assault. Oh man, this is quite easily one of the hardest modes I've ever encountered. It's only on 3 maps, and this is what happens. You spawn as part of an assualt team and you have to accomplish certain actions, such as gaining ground, shooting barrels and computers, and taking out autoguns. Within a nerve-rattling time limit.

There are some parts of the game that will have you screaming and cursing, but 85% of it, though hard, is great to just play over and over until you get it down. What makes the really difficult parts more frustrating to me is that I know with just a little extra effort I can make it, but I never seem to be able to reach that magic point.

My only complaint about this game is that there aren't really enough guns. I hardly notice that amidst all the insanity. This game moves INCREDIBLY fast.

Oh, and it has a mapmaker. It's pretty restrcited, but you can still pull off some awesome maps.

FPS With A Sense Of Humor

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: May 11, 2004
Author: Amazon User

(...)It's a great game, yes, and is almost as great as Halo, but it's different. Yeah, it's an FPS, but with a different attitude. The story mode is serious, but that's it. The rest of it is a little humorous. There are military charecters. Are there any clowns or monkeys in Halo? No, so it's different. It felt great to shoot down flying monkeys in Mexico with a 12 shotgun without feeling guilty. You had to do it to win, so no hard feelings. Did I mention the weapons? I'll name them off the top of my head.
Three types of pistols; silenced, luger, and silenced luger. Why three, I don't know.
Regular and 12 gauge shotguns
Soviet S 47 AKA AK47(love the Soviets)
SBP 90 Machine gun and Machine gun x2
Minigun. And the gun turret with 3,000 rounds per second
Tommy gun and Tommy gun x2
Rocket, Homing Rocket, and Grenade launcher
Sniper and Vintage rifle
Flamethrower
Garret Revolver
A few Plasma weapons, and one which you can electrocute people with
Many types of explosives. I love throwing TNT on people and watching them blow up.
The weapons are the best feature in my mind, them being the most detailed aspect of the game. The only thing I missed was the Assault Rifle. I've learned alot about guns through this game. Good or bad thing. It doesn't matter to me if the game is pointless, which it isn't, or if the graphics stink; some think they do, some think they don't, or the music is repitive. All that matters is that the game is fun. Time Splitters 2 is a perfect example of this.
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