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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Nearly Perfect Future (4.5 Stars), April 2, 2005
Story: Timesplitters 3 takes place where TS2 led off: with Vin Diesel doppelganger, Sergeant Cortez, speeding towards a war-torn Earth, carrying the Time Crystals that can help save humanity from the growing threat of the Timesplitters (uglier than ever--seriously) and his partner Corporal Hart killed off in their last endeavor (the soldiers even make a quip about it in the first level). Once again, Cortez's mission is to jump from time period to period. This time, he is on the trail of another mysterious time traveller who could hold the secret to the Timesplitters' origins. Although not extremely complex, the story is laced much better than TS2's, thanks to improved cutscenes and sharper, more abundant dialogue. And it's got plenty of humor to keep you amused, ranging from silly conversations between the enemies to the blatant innuendo and double entendres, almost in the fashion of THUG 2 (Look at Jo-Beth Casey's shirt, as well as the opening cutscene in "What Lies Below").
Gameplay: TSFP, for the most part, is pretty much in the same vein as TS2. This isn't a bad thing, so for vets, it shouldn't take much to adjust. For newbs, in case you haven't guessed, this is a first-person shooter. Controls are quick to use, but are fully customizable to suit you. The objective is to....dag, where should I start?...well, lemme try again. Timesplitters 3 is all about variety, and there's an abundance of game modes to keep ever the staunchest Halo 2 addict satisfied. Story Mode puts you in the boots of Cortez as you travel through various time periods, utilizing the most lethal weapon of each era, from flare guns to plasma autorifles to baseball bats. Your only definite gadget is the Temporal Uplink (map/radar) on your arm, which doubles as a gravity device for objects to throw or carry. You'll team up with characters such as the swinging Harry Tipper, the adventurous Captain Ash, and the valley girl Jo-Beth Casey. Missions range in stealth, bodyguarding, collecting, and good ol' shootouts. There are even some vehicles to switch things up, though backing up will take some getting used to.
If you're not kicking @$$ and taking names through the story, you'll probably be spending most of your time in Arcade mode. For loners, there's the one-player Arcade League, a series of tournament-style competitions with special (sometimes absurd) rules. Depending on your score or time, you'll get a trophy and a prize, from characters (150 in all!!) to cheats (like human gun sounds). Challenge mode works in a similar way, except with more psychotic quests. Like driving a motorized cat around a building rooftop (the motor is made up of different pitches of purring). Hilarious. But if you actually got friends, THERE's where the party starts. Arcade Mode is your multiplayer outlet, with about a dozen modes to keep the bullets flying and the beer a-guzzlin'. YEE-HAH!! Whoa...toooo much Blue Collar TV. Anyway, there are plenty of stages (vibrant disco, lush temple, Vietnam warzone), tons of weapons and skins (characters w/hysterical entrances) to choose from. I mean c'mon: a capture the bag match on the Siberian Dam against an onslaught of circus bears is just pure bliss. There's also a co-op mode for the story, like the last game. And hey, if you don't like what Free Radical's giving to ya, then make your own map, story, and scenarios with the newly enhanced MapMaker. A shooter's dream come true.
Graphics: The visuals in this game are much improved compared to the previous Timesplitters installments. It still has its slightly cartoonish look, so it's not Doom 3 in terms of lighting. Not like TSFP is trying to be. Still, the textures and animations are much more smoothed out, while the framerate, for the most part, runs pretty fluidly, even on multiplayer. But I did notice a few random glitches that make it more resemblant of a PC shooter, meaning that there will be some freeze-ups here or there, especially during certain points of the MapMaker. Fortunately it's not frequent, but stil annoying for a console game. If it happens to you, check what triggered it and try not to repeat that mistake without saving. Just a tip.
Sound: TSFP comes out pretty strong with its audio presentation. The background music is appropriate for each time period and location, ranging from techno to orchestral, with little novelty themes such as "Like A Robot" (and the inevitable remix "Like A Monkey") to sweeten the deal. Weapons sound....well, like weapons. There are even subtle bytes that make the package work, like the clank a robot makes if it is hit by a melee attack. And naturally, the voice acting is top-notch (need I say funny) from Cortez's macho-manly swagger to Harry Tipper's raspy but mellowed-out "hippie" jive, with a snappy script to boot. Although I did notice that the talking didn't always go along with the subtitles.
Lasting Appeal: C'mon people. 150 characters? Multiplayer nirvana? More weapons than Halo 2? A mapmaker? What more could you want from this glorious package?...well, ONLINE PLAY would be nice. Being a staunch supporter for Nintendo, this didn't usually bother me. But now it's starting to make me wonder WTF is going on. I mean, this is the perfect game to play with people you don't even know from miles away. And the best online outlet I've got is Starcraft for my PC (don't hate). PS2 and X-Box owners will still be able to gloat. Other than that, well...you're set for probably hours and hours and...I don't know. I'm not an authorized source; I don't keep track of the time.
Overall, what did you expect from the developers of Goldeneye? You owe it to yourself to pop this baby into your console, and as Dr. Lancet would say, "unleash the @$$kickulator!"
------------------------9 out of 10----------------------------
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
it's time to SPLIT!, March 22, 2005
Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars
yeah, that is pretty corny....anyway...
i just beat Timesplitter: Future Perfect on easy difficulty in the story mode in just a shade under 4 hours. which is pretty long in terms of story modes for timesplitters games. i haven't even touched the other 14 or so modes yet, and i heard that there are over a hundred hours of gameplay to be lost in this game, so it should keep me, and you, busy for a while.
to start off with, the major changes i noticed since the last game came out, is that the graphics seem much sharper, the controls are much tighter, and the weapons are much cooler. when i first threw a time grenade (i think that's what it's called) and everything slowed down except me, i almost laughed out loud at how freakin' cool it was. and in this timesplitters, for the first time in the series, there is actually blood! in one level you must decapitate a bunch of zombies, with either a magnum, shotgun, or a baseball bat (oh, and there is a new and quite useful melee attack, for when you want to conserve ammo), and when their melons pop, it makes a cool "head exploding sound" and blood sprays everywhere. but no fear, the game still retains its comic humor and graphics.
their is actually a storyline this time that pulls you in, and pushes you through every wormhole you see. the main character you play as is one Cortez, a Vin Diesel lookalike winner. shortly into the game, you run into yourself, literally. then throughout the game, you keep running into other versions of yourself that help you out in order for you to get further and do that same thing for yourself, so you are actually the version of Cortez that helped you out in the first place. confused? don't be, the game makes it very easy to comprehend. the story follows Cortez as he makes his way through time, trying to stop the Timesplitters (evil alien things that can, well...split time and travel about history at their own free will) from destroying mankind. along the way, Cortez runs into all different kinds of interesting characters, from a British boatman/saver of a damsel in distress, to a punk-esque girl trying to work her way into a club, but first she must photograph zombies and other scary things. about halfway through the game, you meet up with a robot that just doesn't leave your side for very long...but don't worry, he's pretty damn funny. and that's another thing about this game, this time around, the computer controlled allies that fight along side you actually fight and help you out, they don't get stuck on walls and freeze mid-battle for some unknown reason.
like i said, i haven't touched the challenge mode or anything yet, but if it's anything like the series' past challenge mode, then i should be in for quite a treat. i can also create my own story and arcade mode levels using the game's map-maker. there are over 150 characters to unlock in this game, and tons of different ways to unlock them.
so, if you like fast-paced, hilarious, ass-kicking, run and gun action while travelling through time and giving yourself a hand, then pick up Timesplitters: Future Perfect. trust me, you will have a blast. okay, now, i'm off to go delve deep into a sleepless night of timesplitter dispatching. ciao.
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23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
WOW! Tons of fun!, April 4, 2005
Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars
Any game where you finding yourself screaming, "OH NO! Ninja assault monkeys!" is my kind of game. Admittedly, this is the ONLY game I've ever screamed that.
Even though I'm female, almost 50, and electronics challenged, I've had a GREAT time with my teenager and this game. I highly recommend it. :)
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