The arcade light gun game is one we’ve all tried. Who can forget those Saturday afternoons at your local arcade, feeding coin after coin into huge Time Crisis or Virtua Cop cabinets?
For the last few years though this on rails brand of shooter hasn’t brought in the crowds. And when the gamers aren’t eager to play, the number of said games starts to shrink quicker than your favourite shirt on a fast spin cycle.
But with a new Playstation console on the scene, it's no great shock to see an old favourite brought out of retirement. So enter hardcore blaster Time Crisis 4, but can an age old gaming style cut it on the new HD enabled consoles?
They say:
IGN: “Time Crisis 4 is an amusing title that you may want to keep an eye out for.”
Gamespot: “Unfortunately, its attempt to transition into a full on first person shooter almost comes off as a 10 year old parody of an FPS, which ultimately just makes the whole package feel all the more dated.”
1UP: “Appallingly unentertaining after ten minutes, insultingly expensive for what it offers and has absolutely no place in the PS3 library of anyone but the most desperate gun nuts and Time Crisis devotees.”
We say:
To compete with today’s major blasters like Halo 3, Resistance: Fall of Man and Call of Duty 4, Time Crisis has undergone a bit of a makeover.
At first glance, things seem to hark back to those simpler gaming times. Arcade mode sees you ploughing through a series of levels, on rails naturally, with your input only needed to bag pesky enemies and duck behind a few well placed barrels.
Things don’t stay true to form for too long however. Choose the mission mode and you’ll come off the rails for a spot of first person shooting. Yep for the first time Time Crisis is totally under your control.
Moving around is easy with the analogue stick. Shooting is straightforward too – just point the light gun where you'd like to fire. It’s a pity the programmers didn’t realise you can’t do both at once.
You’ll find yourself dropping the stick to pick up the gun and vice versa. As for backing away from an enemy while firing, well, only those with three hands need apply. Did no one playtest this game?
If Time Crisis offered Call of Duty 4 style quality, then you may be encouraged to persevere. Sadly, it’s such a step down from CoD that you’ll be bored almost as soon as you load a level up. The graphics aren’t much cop either. We’re talking drab, bland and lacking in any detail or depth.
That being said, if you ignore the mission mode some fun can be had from Time Crisis 4. The variety of weapons on offer and the tactics involved in choosing what to duck behind make the game a hoot if you’re in the mood.
Then there’s the laughably camp story. It sure as hell won’t win any awards, but with such bad voice work you’re always guaranteed a chuckle.
Time Crisis 4 feels long in the tooth. If you ignore the FPS missions you’ll have a few fun filled hours blasting, but don’t expect any fresh gaming genius. What a waste of a licence.
Like this? Try these:
Call of Duty 4 – PS3, Xbox 360, PC
Halo 3 – Xbox 360
Virtua Cop 2 - Saturn
FORMAT REVIEWED
PS3
OTHER FORMATS
None
POSTED...
Sun 20 Jan at 10:44pm
