DAY 84 / GAME 84
TimeSplitters 2
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There have been a few exceedingly special local multiplayer games in the past. I covered a few of them already, two of the most notable being Goldeneye and Halo. A lesser known, but perhaps even better FPS multiplayer title than the two of those however would be Free Radical's TimeSplitters 2.
Shortly after the release of Perfect Dark for Nintendo 64, a portion of the RARE development team split off and formed their own company. In doing so, they created a true successor to Goldeneye. First with TimeSplitters and then, with a more polished TimeSplitters 2. If you've played it, you'd notice there are quite a few similarities between the previous RARE title and the new Free Radical title. Namely the signature Goldeneye style armor/health gauge and the unique FPS controls which allow minor aiming separate from camera movement.
TimeSplitters 2 has a lot of great things going for it. The multiplayer is just one fantastic aspect. Allowing the same 4 player splitscreen that you'd find in Goldeneye with all the same match settings you're used to, plus a ton more. Similarly TimeSplitters also has a huge selection of multiplayer characters to choose from, pretty much every enemy character you discover in single player, plus a few extra. This includes some really bizarre characters like a monkey, octopus, fishbowl and giant hand. My old gaming group played this game a ton and it was my personal preference while other people were starting to push for Halo.
Multiplayer was the big highlight for this game. But the single player was worth the purchase on it's own. TimeSplitters 2 featured absolutely fantastic animation, unique and well designed characters, great music tracks and an engaging storyline. Free Radical tossed in some fantastic writing and comedy along the action as you make your way Quantum Leap style through a variety of timelines to retrieve time crystals in order to save history from an alien race.
TimeSplitters deserves a lot more attention that it ever got. It's a real game for the sake of being a game. Everything it does is just fun and sometimes ridiculous. It's got some fantastic and serious elements to it, but those are softened with hilarious character designs and bizarre extras. I love this game and I'll play it again as soon as I can find my copy. It's really too bad Free Radical shut down amidst the creation of an HD version of this, along with a part 4 to the series. We can only hope someone else picks both these projects up.
Also for note: this is the game Shaun and Ed are playing in Shaun of the Dead.
TimeSplitters 2
There have been a few exceedingly special local multiplayer games in the past. I covered a few of them already, two of the most notable being Goldeneye and Halo. A lesser known, but perhaps even better FPS multiplayer title than the two of those however would be Free Radical's TimeSplitters 2. Shortly after the release of Perfect Dark for Nintendo 64, a portion of the RARE development team split off and formed their own company. In doing so, they created a true successor to Goldeneye. First with TimeSplitters and then, with a more polished TimeSplitters 2. If you've played it, you'd notice there are quite a few similarities between the previous RARE title and the new Free Radical title. Namely the signature Goldeneye style armor/health gauge and the unique FPS controls which allow minor aiming separate from camera movement.
TimeSplitters 2 has a lot of great things going for it. The multiplayer is just one fantastic aspect. Allowing the same 4 player splitscreen that you'd find in Goldeneye with all the same match settings you're used to, plus a ton more. Similarly TimeSplitters also has a huge selection of multiplayer characters to choose from, pretty much every enemy character you discover in single player, plus a few extra. This includes some really bizarre characters like a monkey, octopus, fishbowl and giant hand. My old gaming group played this game a ton and it was my personal preference while other people were starting to push for Halo.TimeSplitters deserves a lot more attention that it ever got. It's a real game for the sake of being a game. Everything it does is just fun and sometimes ridiculous. It's got some fantastic and serious elements to it, but those are softened with hilarious character designs and bizarre extras. I love this game and I'll play it again as soon as I can find my copy. It's really too bad Free Radical shut down amidst the creation of an HD version of this, along with a part 4 to the series. We can only hope someone else picks both these projects up.
Also for note: this is the game Shaun and Ed are playing in Shaun of the Dead.
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