Time Crisis II

"TC2, the ultimate lightgun game, rulez big time!!"

Time Crisis 2 is a lightgun masterpiece by Namco which makes some of the greatest arcade games out there. TC2, although not as original as TC1, is the BEST TC game out of the whole series so far. TC Project Titan on Playstation1, still stands as the worst, but that isn't the point of this TC2 review. TC2 is the perfect lightgun game in many ways, and deserves to be for anyone who enjoys lightgun games and has a Playstation2. Whoever says this game is stupid needs to think again because they probably don't like lightgun games. TC2 is the BEST of them.

Gameplay
Remember this lightgun game in the arcade where you use a duck pedal, have your own TV screen for your side, and have the recoiling lightguns? This is what has come on the PS2, but even better.

TC2 is a lightgun game. You hold a plastic gun, and shoot at the TV screen. The thing that makes TC unique is the duck pedal. You let go of the button on the gun to take cover and reload. Very cool. You shoot terrorists who have a big plot in mind. The story isn't complex like Metal Gear Solid 2, but is typical for a lightgun game. That's okay.

There are three stages in Arcade mode. Kill the terrorists and bosses in each, and ride in the best boat chase and train fight for a lightgun game. TC2 doesn't feel as intense as it was on the arcade machine, but I would rather have this PS2 port if I got stuck on an island.

Namco didn't leave us with a 20 minute length game. They added many modes to this port NOT available in the arcade machine. First of all, they brought back the Time Attack mode like from the previous TC game. They put in a double gun mode, in which you use two lightguns and shoot at the TV screen like Chow Yun Fat in a John Woo movie. This is REALLY fun. You also can unlock no reload, wide-ammo (shotgun), and automatic gun modes. Mirror mode flips everything on the screen in reverse. The badguys on the right are on the left now.

In the menu of the game lies Extra Games. That is where all the other mini-games are! There is Agent Trainer, in which you target practice at a bulls-eye or human target. Quick & Crash is the port of Namco's arcade machine version, in which you shoot moving targets and shatter them up. Shoot Away 2 is a port of Namco's classic arcade machine, in which you must shoot two clay pigeons at a far range with only two bullets before they disappear when they get too far. All of these games here are two-player! Play with a friend!

Finally, the final extra mode is Crisis Mission. Unfortunately, it is not like TC1-PS1's Special Mode in which there was totally new scenario that had new levels with next textures and enemies and story. Crisis Mission on PS2 is training missions that have objectives in each. For example, some missions may make you do hit combos, destroy a quota of enemies, hurry before time runs out, etc. Plus there are hostages that get in your way. The CMs are very difficult although I got many of them so far. This will keep a TC fan working at the game. It's a good mode to add to TC2 but I was expecting a Special Mode like in TC1-PS1.

Story
It has a more unique story than other games or lightgun games specifically. In TC2, a terrorist group called Neodyne disguises themselves as a communications corporation. Their latest satellite being launched into space is actually a nuclear satellite! It's up to the V.S.S.E., a special and really cool anti-terrorist agency, to stop the launch of the satellite before it's too late.

Ok, so this story is not as complex as FF or MGS. There's no problem with that because this is a lightgun game. LG games don't have a too complex story since shooting action has to be very paced. You can't sit watching cut scenes for minutes and minutes like in MGS2. It makes the lightgun game feel slower. So don't say the story is stupid just because it sounds cheap.

Graphics
All the TC games so far did not have graphics like this. TC1 and TC2 Arcade were high-tech back then but now they're nothing. TC1 and TCPT have some bad graphics due to the limitations on the PS1 console.

TC2 has very sharp graphics. Everything is detailed, but not as detailed as games like Final Fantasy X or MGS2. But still, comparing to other games, this TC2-PS2 port has the BEST graphics of the TC series so far. There is some anti-aliasing, so jaggies aren't extremely noticeable, but there are still many jaggies. Who cares. This game is still good, and you won't even notice unless your one of those picky ''system wars'' people.

Windows shatter, barrels spill fruits, and things explode. The explosions are detailed and more realistic than the arcade version of this game. The characters have more detail on them than before. There are nice sun light and fog effects throughout the game. Quite impressive for the TC games. Everything was completely remodeled in this port. That includes the nice graphics on the extra modes. I can't wait to see what's in store for the next TC game on PS2.

Basically, the graphics aren't the best of the PS2 games, but they are good for TC2.

Control
Oh yeah, the control is sweet. You use a plastic gun, like I said, called the Guncon2. It is officially by Namco meant to play TC2 and other Namco supported gun games.

The gun has a good grip and a cool C button on the bottom of it to reload. It makes you feel like you push in a clip to reload, unlike the Guncon1. It also has a D-pad, select, start, and A and B buttons. More buttons for different controls make this game convenient to flip through menus. It is lighter than the Guncon1, but not necessarily better than it.

There are some things I didn't like about the Guncon2. First off, the design resembled some laser gun from a sci-fi movie and the Dreamcast lightgun. It doesn't look realistic like the Guncon1, which replicated Richard's gun in TC1 which was like some kind of .45 magnum. Also, us NTSC-version players got stuck with an orange Guncon2 because of California state's new toy gun law. The color doesn't matter too much, but Europe got blue and Japan got black.

I don't know if much people have this problem but the Guncon2 creates a big deadzone on the TV compared to what the Guncon1 would bring as a problem.

Overall, due to the better control of the Guncon2, I think it's better than the Guncon1. It's just the Guncon1 had a much better color and look.

Never play this game with a standard PS2 controller. It takes the point out of the game. Control is horrible and the game is difficult this way.

Sound/Music
The sound is super in this game! Realistic and powerful gun shots, sharp explosions, and environmental sounds! Enemies groan when you tag them. You can actually hear them unlike the arcade machine version of TC2! Sound is sharp and crisp compared to the arcade and PS1 games. The voice-acting english isn't significant or as good as MGS2's, but it will do.

The music is great also! People say the music is annoying but they don't know how to appreciate it. The tracks have the same ''TC tune'' as in the previous TC game, which keeps the feel of ''Time Crisis.'' Each area or segment in the game has different music to go with the occasion. Like the boat chase and Boss 2 fight for instance. They made those music tracks especially for those parts in the game, which fit right along perfectly like the rest of the tracks! Crisis Mission also has some cool new music not reused from arcade mode too! It makes you feel more ''hyper'' when you play the game.

The sound and music are perfect. Nothing wrong with them.

Overall
TC2 is a legendary and revolutionary lightgun game. If you enjoyed this in the arcade and could not get enough of it, this is a must have for the PS2. Otherwise, you're missing out on some real lightgun action. This is the ultimate lightgun game. Get it.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 01/11/02, Updated 01/11/02