"From a phenomonal cult classic to a simply above average crowd pleaser"

Timesplitters 3 is the recent installment of the Timesplitters series. The series debuted in 2000, and introduced a unique feature:the mapmaker. The mapmaker allowed interested users to easily create their own deathmatch maps. It wasn't the most flexible editor, but it added a lot of replay value. Aside from that, the Timesplitters series made itself known for its fast, furious and remarkably fun multiplayer.

Timesplitters 2 improved on everything the original Timesplitters built-It made the multiplayer better and balanced speed wise, it gave a whole lot more game modes, powerups, characters and levels, the mapmaker was improved allowing even more flexibility in every aspect and added a simple as stupid scripting system, and story mode had more of a background. You didn't just go in, go from point A to point B, get X item and get back to point A in one piece, you actually had objectives, which made the levels more interactive and longer. TS2 also gave more diverse challenges and scenarios.

When Timesplitters 3 was announced, all the fans were up in arms, and rejoiced to another installment which had the potential to be one of the best FPSs ever. Then they heard Free Radical left Eidos and EA took the publishing spot for the new installment. Now the release's quality was in question. When they heard it'd go online, there'd be vehicles in single player as well as multiplayer and the mapmaker was going to be vastly improved, everyone's fears were temporarily silenced. Now that it's released, the game isn't what it should've been, and gamers were literally lied to in some cases. Read the review to see how the game holds up.

Audio: 8/10
Audio in the game is very good. The guns sound familiar to TS fans yet fit their respective weapons. The voice acting better fits the characters and their personalities. The soundtrack while in my opinion not up to snuff with previous TS titles, is still decent.

Visuals: 8/10
Not exactly spectacular, but the graphics have slightly improved over the previous games. The lighting effects in a lot of levels have also been done pretty well, and they make some of the classic levels look a bit better and more realistic. The game also has holding and reload weapon animations for characters, which makes the game look that much better. The level design is also well done here, although the mapmaker levels could use a little work. Although some will also notice the clipping issues with the AI controlled characters in story mode, and some objects disappearing when you're up close. The characters also release blood when hit, but it isn't very much and resembles basically a spray on the ground/walls.

Gameplay: 7/10
In this section, the rating of the respective modes will be separated from the rating of the gameplay mechanics.

STORY MODE: 7/10
Story is a game mode chronicling the fight against the timesplitters, an evil race bent on destroying the humans. The plot boils down to the humans planning on using a time machine to find the source of the crystals, and getting rid of them and the timesplitters once and for all, ending the war before it even begins, but what's between all that is more fleshed out than previous games, and missions are now tied together. It spans 13 levels.

The first level is pretty easy even on the normal setting, and plays out like the intro levels of the HALO and MEDAL OF HONOR games...literally. It's a basic tutorial level that gets you acquainted with the controls. The levels have the same linear objective completion path found in Timesplitters 2. An objective is presented to you, and once you clear it new objectives are added, some crucial to your success, and others are optional.

The difficulty of the game(based on the normal setting) is pretty easy compared to the normal difficulty in previous Timesplitters games. Damage dealt against you unless you're being hit by multiple shots is minor, and many health/armor powerups are found throughout the level, so you won't have to go too long without them. Also, there will be a partner you'll find that helps you out through the levels. The AI is pretty good in watching your back, but you'll also have to return the favor. The levels while pretty easy, are also a bit lengthy. The uplink attachment Cortez acquires allows him to pick up light objects and throw them, like zombie heads. You'll also drive vehicles in this mode.

ARCADE MODE(LEAGUE): 8/10
The arcade league mode in TS3 is the same as TS2's. There are 3 leagues:amateur, honorary and elite, and each one is unlocked after completing the previous one. The stages are still pretty challenging and enjoyable.

CHALLENGE: 8/10
Challenge mode is back as well, and has a great variety of challenges, from cat racing, to shuffleboard with monkeys.They are also very challenging, and even some of the old TS and TS2 challenges are here, such as Timesplitters story classic.

MAPMAKER: 9/10
This mode has been improved also, but this comes at a price of more being required to saved to a memory card. There are 5 tilesets avilable, each having a distinct look. You can now have roofless areas and weather effects, although these features are nothing to write home about. There also more objects to place and some are even movable like crates, barrels , camera, gas canisters etc. Doors and windows are also separate objects, so you won't have to be limited to certain places to use them. A buggy vehicle or a radio controlled pet can also be placed in your levels. The mapmaker also allows more memory for maps, allowing for slightly bigger and more fleshed out levels. The logic area has also improved, being more flexible on the multiplayer front, and allowing players to award medals for completing objectives, as it allows you to create story levels, challenges and assualt maps.

The tile placement is also improved, among most tiles being linkable, tiles are also categorized. Enemies also have new elments added as well, as you can change their health, allow them to drop their weapons and even edit their spawn number and delay before they spawn again. Basically the mapmaker hasn't had anything significantly new be introduced(like the tile mixing feature that was in a few magazine previews, but is cut out in the final version), but all the existing features have been improved somewhat.

MULTIPLAYER: 9/10
Multiplayer was what put Timesplitters on the map, and the multiplayer is still fun in this installment. The same old options are here, and little has improved except the level design in the classic levels. Some people may be dissapointed in the fact that bot team size is now limited. However, there are now 150 characters, and they all have voice introductions, a lot of which are pretty cool. The endgame results have been fleshed out as well, and allows you to see many stats including who you got killed by the most. Some may be dissapointed also at the fact that there's only one vehicle available in multiplayer...in one level.

The online feature is pretty good, but there are a few things some will not be happy with. There are only 8 player battles on the PS2 version, the voice chat is mediocre at best, and the game will have players skipping along, making it hard to see a player sometimes, and there are some rooms where players will have an unfair advantage. My experiences so far with the online mode are pretty good, but you have to expect such problems with online play. You can also trade and play custom made maps online, but considering some of the problems I had loading and uploading maps, it's better to use a PS2 file transfer device. The online mode while nice for being added, isn't exacly the best. But if you're looking for some competition at 4 am, its good enough.

MISC.
The gameplay in TS3 is still pretty fast compared to most shooters, however it may feel just a little bit sluggish. There are a few grenade types in TS3, and they have their own button to use with. Secondary fire also plays a bigger part in your arsenal and in the game, such as the sci-fi handgun having standard straight fire and ricochet fire, or the pistol 9mm having a non-silenced and silenced mode(in some cases, the type of weapon you can switch to changes), and some situations in story mode and other modes may require it. Vehicles are also available to drive, and the controls while simple, can take some time to get used to.

The controls are still customizable, but unfortunately functions like weapon switching and zooming controls ae unchangeable. Also, the advanced aim controls are gone, leaving the aiming to your default controls, in which a lot of players will have a hard time getting used to, as advanced aim allowed players to customize their aiming styles from their non-aiming. Other than that, you still have the same deal of options at your fingertips. The only thing that has improved dramatically and hasn't taken a step back, is the humor. You'll find many movie and pop culture references in the game, along with some mature and suggestive themes, some subtle, others painfully obvious.

Replay Value: 7/10
There's still a lot to play with here, but the amount of challenges and league stages have been significantly reduced from 66 from TS2 to 48 total(21 challenges and 27 league stages). Also, all multiplayer levels and game modes are unlocked from the start, and all there is to unlock multiplayer wise are 2 weapons. Aside from that, everything else(basically the other 90+ locked characters and cheats) are very easy to unlock, and don't require too much effort compared to previous games. The mapmaker aside from a few improvements is the same, and doesn't offer much in the way of creativity output to make the replay value clearly infinite. So, don't expect to spend too much time unlocking everything.

Overall, Timesplitters 3 is a good mixed bag. It has improved in many ways and has something for nearly everyone, but the game feels more like an expansion pack than anything else due to the fact that a lot of features have been cut and some were a bit hyped up by magazines and EA itself on purpose, and the game overall improved only on the existing features, and little new ones have been introduced. However, it's still worth a purchase.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 03/29/05