TimeSplitters: Future Perfect

"Guns, Gore and Greatness"

Introduction:
If you've never heard of Timesplitters, then where have you been hiding these past few years? Timesplitters: Future Perfect is the third release in the innovative series of first-person shooters and after a two year wait, has met all of the expectations surrounding it. There's plenty of new content that both old and new fans of the series will be delighted with, including a superb arsenal of innovative weapons, a huge cast of witty and unique characters, a heap of gigantic levels to explore and the addition of vehicles. From a first impression, the future really is perfect.

Storyline:
Continuing on from the end of Timesplitters 2, Cortez returns to earth and is straightaway plunged into the middle of the war between humanity and the Timesplitters, from there he must travel through time once more to uncover the source of the time crystals and end the Timesplitters onslaught against humanity.

Graphics:
Absolutely stunning, with much improvement since last time around. The first positive is the menus, these are the first things you'll see when you play the game and they do not disappoint, fitting in with the style of the game perfectly. The next positive is the attention to detail, it makes the game look more realistic and welcoming, as well as giving you something to look at whilst causing carnage. Another positive to look out for is the reload animations, these were something that a lot of people weren't looking forward to, but they've turned out to be simple, quick and effective. The final positive is how things move, characters run like normal people, vehicles flip over and weapons fire like their real-life counterparts. There are two niggling negatives in the area of graphics, with the first being blood, it is a pointless addition that does nothing but bump the age rating up, meaning fewer people can play this excellent game. The other major negative is the Mapmaker graphics, they are drab and off-putting. All in all, graphics is a near-perfect area that needs little change next time around.

Sound:
A good performance. Sound is an area that need major improvements and they appear to have been made. The biggest positive is that EA haven't crammed the game full of licensed songs or radio stations, something that has ruined quite a few of their games. Another excellent improvement is how every track suits its environment, something that wasn't always the case in Timesplitters 2, for example, music is now eerie instead of happy in the level full of zombies. The final positive in the area of sound is that you can customize everything about it when you create your own game, with tracks from all 3 Timesplitters games. With positives, there are negatives, one of these is the announcer, despite the fact that you can turn him off, he needs to be shot, the countdown at the start of a match is fine, but the random callings of beheaded, lobotomy and killing frenzy are a definite no. The other sound-related negative are the voice-overs, some of them are funny and witty but the majority of them are lame. Despite the couple of negatives, sound is an area of the game that drastically changed for the better.

Gameplay:
If you've never understood the definition of incredible, then you're most certainly about to. The first positive is the button configuration, it has changed slightly and takes a bit of getting used to, but after a while the controls do seem to be more user-friendly than those in previous installments. The second positive is the levels, they are massive, free-roaming and full of interactive objects such as turrets and vehicles. The third positive is the whopping one-hundred and fifty playable characters with their own unique styles and statistics, armed to the teeth with a fearsome arsenal of forty-one destructive weapons which can be used in more than twenty different game modes. If that still isn't enough, there's the Mapmaker, where you can use a variety of tools to create your own playable and interactive level, before wreaking havoc on it in any of the game modes you desire. Then there's the sheer amount of stuff that can be unlocked, ranging from characters to awards. The final positive is online play, where you can home your skills and swap maps with people all over the globe. With great positives comes great negatives, one of these is the arcade league, a mode that contains twenty-seven challenges, as opposed to forty-five in Timesplitters 2. Another thing that disappoints is the lack of classic characters, only about a quarter of Timesplitters 2's roster have made it this time around, with old favourites like Big Tony's Mob and the citizens of Little Prospect being left out. A couple of other things that have disappeared that shouldn't have done are the Infiltration challenges and the Flame Tag and Leech game modes. Despite the negatives, gameplay is still an excellent area of the game which can do nothing but keep improving.

Lifespan:
Endless. Even with only a limited number of challenges on offer, the arcade mode never loses its sparkle, each game you play is unique and if you ever do get bored, you can also play with a friend, then there's also online play, multiplayer, the replayability factor and the challenge of obtaining 100% completion and the optional extras. This is one game that you will never get bored with.

Extras:
Quite a few. There are lots of characters and a few weapons to unlock and then there's the collectible arcade awards, which take a long time to acquire. Chances are, there'll always be something you haven't unlocked...

Final Recommendation:
If you haven't gone out and bought this game already, then do so! Its a magnificent purchase that you will never regret, even if you're not into first-person shooters, this game has everything you need from a game and whilst others might knock it, I think its easily the best in what is a magnificent series.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 10/24/05, Updated 12/04/07

Game Release: TimeSplitters: Future Perfect (EU, 03/24/05)