Monday, September 9, 2024

Fairy Tale Spotlight: TimeSplitters: Future Perfect [Video Game Review]

"TimeSplitters: Future Perfect" is a video game developed by Free Radical Design. It was released in 2005. It is the third and final game in the "TimeSplitters" trilogy.

This game feels a lot more like a modern shooter. The first two games had a weird sort of wobbly fine aiming mechanic. The aiming thing was a leftover from the old "Goldeneye 007" and "Perfect Dark" days. The new aiming scheme was a sort of iron sight/zoom mechanic, which is more like what the newer games utilize. It was a welcome addition.

Another new aspect was the very linier story which flowed like most other games at the time. Instead of giving the player a map with a list of objectives, you are mostly always on a linier path, taking on enemies as you go. It works well enough, but it does distinguish it from the first to games quite a bit.

The story takes place right after the ending of "TimeSplitters 2," but you will very quickly realize a very notable change. Everything is comedy now. The first two games were a bit goofy and were filled with a bit of tongue-in-cheek humor, but they were never outright comedies. "TimeSplitters: Future Perfect" is an outright parody of itself, and it cracks wise near constantly.

Cortez is now back. He is still an action hero, but now he is also kind of a dork. They wrote him up to be kind of too old to make hip jokes. Every time he would say his wonderful line, "Time to split!" the other characters would act like he was some sort of idiot. The jokes are hit and miss. Sometimes they are crude just to be crude, and it doesn't always work.

Instead of quantum leaping into other people, Cortex now just partners up with some of the protagonists of the first two games. This is very cool and a heck of a good time. But the real treat and main gimmick of the game is when you partner up with yourself within a time loop. These somewhat awkward encounters have you meeting yourself in the past and having to play the scene out twice or more in order to fulfill the time loop properly. The implementation of this mechanic is a little bit janky. You'll quickly notice that your past or future self is not doing the same actions you took (or will take), but it is still amusing enough to enjoy it for its story aspect.

Without a doubt, this game is remarkably fun to play. The action is constant and the shooting is well implemented. There are now vehicles which are hit and miss. They also have this weird new feature where you can log onto people's computers and read their emails or access cameras and whatnot. Not bad!

This game also has arguably the best version of the map maker. You can make really complex missions that are more similar to that of the first two games in functionality. I still like messing around with it to this day.

All said, I do recommend "TimeSplitters: Future Perfect." It probably should be considered the best of the three, but I do kind of want to give them a slap on the wrist for all the unnecessary humor and parody. I felt that the humor found in the second game was just the right amount. This game's story turned the whole thing into a joke. At the very least, the story does have a satisfying conclusion, and it is genuinely fun to play.

This blog was written on July 8, 2024.

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3 comments:

  1. I played this game and loved it. Cortez is a loveable hero. He is very much like the hero in THEY LIVE in this regard. The environments were gorgeous and the costumes stylish. I loved the map maker. I played levels customized to my personal tastes perfectly.

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    1. Oh, yeah. He was so endearing, especially in this game.

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  2. Playing games is all about having fun. Still, there is a point where it can become pointless. Too much comedy can make the whole thing a joke.

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