VGU’s Five Reasons Why Timesplitters Should Return
In today’s age of gaming we have many franchises to fall in love with. You may be a fan of Call of Duty, Battlefield, Halo and Killzone, but you may have never felt the utter joy of a certain series of games back two generations ago. One the Gamecube, PS2 and original Xbox there was an FPS franchise that was the apex of gameplay and character. This was the age of Timesplitters.
It has been many years since we have seen a Timesplitters title and now may be the best chance to see the series return. It’s Time To Split and share five reasons as to why Timesplitters should return to a new gaming generation.
1: The Character
With a ton of characters to play around with and bump into, Timesplitters makes your experience when playing through more enjoyable with the variety of people you meet. One of the best characters by far is of course the lead protagonist from Future Perfect, Cortez. Just looking at him reminds you of awesome action heroes like Vin Diesel, but he also comes coupled with some hilarious moments. Although he is the hero of the story, he constantly tries to show how awesome of a hero he is with one liners and plans taken straight out of action films. But one of his most well known phrases comes along whenever something doesn’t quite go as planned. He will either say it subtly or loudly but you can expect a good ‘Damn it!’.
Whether it is the single or multiplayer experience, you will bump into all sorts of different colourful characters. If you ever jump on against AI or friends be sure to pick my main man Dr. Lancet. Why? Because you need to activate the arsekickulator.
2: The Level Designs
Every mission or level you experience is unique and designed so well that you can go back time and time again and constantly seek new and exciting challenges. The levels themselves have good variety as well ranging from Islands being bombarded by naval units, futuristic robot wars and even a haunted house reminiscent of Resident Evil.
The game utilises all the space that is available with enemy placements as well as power ups. It never feels as if something has been rushed out of the door. It shows that care and attention was given to these areas and the enemies that lie within. Even puzzle solving and back tracking feels fun and not monotonous. The game manages to do so well what many titles of recent times fail to achieve.
3: Multiplayer at Its Finest
Many FPS games now have capitalised on the multiplayer front and with such we have had some great experiences. Back in the day with Timesplitters we wouldn’t have had a proper online experience, unless you were one of those guys who managed to go online with the Xbox or PS2. Those were the very early days of Online multiplayer and they were not working out so well, so we mostly focused on the local co-op. But can you imagine how great it would be to have a modern day Timesplitters with online multiplayer?
This would create something on the lines of Quake and Unreal Tournament as the gameplay is very fast paced and has the classic commentator shouting out as you achieve certain goals. The verticailty and power ups would add to the experience making for more wild and erratic matches in death match and team death match modes. Timesplitters also had a weapon selection mode for multiplayer similar to that of Goldeneye on the N64. You want pistols only, rockets only or even lasers only? Then you can set it up for your game lobby. These small changes could make casual multiplayer insane to play and a true blast. Of course I would also like to see a more competitive aspect to multiplayer also with basic rule sets and maybe a lack of power ups to make the matches more focused around team work and skill rather than speed and power gains.
4: Map Making
A common theme from games that has been gone was the encouragement to create your own maps and even game modes. This was side lined and left to modding communities to let their imaginations run wild. But with the new Doom bringing back map creation for everyone on every platform, it shows that giving everyone the chance to make maps can be beneficial for a long lasting title. The Halo series is notorious for its map creations and game modes that have turned an FPS into a puzzle platformer at times. Map creation is not a lost prospect, if anything it is an area that could really be explored more as of the new generation.
The Timesplitters map creator allowed you to make a multi-levelled map that could have you run around in factories or out in the open desert against your opponents. As well as this you could customise everything from power up locations, how much ammo drops would give you and how large you would want your map to become. Some truly amazing levels have been created, some allowing you to go against your friends and others created as specific single player experiences. The players imaginations could run rampant and it is something that should be encouraged and embraced.
5: Hilarious & Brilliant Fun
If there is one thing that Timesplitters can bring to the table in a new generation release it is both its fun atmosphere and its hilarious writing. Situations such as the Kalos chase mission were made completely funny due to the inclusion of a remote controlled, very static cat. Characters that you would think are complete badasses take wild swings such as an agent whose in a James Bond universe but acts like Austin Powers. These were aspects of the game you just fell in love with. But if there is one thing that makes the titles complete it is that they are pure fun to play. With outrageous character reactions, weapon variety, challenging verticality in gameplay and a lot more it gives players a complete and unique experience that to this day has not been rivalled or imitated. Timesplitters still stands as a franchise that hasn’t aged a day. To see a remake of the classic titles or even a brand new title come out on the PS4, Xbox One, PC and even Wii U would put a smile on many people’s faces out there. Especially my own.
With that said, what do you guys think about Timesplitters and whether it should or should not return? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.