There hasn’t really been a good FPS on a Nintendo system since Perfect Dark. But finally, there is hope for Gamecube-owning FPS fans. Even though Timesplitters 2 is also for the Playstation 2 and there are a few shortcomings in the technical area, this is still the best FPS to hit the Gamecube, and this game is fun to play for a really long time.
The story mode of Timesplitters 2 is fairly plain, with 10 missions that you can play on three difficulties. The story mode is definetly good for one or two runs, but the good quality stuff lies in the Arcade Mode. The Arcade Mode is a ton of fun to play by yourself, but it is way better if you’ve got a few friends over. There are dozens of characters, a number of excellent levels, lots of gameplay modes, and the best part of all: customization. You can set how many bots there are, how difficult they are, what weapons you use, how frequent the different weapons show up, and you can even select which music you want.
Besides the excellent customization, there are a ton of different gameplay modes to choose from, and each requires a different skill. Besides the regular deathmatch and capture the flag, there is some really fun ones, like ‘Flame Tag’ and ‘Monkey Assistant.’ In Flame Tag, one person is on fire, and you must pass on your flame to someone else by touching them. Whoever is on fire for the least amount of time is the winner. In Monkey Assistant, whoever is in last place, gets a swarm of monkeys to help them attack other players.
The control scheme of this game will not take much time to get used to. The only thing that may be 2a little different than other FPS games, is that the control pad is used to switch weapons. Another nifty little feature is that you can view detailed information for each profile. You can see things, such as how many levels that person is beaten, how far they’ve walked, and how many shots they’ve fired (over the entire time you’ve played). Its kinda neat to look back and see that you’ve shot 1200 people in the head.
The graphics are a little disappointing, and this is especially obvious during movie sequences. Character models are so poorly done it is disturbing at times. Luckily, most of the time the bad graphics don’t matter, as the game is in first person. And even though some of the character models aren’t that great, some of them are kinda cool, because you can play as characters such as the gingerbread man.
The sound of this game is much more impressive than the graphics. The soundtrack in this game is phenomenal and really does add to the awesomeness of this game. The voiceovers are not quite as good, but I really found myself not caring, as the music is much more important.
Overall, this is the best FPS for Gamecube and is a really, really fun multiplayer. Its too bad the Gamecube doesn’t have online capabilties for this game, because sometimes I really wish I could have more than four people. Oh well, there’s always Timesplitters 3.