Anyone who ever owned a Nintendo 64 clearly remembers one game over the rest. In fact, even people who just had friends who owned N64's remember one game. Of course, I speak of Goldeneye. The James Bond games based off the movie of the same name. There was really nothing to not like about this game. It is still the first person shooter to which all are compared against today.

So in 1999 when part of the team responsible for Goldeneye made a game called Timesplitters for the Playstation 2, everyone wanted to know how it would compare. In all honesty, it wasn't all that great. It some really fun multiplayer modes and fun gameplay, but the it just felt lacking. The single player mode was a joke, and multiplayer alone cannot hold a game together 99.9% of the time.

Then TimeSplitters 2 was announced for 2002. Again the makers behind the classic N64 game were at the helm, so people's curiosity began to swell. This time, they got it right.

Gameplay

Let me just start off by saying that this isn't Goldeneye. It is its own game in ever aspect. The single player mode in TS2 follows a plot, but very loosely. The opening cinema shows a man and woman come blasting through a spaceship taking down weird aliens and creatures at every turn. The end up in a weird room where you find the point of the game: to find and recover several time crystals. To do this, you are travel back to many different time periods by way of a time portal.

What I loved so much about this game was the variety in the levels. You start off in the 20th century at a snow base. Then you're on to 1900's Chicago (Tommy Gun's and all) and NeoTokyo. Each level has a different set of objectives that all lead up to usually a boss or just a huge fight. In the end, you grab the time crystal and leap back into the portal. Each level of course has its own set of weapons, objects, and characters that fit the time period. My favorite is by far the Aztec. Not only do you get to weild a crossbow with flaming arrows, but you get to shoot monkeys and ents! Yes, I said ents. The reason I refer to J.R.R. Tolkiens mythical tree creatures is because one of the enemies is just that, a walking tree. Now tell me… who DOESN'T want to shoot monkeys and ents?

The play doesn't differ that much from other PS2 FPS's like Red Faction, but I mean that in a good way. You carry one (or two) guns and run through the levels taking out the bad guys. Along the way you meet some friends who help you in your cause, and you get some devices to use a latter time and place. All in all, the first person mode in TS2 is really pretty fun, and blows away that of the original.

Control

The control in TS2 is fully configurable. If you don't like the start up scheme, then you just open the start menu and screw with it until it works. For me, I set it to one similar to the Solitaire setting in… yeah, you guessed it, Goldeneye. I like having one control stick to move back and forth, and the other to let me look around. This way I can aim and fire as quickly as possible. This is extremely essential for the levels where there are snipers on every rooftop. The moment you hear the ricochet of a bullet right next to you, it is imperative that you strafe away and take aim.

Graphics

TS2 has a very unique graphical style to it. The characters aren't meant to look realistic, but rather have a cartoonish appeal to them. Faces are long and eyes are buggy, and they move with a bounce in their step. That said, they definitely don't look bad by any means. Actually, everything runs smooth and fast. Never once during the game did it ever slow down or lag for me.

The levels themselves are gorgeous. The developers did an excellent job creating a mood and atmosphere for the stages. The Chicago level feels like an old gangster flick, and the zombie infested cathedral really does feel eerie and dark. This is created though the use of darkness and objects on the walls. Call me a pansy if you must, but I almost had trouble playing that particular level at night.

Sound

Sound in a FPS is never really the focal point of the game. Sure, it's nice to have great gun blasts and explosions, but no one ever pay attention to the music in the background. This game is really no different. The music is simply there so that nothing is ever to quiet. Yes, each stage has its own fitting theme pounding in the background, but rarely does it ever really stand out. There was one exception for me though. The Old West level has the typical old west style song playing, but it really enhanced the experience for me. I felt like a cowboy ready to take down the sheriff with my six-shot.

During each of the cinemas there is pretty good voice acting. It fits the cartoon feel I mentioned earlier, and sometimes made me laugh. Every character had their own distinct voice that made it easier often times to know who to shoot and know not to shoot. The bosses had some of the corniest dialogue I've ever heard. The Sheriff you fight in the last part of the Old West level actually shouts such phrases as, "Let's get em boys!" throughout the duel.

The gun noises are nothing special, but they work. The pistol sounds exactly how you'd imagine it to, as does every other weapon. So I guess it is nothing to complain about.

Multiplayer

Goldeneye. Yeah, I'm back on that again. And why not mention that game in a section about multiplayer? Most people agree that some of their fondest videogame memories are from sitting in the Facility bathroom surrounded by Proxy mines just waiting for the unsuspecting moron who was going to walk in and get blown back to the stone age.

I honestly have to say that the multiplayer in TS2 is comparable to that of the Bond classic. To fully witness the pleasure of it though, you have to beat the single player and challenge modes. Starting off, you get only four levels and few playable characters. This is why many people never enjoyed this game. They simply refused to actually unlock anything. I promise you… it is worth it.

With everything open, there are tons of choices to pick from. Simple deathmatch, teams, capture the flag to name the obvious. But then there are cool new modes like Vampire and Virus. In Vampire, you have a meter at the top of your screen that shows your blood count. It continues to go down the whole game, and once it hits bottom, you die. The only way to slow it down is to kill opponents. The more you kill (and the faster), the slower the meter drops. This makes for an extremely fast paced game. In virus, one person is engulfed in green flame. The object of the game is to pass it on to as many people as possible, or just run away. There are plenty of other great modes to choose from, but some you just have to experience for yourself.

There are so many playable characters in the multiplayer mode that I have still yet to use them all. Anything from mostly naked Amazon chicks to a man with a gigantic hand for a head can be used. If I typed out every single one right now, you'd have to read through a painfully long list, and their names wouldn't do them justice until you saw the corresponding body. I've literally laughed out loud at some of them.

Overall

TimeSplitters 2 isn't Goldeneye, but it's pretty close. There is something for every gamer in here somewhere, and that's what makes it great. For parties, sleepovers, or for when you are just in the mood to shoot at stuff, this is the perfect game.