John Paul M. Joaquin Games 04.26.2023 06:Apr AM EDT

[RETRO GAMING] Do You Remember the PlayStation 2 Game TimeSplitters: Future Perfect?

First-person shooters (FPS) are a dime a dozen, with their twists like exo-suits, space weapons, and being set in past wars being their unique selling point.

Gamers are obviously familiar with the Call of Duty and Battlefield games, which are the genre's most popular games to offer. However, Once upon a time, the best FPS didn't have ADS (aiming down the sights) or even crosshairs for aiming.

Goldeneye 007 was the first of these FPS, but there is one other game that carried the torch when it was time to pass it on. That game is TimeSplitters.

TimeSplitters History, Unique Selling Points

TimeSplitters is the first of a series of FPS games developed by Free Radical Design and published by Eidos Interactive for the PlayStation 2 in 2000, per the TimeSplitters Wiki.

The game is the spiritual successor of Goldeneye 007, with it having no manual aim, crosshairs, and ADS. The game does the aiming for you, while your reaction time is the only weapon you have against taking damage from NPCs.

Like many FPS games, TimeSplitters' story mode is a preparation for the chaos that is the multiplayer scene. You are put straight into the action in what is essentially a Capture the Flag game over several decades, with your reaction time being their only advantage against hordes of NPCs, per IGN.

There is no stealth, gimmicky gadgetry, or unique spins to be had - it's just straight-out shooting NPCs, and eventually other players, without much fuzz. Additionally, the game doesn't feature a single character or hero for players to use - they are free to try out other characters as well.

Players can go head-to-head with each other in seven game modes through online or local multiplayer through a four-way split screen a la Goldeneye 007. However, for TimeSplitters' split screen to work and be the better version of its spiritual predecessor, Free Radical had to make some performance cuts to keep the frame rate smooth, including no anti-aliasing, per The Gamer.

Thanks to these improvements, the game's online and local multiplayer games were something to remember, with them basically being the improved versions of Goldeneye 007 matches. You can even play as the many characters you fought as in story mode in the different periods you were in.

Critical Reception, Possible Return

The first TimeSplitters game was a hit for critics and gamers alike. The former gave the game an 81 Metascore on Metacritic, while gamers gave it a user score of 8 for its similarities to Goldeneye 007 and the fun to be had in the game.

While some may think that the series the game started has fizzled out into obscurity, think again. THQ is reforming Free Radical and has officially announced that the newly revived studio will work on the next installment of the TimeSplitters series - the first in over 18 years as of press time, per The Gamer and Screen Rant.