TimeSplitters: Future Perfect

The Good
I am a big fan of Timesplitters 2, my review is here on Mobygames and I still consider it one of my all-time favorites. Future Perfect is almost identical to that game and largely feels like a very good expansion pack to me. Why am I telling you this? Well, because I don't feel like repeating an entire review, so I will only mention the good and bad changes... Okay :D?

The aiming has improved significantly to the point I could actually use the sniper rifle at long range. TS2 had the problem where every weapon handled like you were trying to hurl lifting-weights at people and you were largely dependent on the auto-aim. Here you can choose between the two and most weapons handle just as well when you aim as when you rely on the auto-aim to do it for you.

There is a new batch of silly challenges and arcade missions to complete and I couldn't be happier. The arcade missions have only gotten more insane over since the last installment and it was during a mission on a frozen lake where I was fighting malformed reindeer that I remembered why I was in this industry to begin with, namely to have some damn fun. I am currently pretty well on my way to completing the amateur league and I want to try and get them all this time.

It really feels like the producers want to give us as much as they possibly can. Why do I think so? Because during the arcade missions you realize just how many characters they actually created that they weren't even going to use in the story mode. They could have simply went the James Bond way and took all the characters from the campaign missions, but instead we get a huge number of detailed and well designed characters that are all pretty interesting in their own way.

Talking about characters, the story has improved in that aspect as well. In TS2 you started the campaign with the opening cutscene and then every mission with a short cinematic showing your character for that adventure. Now we actually have cutscenes during the missions and we are in constant contact with a supervisor who gives you instructions. It allows the story to come alive a bit more and while I am not really fond of how Harry Tipper turned into a hippy, I am still cool with it since he and Cortez talk during their partnership and we discover his motivations.

I can at least play the game without been in a constant state of "really damn scared". I will get back at this later, but the short version is that they ditched most of the surprise spawning and I am fortunate enough to not having been traumatized by this game at an early age. There is still a very memorable campaign missions set in my birth year (1994) that would have made me shit my lungs out at the age of eight though.

The game campaign is still full of awesome moments that prove just how boring Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 is. Honestly, how many memorable moments were there in that game? I can't for the love of god recall anything of it, despite having played it multiple times. My favorite moment was once again in 1994 when I got locked into a room and some kind of machine started throwing zombies at me. The game is also full of awesome moment where you go into wormholes to help past selves of you out during moments you played yourself seconds ago.

The Bad
The silliness of the Arcade mission has seeped into the campaign and that causes quite a few problems. While the arcade and challenge missions were both nonsensical fun-houses, the story mode was played pretty straight with a pretty decent story and a more serious tone. You won't catch any gingerbread cookies ambushing you during the story mode, but Cortez is suddenly way past the traumatizing events of TS2 and wisecracks his way through the entire story. The humor is rather in your face and while it got me to smile from time to time, it is mostly pretty low-brow and embarrassing.

You no longer go all over time and space like in TS2 during the story mode and mostly stick to sci-fi areas. I think the furthest you travel back is to 1924 Scotland, but you don't really notice the big time gap all that much. The previous game had you travelling all over the place and I believe you even went back to the time of the Inca's and the Wild West at one point. The pay-off at the end is still pretty good, but more interesting areas wouldn't have hurt.

The Bottom Line
Future Perfect is still not a perfect game and I don't really like what they did with the tone of the story mode, but overall I had a lot of fun with this adventure. I went into this with high expectations and the game managed to fulfill all of those, it is a fun and fast-paced action shooter with a sense of humor and a good aesthetic. Players are guaranteed a lot of content due to the fun arcade mode, the map maker and the challenges, plus the story is worth following and has some very awesome moments in it.

Fans of the previous game will get what they know and love, though this makes the game more of an expansion pack. People who have never touched upon this franchise before will get an experience one can only dislike if they are utterly and completely devoted to reality. I have yet to meet somebody who hates this game, but until then I can recommend this to all of you.

Keep on gaming!