The TimeSplitters series is a cult classic game developed by a core group of developers who originally worked with Rare to make Goldeneye and Perfect Dark for the Nintendo 64. Originally released in 2000 for the PlayStation 2, TimeSplitters quickly became a hit. The game was considered a spiritual successor to Goldeneye and Perfect Dark with its emphasis on fast-paced shooting and multiplayer elements. Unlike many other first-person shooters of the era, the entire story in the trilogy can be played cooperatively with another player. Since the release of TimeSplitters: Future Perfect in 2005, there hasn't been another entry, so fans are excited to have it return.
News broke out recently that former TimeSplitters studio Free Radical Design has reformed, and the studio's first goal is to continue the TimeSplitters series. On top of this, two of the original founders of Free Radical Design, David Doak and Steve Ellis, will be heading the development team. Fans of the series rejoice as they have wanted a sequel to TimeSplitters: Future Perfect for some time, and have also requested for an HD re-release of the original trilogy, but for years have been left hoping. Thankfully, fans who want a modern taste can unlock the entirety of a 4K version of TimeSplitters 2 on Homefront: The Revolution using cheat codes.
TimeSplitters Has Everything for Fans of FPS
First-person shooters were really starting to pick up steam on consoles since the launch of Goldeneye in 1997, and this trend would continue with the likes of Perfect Dark, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six, Medal of Honor, and more. A handful of developers left Rare to create their own studio known as Free Radical Design in 1999, and their first release in October of 2000 was TimeSplitters. Free Radical included and improved upon concepts that were introduced in Goldeneye and Perfect Dark, while introducing many of their own unique concepts, turning TimeSplitters into an instant hit.
The TimeSplitters series has a sense of humor unlike anything seen in Goldeneye, fully apparent when playing the story mode. The game features time traveling throughout its narrative, which comes into play during each of the stages. The original game takes place between the years 1935 and 2035, with an illustrious cast of characters playable in the multiplayer Arcade mode. Like Goldeneye, TimeSplitters' stages have three different difficulty levels, with timed challenges that when completed successfully, unlock additional gameplay cheats and characters.
TimeSplitters is one of the few games of its time to allow cooperative play throughout its story mode. As the story and dialogue are witty and entertaining, it's great to be able to play along with a friend. The multiplayer Arcade mode allowed up to four players and 10 bots to shoot it up in various game modes across many maps. TimeSplitters1 has 64 playable characters ranging from monkeys, to monsters, to time-period waiters. The gameplay is also very smooth and fast-paced, making it a very accessible first-person shooter for consoles of its time.
TimeSplitters Improved Upon Itself
With everything fans of an FPS could want in a game, each TimeSplitters entry also came with various other features that added to its replayability. One such feature was the mapmaker. This was done with a grid-based level editor that allowed players to create their own levels to play on in Arcade mode. The mapmaker in TimeSplitters 2 added the ability for players to create their own story-level maps, with objects and objectives throughout. The mapmaker in TimeSplitters 1 and 2 was limited to indoor areas, until TimeSplitters: Future Perfect changed this.
In TimeSplitters: Future Perfect players could use the mapmaker to create outdoor maps, with the ability to toggle weather effects like rain and snow. Players also had the ability to stack rooms creating long five-story pitfalls, as well as decorate their various rooms with obstacles and barricades. On top of this, the PS2 and Xbox versions of TimeSplitters: Future Perfect allowed for online play, with the ability to play on and share mapmaker maps. Though the online has since been discontinued, using the software Xlink Kai players still to this day can continue to enjoy nonsensical shooter mayhem on the PS2 and original Xbox.
With the tight controls, witty humor, a mapmaker, cast of unique characters, cooperative story mode, and a plethora of imaginative guns and set pieces, TimeSplitters was truly ahead of its time. It was a shame that a new entry in the series never came to be, but with the reformed Free Radical Designs whether a sequel or simply another entry into the series, fans are more than thrilled to see more time traveling hijinx ensue.
A new entry in the TimeSplitters series is currently in pre-development.