TimeSplitters: Future Perfect (GameCube) Preview

One of TimeSplitters 2 only real complaints was that the single player was not extraordinary compared to other first person shooters on the market, however the multiplayer was the true highlight; complete with a large amount of bots and a create-a-level option. In Future Perfect more emphasis has been placed on the story of the single player, and following on from Cortez's quest to collect the time crystals in TimeSplitters 2, our hero must now be sent into the past once more to stop the latest war between humans and aliens ever happening. The time period that has been on show for a while now is the French World War 2 scenario, but we now know the action picks up in a futuristic alien environment and goes all the way back to the 1900s.

All the challenges and arcade options that made TimeSplitters 2 great have returned with 100 different characters and bots, that you can shoot to pieces in all the different matches, that lead to the winning of trophies. The challenges are still as unique as is to be expected; cat robot racing, window breaking with bricks, everything you expect from a TimeSplitters game. The multiplayer has been fitted with more match options and modes, such as thief and vampire, and team games like assault and capture the bag.

There are several new weapons that are on offer, including guns that shoot through walls, shotguns, sniper rifles, baseball bats, tranquilizer guns, time disruptor grenades and mini guns that can all be used to explode barrels and break windows. The various computers scattered about can also be hacked into (ala Second Sight) or used to take control of gun turrets and turn them against the enemy. For the sadistic gamer, some computers even let you "experiment" on laboratory subjects that will prove novel till you kill said subject.

Another nod back to Second Sight, is Cortez's psychic device found on his glove that lets him pick up objects and throw them at anyone in his path. A new addition however is Cortez's ability to take control of vehicles, and these vary from on-rail sections to very simple driving sections.