Time Crisis 2: Web Wombat: Games

Being a huge fan of digital violence, I turned to Time Crisis 2 with gusto, particularly so after opening the package containing the funky new USB-based GunCon 2.

The new gun is light, but with enough weight to feel adequately chunky, and comes with a D-pad on the back, plus a few other buttons dotted around, including a groovy reload button underneath the grip, which is tres chic, as the French say.

The game is a logical progression in the Time Crisis series, adding smarter visuals, more interactivity and, because the arcade game is relatively short, a plethora of cool bonus games too.

Calibrating the USB-based GunCon 2 is fairly straightforward - shoot the screen a couple of times and Bob's yer uncle. It did take a few more runs to get the accuracy just perfect, but in all, the gun is quite a nice piece of equipment.

Just like House of the Dead 2 on the Dreamcast, the plot in Time Crisis 2 is sloppy B-grade stuff, yet it works so well. The baddies, collectively working for the mega-corporation Neodyne, are on the threshold of launching the final satellite in what would essentially give them control of 64 military satellites.

The gameplay could be called 'explosive'

Anyone whose played C&C and used the orbital ion cannon will know just how annoying those military grade lasers are.

There are six choices to make at the main menu in TC2 including options, link, two-players, with arcade taking centre stage.

Enter the arcade game, sit through some B-grade movie cut-scenes, laugh at the schlock acting, then it's time for the good old duck-n-reload action.

For those who have never played a Time Crisis game, you are constantly hidden from direct fire. Hold down one of the GunCon's many buttons and you'll pop out from cover, with nine bullets in your clip.

Once empty, let go of the button and you'll be back in cover, with a full clip to boot.

This method is immeasurably more efficient, and fun, than the usual 'shoot outside of the screen!' guff, and then some. There are certain sections in the three-stage arcade game where holding down the button not only brings you out of cover, but it also moves you along an invisible path - down an alley way or through a forest, for instance.

The idea of having an arcade game in your lounge room is made all the more real by the excellent GunCon 2 and, while the arcade mode is way too short for my liking, the bonuses more than make up for this.

We gotta chopper - coming in low... Return fire!

The bonus games consist of increasingly difficult accuracy, speed and reflex-based missions. From standard shooting ranges, to weird hi-tech target practice, these extras add plenty more longevity to the title.

Moreover, there's even some old-school mini-games in there, such as the trap shooting. Arr, nothing like shootin' clay pigeons. Arr!

The graphics in TC2 are more than adequate, but they by no means push the PS2's graphics synthesiser. The textures are actually pretty good, but you can tell this game was ported from a four-year old arcade cabinet.

Even so, there are some particularly cool effects. When you're behind cover, bullets ricochet all around you, visibly shaking the screen. While it's not a graphical wonder per se, TC2 is a very fine game to look at.

While the arcade mode consists of only three stages, you will go back again and again, because the gameplay is accessible, good old-fashioned fun. That said, if you don't like light-gun games, just ignore that last comment. The end-bosses are cool, there's plenty of interactivity within the game world and the bonus mini-games are challenging but pleasurable.

Time Crisis 2, while short, is a blast to play through with the GunCon 2 and is even more fun with two of them, especially John Woo style. There's split screen, single missions, target practice, you can opt for an iLink game and partake in the funsome mini-games.

And if that gets too much, you can always screw around with the gun's calibration, then hand the game over to an unsuspecting guest…

Game: Time Crisis 2
System: Playstation 2
Players: 1-2
Memory Card: Yes
Developer: Namco
Distributor: Sony

Rating: 70%

(Ratings Key/Explantion)

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