Tag Archives: Free Radical

Retro Select, Videos

Retro Select: TimeSplitters 2

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You know me, I’ll find any excuse to play TimeSplitters 2. So even though we looked at the PS2 version a while back, here’s the mostly identical Xbox version. Because I felt like playing it.

TimeSplitters 2Β is an amazing game that still feels just as fresh and enjoyable today as it did back in the early years of the 21st century. And in its Xbox and GameCube incarnations, you even had four controller ports to enjoy split-screen multiplayer to the max without the need for any extra hardware! Apart from controllers, obviously.

Check it out in the video below, and don’t forget toΒ subscribe on YouTube for more!

short;Play, Videos

short;Play: TimeSplitters 2

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You asked for it, and I… was going to do it anyway, but here it is! TimeSplitters 2, one of the finest console first-person shooters ever created — and indeed one of my favourite games of all time.

TimeSplitters 2Β took everything that was good about the first game and provided more.Β Much, much more. We have a story mode that is much closer to what its spiritual predecessorsΒ GoldenEyeΒ andΒ Perfect DarkΒ provided on the Nintendo 64. We have a more structured single-player experience for the “arcade” mode. We have a wide variety of weird and wonderful challenges. And we have many, many,Β manyΒ characters to collect.

Check it out in the video below, and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more!

short;Play, Videos

short;Play: TimeSplitters

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I love me some TimeSplitters. And I was in the mood for some TimeSplitters lately. So what better way to scratch that itch than to play some TimeSplitters?

The originalΒ TimeSplittersΒ was a PlayStation 2 launch game developed by ex-Rare employees who previously worked onΒ GoldenEyeΒ andΒ Perfect Dark — and it actually got some flak for being less narrative-focused than its spiritual predecessors. Today, however, its arcade-style, mechanics-centric action is blessed relief from the myriad open world, XP-grinding, 100-hour epics we have today, even outside the RPG genre. Just turn on, play, enjoy.

Check it out in the video below, and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more. There’s more I want to talk about with regard toΒ TimeSplitters,Β so this will likely return to short;Play at some point in the near future!

Features, MoeGamer Awards 2018

The MoeGamer Awards 2018: The Least “Retro” Retro Game

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The MoeGamer Awards are a series of β€œalternative” awards that I’ve devised in collaboration with the community as an excuse to celebrate the games, experiences and fanbases that have left a particular impression on me in 2018. Find out more andΒ leave a suggestion here!

This award was suggested by The Night Owl from The Late Night Session.

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Retro gaming can be a bit of a minefield at times.

Sometimes you’ll return to a game you absolutely adored in your youth only to discover that it’s an unplayable garbage fire by modern standards, for all manner of reasons.

And sometimes you’ll pick up a game that you really enjoyed in years gone by, only to discover that age has beenΒ extremelyΒ kind to it — and it’s actually evenΒ betterΒ from a modern perspective than it was originally. I’ve come across a few games like that recently, but if I had to pick one, ooh, ooooooh….

And the winner is…

Continue reading The MoeGamer Awards 2018: The Least “Retro” Retro Game →

Essentials, PS2

PS2 Essentials: TimeSplitters 2

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Yes, yes, yes, I know it’s also on Xbox and Gamecube, but I’ve always thought of TimeSplitters as a PlayStation thing, so that’s where it’s getting categorised today.

Ahem. Anyway.Β TimeSplitters 2Β is, unsurprisingly, the follow-up to the excellentΒ TimeSplitters, a game developed by ex-Rare folks who previously worked onΒ GoldenEye 007Β andΒ Perfect DarkΒ on the Nintendo 64.

The originalΒ TimeSplittersΒ has aged very well. Its sequel is even better. Let’s take a closer look.

Continue reading PS2 Essentials: TimeSplitters 2 →

Essentials, PS2

PS2 Essentials: TimeSplitters

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It’s funny how the advancing years can affect how you perceive a particular game.

TimeSplittersΒ is a great example. Developed by a team of ex-Rare staffers who had previously worked on N64 classicsΒ GoldenEye 007Β andΒ Perfect Dark, this PlayStation 2 launch title was positively received on its original release — but also drew some criticism for, in some respects, seeming like a step backwards from its spiritual predecessors, particularly in terms of narrative and storytelling.

Returning to it some 18 years after its original release, however, paints a somewhat different picture… and makes it an absolute delight to play.

Continue reading PS2 Essentials: TimeSplitters →