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Formats: PS2, Xbox, GameCube - PS2 Version Reviewed

With TimeSplitters: Future Perfect, Free Radical finds itself in a similar situation to Oasis. Once upon a time both were the hot new contenders with a sparkling debut. TimeSplitters came from nowhere to become the darling of the PS2 launch line-up, and the best console FPS between GoldenEye and Halo. Then comes the big seller, the critically lauded, much-adored classic. TimeSplitters 2 was a hit on every platform, adding to the original’s strengths – with its slick multiplayer mode and brilliant bonus games – while improving on its major downfall: a paper-thin single-player mode.

And now we have TimeSplitters: Future Perfect, and it’s the equivalent of Oasis’ Heathen Chemistry. It’s a return to roots after an interesting but only partially successful original release (Second Sight). It’s the product of a lot of hard work; bigger and better in just about every way. And what must hurt is; nobody seems to care. After Halo 2, Half-Life 2, Doom 3 and new console FPS games like Star Wars: Republic Commando and Project Snowblind, a new TimeSplitters just isn’t that exciting. It still charts, but it won’t hold the number one slot for weeks on end.

What a shame. TimeSplitters: Future Perfect isn’t the most amazing or revolutionary console FPS around, but it takes the series to its logical conclusion: not a single-player game with some bolted on multiplayer action, but a full-on, fun-packed, FPS playset.

Not that the single-player game isn’t important. In fact, it has clearly been a focal point for TimeSplitters 3.0. Where previous incarnations were extremely episodic, the whole time portal theme making a handy excuse to set levels in spaghetti western towns, Cyberpunk cities or gothic cathedrals as Free Radical pleased, Future Perfect makes much more of an effort to tie things together into one coherent story. This means following Cortez, one of the last game’s multiple heroes, as he tracks a mysterious stranger through time in an effort to save his own, future Earth from evil powers. It’s still the sort of stuff you’d find scribbled on the back of a fag packet, but it’s also very entertaining, with some snappy dialogue, some interesting characters and some cool time-travel moments – all very much in the Back to the Future vein.

And it’s in the single player game that you get the most from one of Future Perfect’s strongest points: the visuals. While everyone else is engaged in a quest for hyper-realism, Free Radical seems obsessed with refining its own weird style of graphics, creating a world full of oddball comic-book architecture, oddly proportioned characters – come on guys, what is it with the breasts? – and deliberately themed, slightly sickly colour palettes. As a result, Future Perfect frequently looks amazing, the most impressive levels, including a 1930s island stronghold and a vast haunted mansion, oozing atmosphere from every glowing pixel. Character design is absolutely top notch, and again there’s a great sense of humour and personality that extends even to the cannon-fodder goons. Listen to them witter on about hot dates and poor working conditions, and wonder that anyone cared enough to write so much pointless dialogue for someone you’re probably going to wipe out in a second. This is a game where even the zombies exude charm.

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