Time Crisis 4 w/ Guncon 3
PS3: Time Crisis 4 w/ Guncon 3
By Joseph Tan
This lackluster attempt at reigniting the spark of light gun gaming shouldn't even be allowed into the next-gen arena.
The Time Crisis series was one that enjoyed a good run, beginning in the arcades and then steadily making its way onto the console platforms and even the PC.
Similarly, the Guncon light gun began its run in the gaming world with Time Crisis' transition to the Playstation platform. Back then it was a thrill to be playing Time Crisis, with Guncon, in the comfort of your own home.
10 years later, Namco are still churning out the Time Crisis series with this iteration being Time Crisis 4 and yet again, it's being bundled with the latest iteration of the abovementioned light gun, Guncon 3.
Time Crisis 4 gameplay
Exciting news? Let's face it, it's 2007, not 1997. In the span of 10 years, gamers have changed, and so has the face of gaming. Unfortunately for Namco and their Time Crisis and Guncon franchise, they don't seem to be able to keep up with this ever-changing landscape.
Time Crisis 4 follows the exploits of two ridiculously styled cops (as usual), on the hunt for a biological weapon known as "Terror Bite". Basically, it's a large swarm of nanomachines in the shape of bugs. Yes, bugs. So basically, you and a partner have to go in, guns blazing and put down this weapon before it's released to the world. Simple? It absolutely is.
Gameplay is standard Time Crisis point-and-shoot fare, with buttons allowing you to duck for cover and expose yourself depending on how your preferred configuration.
Time Crisis 4 gameplay
Aside from the B-movie concept and straightforward gameplay, the game does try to inject a dose of new life to the franchise by adding an FPS element to some sections in the complete mission mode. The result however, is not spectacular; in fact the resultant levels end up being the ones you try to get through as fast as possible to avoid the pain of them.
Imagine tracking a moving target with your gun while being on the move; now top that off with slow-to-react movement controls and some tricky (in a bad way) jumping sections and you're looking at some pretty horrific FPS segments, by today's standards.
Guncon 3
About the Guncon 3, it's designed like a standard light gun except that the first thing that's readily apparent about it's difference is the existence of a thumbstick on the back of it. Couple that with an extra pistol grip on the side with yet another thumbstick on top of it and you've got a pretty sophisticated light gun.
Comfortable to hold and easy to use, the extra thumbsticks got us excited about FPS integration that, as we all know, eventually does not hold up to expectations.
One-handed use of Guncon 3 (because of the extra weight on the 2nd pistol grip perhaps), is fairly taxing on the arm. The sensors that come with the light gun that you place around your television set are reminiscent of the Wii motion sensors, but without half the style. Also, in this day and age, I'd have expected the gun to be wireless but alas, you're tethered to the PS3 by a skinny USB cable.
Time Crisis 4 gameplay
In the graphics department, Time Crisis feels like a remnant of last-gen technology. Environments are too clean, cover does not feel natural or motivated and playing the game made me forget I was gaming on a PS3 at times.
However, that's not to say there's nothing fun about the game as a whole. One of the most fun parts of this game does not belong in the main game or have anything to do with it. It's an accuracy game of skeet shooting with superbly simple graphics, which, surprisingly, is lots of good fun simply because of its simple, pick-up-and-play nature.
All in all, Time Crisis 4 and the Guncon 3 fall short of all expectations. In a world ruled by the Wii's motion sensor gameplay and the 360 and PS3's next-gen graphics capabilities, you'd think that Namco would've taken the best of both worlds and come up with something refreshing for the franchise. I guess not.
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