Obviously, this game is the latest installment in the (undeservingly unpopular) TimeSplitters series. This game has all the makings of a great first-person shooter, whether you just want to do a quick 5-minute romp-a-thon, or you actually plan to go on a rewards scouting session. But, the reason why the game doesn't get so much attention is because these games fall off the radar rather quickly, since this one fell off the radar within a few weeks as games like Halo 2 and Half-Life 2 get coverage and credit references every two hours.
GRAPHICS: Much like the previous two installments, the game sports a cartoon-ish look, especially with the character models. Though it's a debatable issue as to how bland the environments are, you probably won't care. I read that part in other reviews, and I had trouble noticing, much less caring. UNlike the previous two, the game now incorporates blood, which solves my question as to why this game got an "M" rating. I don't know why Free Radical decided to do this now, but it's there. The weapons look much better this time around, and this time, YOU CAN SEE YOUR HAND! Also, each weapon has its own fire/reload animation, unlike the previous two, which had standard firing animations, and if you reloaded, your gun would just drop off the screen with the sound. Here, reloading now requires a more strategic approach, because taking cover is essential when reloading something like a rocket launcher. The game still maintains its hilarious quality by keeping up with the weird characters (like giant gingerbread men and being able to play as a cow carcass).
SOUND: Some of the gun sounds are pretty much recycled from the other two games, but they sound very good nonetheless. Voice acting in this game is superb (and funny), and the sounds the characters make when shot or killed are funny to listen to (as usual). You haven't heard anything until you've shot a duck in the head after he's been chasing you through a hallway. Along with the new orchestral score (which is kinda boring), the game retains most of the music from TS1 and TS2 (notice I said MOST, so only some of the best songs made it onto the game, probably to save disc space or something).
GAMEPLAY: Partly the same way as the other two, but with improvements. Alongside the ability to customize the controls, most of the features from the other games are retained and some have been changed. For instance, weapons can't be fired with primary and secondary fire with the press of a button. Now, you have to toggle between the two modes. The Temporal Uplink has also been retained from TS2, but in a (slightly) better form. The map on it is actually a hologram that projects from a pod on your arm. This is both good and bad. The good is that...well...it looks cool. The bad is that sometimes the map doesn't say much of what you need to know, and if you're standing against a bright background, you can't see the map. The uplink also doubles as a physics claw that allows you to grab certain objects and project them back at enemies, or just to throw stuff. There's also a huge variety of weapons, and most of them do have secondary fire functions (like handguns can have silencers equipped to them). The game also has Story, Arcade, and Challenge modes. Story allows you to play the main story, Arcade allows you to customize matches or play the pre-set Arcade campaigns for rewards, and the Challenges that have you do random things for more rewards. The MapMaker is perhaps the best part of the game. It functions the same way as the TS2 map, but there are more detailed components added, and the interface is MUCH less sloppy. There are a variety of different things to do and create, but you pretty much get the idea now. You can also play friends online, but I'm a little bit afraid you won't find many people, since the game gets as much buzz as free samples.
STORY: This time, the game actually has a good story. In TS1, there was no story. In TS2, there was a story, but it was about as noticeable as brown cookie crumbs on an oakwood floor, and about as easy to understand as Physics. Here, the story got the same amount of attention as the rest of the game. Sgt. Cortez is just coming back from his Time Crystal gathering mission, and when he returns home, his ship is attacked and he crash lands on the planet in the middle of a war between the humans and the TimeSplitters. From here, you are sent on missions across time to find and eliminate anyone involved with the production of the 'Splitters. You even run into your future and past self throughout missions and he will help you out in reference to time paradoxes (you'll get it).
BOTTOM LINE: Just because a game barely gets any more attention than any other game out there doesn't mean it's bad. It just means people were expecting too much or they simply didn't like the game. The single player itself was enough to turn people off, because I heard this was one game that people bought, played, and returned within the same three days. Halo 2 seems to have caught everyone in the "groundbreaker" flux. Though Halo 2 was an attempt as pushing the FPS genre forward, TS3 is a game to play and enjoy, just enough to keep you awake. And, come on, you bashers! The single-player wasn't THAT bad! You all say it like it really was that big of a problem. 9.25/10.
