Time Crisis 2

Time Crisis 2 is a port of the classic arcade light-gun game of the same name. Similar to other classic on-rails shooters like Area 51 and House of the Dead, this late-90s arcade title is well-known for taking quarters out of the pocket of every eager gamer around. Now, thanks to the wonders of home consoles, players can forego spending all their pocket change on this ultra-tough action experience. Either alone or with a friend, you'll blast your way through waves of baddies, with a plethora of extra modes to keep the fun going.

Main Game Features

• Perfect recreation of the arcade classic
• Simultaneous co-op gameplay
• Tons of replayability

Story

Time Crisis 2 continues the exceptionally campy story started in the original game, and focuses on two elite agents, Keith Martin and Robert Baxter. At the start of the game, the pair are sent to meet up with Christy Ryan, another agent with incriminating evidence against the mega-corporation, NeoDyne. Unfortunately, before they are able to make contact, Christy is kidnapped by NeoDyne guards. With NeoDyne threatening to release an experimental nuclear satellite into the Earth's atmosphere, Keith and Robert must stop NeoDyne and rescue Christy before time runs out. Overall, the story is goofy and poorly acted, but no worse than other games of its type. It provides a predictable spy story with Mission Impossible vibes, complete with huge missiles, a big fight on a train, and much more. While it won't win any awards for best acting performances, Time Crisis 2 still has an oddly endearing story.

Gameplay

The real fun of Time Crisis 2 is in its wholly addictive and endlessly replayable light-gun gameplay, which is an iconic experience rarely replicated outside of the arcade. Using either the controller or a light-gun accessory, up to two players simultaneously steady their aim and shoot their way through three main stages packed with enemy guards. Time Crisis 2 utilizes the franchise's signature “duck and cover” mechanic, which is activated by quickly tapping a button. This allows you to duck behind the nearest piece of debris, reloading your gun and dodging bullets. Luckily, if you take too many shots and lose your lives, you can easily continue without spending a bunch of quarters. While the main game will only take you around an hour or two to complete, there are a handful of extra modes to try out.

In addition to the main story mode, which has remastered graphics and extra cutscenes added from the arcade original, the PlayStation 2 version of Time Crisis 2 contains several bonus modes. By finishing the game a select amount of times, players can unlock a variety of bonus guns to use in subsequent playthroughs, including the ability to wield two guns at once. You can also try out Crisis Mission mode, which pits players against several time-based challenges, aimed to test their accuracy and precision. You can also shoot down some clay-pigeons or play a virtual version of the arcade game, Quick & Crash. These extra modes help incentivize multiple playthroughs, while also rounding out the package with some fun distractions.

Conclusion

When it comes to games that really make you feel like you're in the center of the arcade, Time Crisis 2 is one of the best. Although it's not that long of a game, especially with unlimited continues, the challenging difficulty and explosive action still make it a thrilling adventure. The core mechanics of shooting, ducking for cover, and reloading never gets old, providing dozens of hours of quality entertainment.

Pros

• High-octane fun
• Endless continues
• Nine stages of arcade goodness

Cons

• Lots of unfair deaths
• Bad voice acting
• Cliche plot

I loved the first game, but Time Crisis 2 is a superior game in every regard. This was released on the PlayStation 2 the better part of five years after it had torn up arcades! As a result, Namco actually did quite a bit of work on this game to make sure it was more of a PS2 game than something that would have appeared on the original PlayStation. If you like light gun shooters, this one is a damn fine one.

Stop The Satellites

What I love about the stories that the Time Crisis games tell, is that they are so cheesy and campy it is hard not to smile. This one has an evil organization launching a satellite that can be used to control nukes! Two secret agents are having none of this and set out to stop it. The whole thing comes across as a bootleg James Bond story and I love it!

Next-Gen Cinematics

I have to be honest and say that I feel the original arcade Time Crisis 2 could have probably come out on the original PlayStation! Namco knew that they had to get the polygon paintbrush out and improve the visuals and they did just that. This is not an amazing looking game or anything like that. However, Namco clearly did a great deal of work in making it look more like a PS2 game. It has some pretty jaggy edges on the character models, but some of the levels look fantastic.

Reload!

The gameplay of Time Crisis 2 is the same as it was in the original game. You go into an area, you need to take out the bad guys, save hostages and move on. It is basic stuff, but this has always been one of the more satisfying light gun shooters out there. The “gimmick” is that you need to duck and hide to reload. The GunCon 2 that this comes with is even better than the first. It is lighter and it also feels a bit more accurate too which is great. There are some amazing set pieces in this game. One that always gets talked about is the high-speed boat chase which is just flat out awesome.

Meet My Partner

There is a two-player option here and it is both good and bad. The good is that you can have two consoles, two TVs, two games, two GunCons and play that way. If you can pull this off, I imagine it would be freaking awesome. If you just have one console, you play the game in a split-screen mode, and let me tell you a light gun shooter in split-screen is not fun at all!

More Than The Arcade

Like the first game, Time Crisis 2 adds in way more content than just the arcade mode. You can beat the game and each time you do you get a new type of ammo/weapon to use. Crisis Mission is cool in that you have to complete specific objectives during each mission. There is a clay pigeon shooting mode as well. So while the main game is a bit short like all light gun shooters are. Namco packed as much content in here as I feel that they could have.

I have to say that there are better light gun shooters on the PlayStation 2, but Time Crisis 2 is still a fantastic game. I love the cheesy story and the upgraded visuals do look much better than what was in the arcade. The GunCon 2 is an amazing light gun and it helps make the game so much more fun. If you enjoy light gun shooters, you have to play through this one.

Pros:

• The story is cheesy as hell and I love it
• The visuals at the time were impressive
• There are many game modes to enjoy
• The GunCon 2 is fantastic
• The action is fast and frantic

Cons:

• The 2 player mode sucks!
• I wish there was more levels