We finally received our review copy of Time Crisis 3 with a Guncon 3 light gun, and, after a few days with the game, it seems to have held up well in some aspects and failed in others. Although, you shouldn’t expect toom much out of the game, it surprised me with one unexpected feature.

Standard/Story Mode

I wanted to approach the game with a fresh mind. I purposely avoided detailed previews and in depth coverage of the game, so, when I first popped the game into my PS3, I chose Arcade Mode. Aracade Mode is everything you’d expect out of Time Crisis 4. We’ll discuss Arcade Mode later. Let’s talk about Story Mode.

The day after receiving the game, I decided to give it another go, but I wanted to try Story Mode instead. I figured Story Mode would turn out to be the same as Arcade Mode but only for a single player with different rules, time limits, maybe some extra levels. Boy, was I wrong.Story Mode follows a third character that assists you in Arcade Mode but is ultimately unplayable except through Story Mode.

This mode is Time Crisis’s ultimate surprise because it is unlike any game I’ve ever seen. You still use the Guncon 3 to play except that you have the ability to move and look around using the two joysticks on the Guncon 3. Time Crisis 4 basically becomes a first person shooter but instead of aiming a little circle in the middle of the screen to shoot people, you aim with the light gun. This is great, right?

Wrong. The idea sounds interesting, but the joystick location on the gun made my wrist ache before I even came close to finishing the first stage. Furthermore, the levels are flat and boring. The enemies stand still and sometimes shoot at walls right in front of them. It’s great to try out, but I’d kill myself if I had to finish Story Mode. My wrist would probably give out before my mind.

As for Arcade Mode, it’s everything you’d expect out of a Time Crisis game. You follow two other agents on their pursuit to stop terrorists from destroying the country in epic action battles, blah blah. It’s really fun, but you won’t miss much if you never play the game. Other than the new characters and plot, it’s the same thing that’s been available at the arcades with Time Crisis 1, 2, and 3.

The difficulty levels definitely describe themselves accurately. The game on Very Hard is very hard to finish, and the game on Very Easy makes it too easy.

Multiplayer

Arcade Mode supports up to two players, but the game has an official Multiplayer Mode in which you and a friend can compete in a variety of mini games. I found the multiplayer mode exteremely challengin at times, and it was overall more fun than the single player experiences.

If you only have one gun, fear not. There’s a multiplayer sub-mode that requires only one gun.

It reminds me a lot of the old-school arcade game Police Trainer. In fact, it’s very much like the game, almost too much like it. Whatever the case may be, it’s really fun and it definitely helps the game’s replay espcially for anybody who enjoys social or casual gaming.

Replay Value

The game sports a variety of modes with a variety of difficulty settings allowing a good casual/social gaming experience when your friends are over with nothing to do. The Arcade Mode is easily completed in one day. There’s three major stages that don’t wouldn’t take you the majority of the day to finish.

As I said before, the Multiplayer Mode helps the replay value a lot as it is extremely fun to play against a friend.

Visual Quality

The visual quality of the game didn’t dissapoint. It’s definitely worthy of being considered “next-gen”, and it supports 480p and 720p resolutions. There were a few visual elements that distracted me from the gameplay experience, which is never a good thing unless they’re stunning me with their beauty. Bullet holes never stayed in anything, and there were never any bodies left after I killed anyone.

Except for Story Mode, the environments are rich in detail, and the cut scenes are tend to be very beautiful. Don’t expect to be stunned by the game, but it won’t dissapoint in this aspect either.

Sound Quality

I played this game on regular TV speakers as I don’t have a surround sound system, but the sound experience was pretty great. The sound effects complimented everything happening on screen, and I didn’t ever have to think about the game’s sound, meaning the game makers did their job. If the sound doesn’t distract the player, it means the relationship between what’s happening on screen and it’s accompanied sound is working beautifully.

Finally, do we recommend this game?

Yes, but only if you really, really like arcade shooters like Time Crisis, House of the Dead, or Police Trainer or if you’re into casual/social gaming. Keep in mind, it’s not for the typical hardcore, Halo playin’ gamer. It’s more for the Mario Party lovin’ crowd.

It’s fun, but certain aspects of the game get old quick. There’s also a lot of replay value in multiplayer modes, and it’s a great casual/social game to keep around in case a booze party ever goes stale. Amazon currently has it on sale with the Guncon 3 for $60.

Score:

3/5

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