Sorry for the delay in posts, but I've been banging my head agaisnt the wall for the last few weeks trying to beat Rainbow Six Vegas 2 on Realistic. I actually got my PS3 version exchanged for the Xbox 360 version of the game, and will be writing a new review based on that version. But that's not what I'm here to talk about today.

I recently got Time Crisis 4 w/ Guncon 3, for the low, low price of $89.99, not so bad considering the peripheral it comes with. It's a generally good game, but doesn't seem to know what it wants to be.

Before talking about the game, let's talk about the Guncon 3 itself. Compared to the Guncon and Guncon 2, it's actually quite massive, with two grips, two sticks, and a grand total of eight buttons if you count the press-in button of each stick.



(Source - http://gamespot.com)



(Source - http://megaline.wordpress.com ) (Japanese version of the gun is shown in this screenshot. Both versions are functionally the same, and only differ in color)

As a left-handed gamer, I find the gun a tad bit uncomfortable, at least with Time Crisis 4, which makes full use of most of the buttons on the gun. It was clearly made with right-handed gamers in mind. My left hand cramped up something fierce after 20 minutes of holding the second grip. However, as is the tradition with Guncon controllers, the 3 is deadly accurate, thanks to a pair of infared LEDs that are placed at either side of the TV, and a simple calibration that pops up when Time Crisis 4 boots up. Unfortunately, the Guncon 3 requires two USB ports (one for the gun, one for the sensors, so a USB hub will be necessary for 40GB PS3 owners, since a controller must be plugged into the system to start the game if auto start is disabled.

Now that we've talked about the gun, let's get to the game. Time Crisis 4 is the latest in the long-running Time Crisis series, which replaces the traditional pure-speed approach of most rail shooters with a duck-and cover system, which is replicated faithfully here with the A1 button. Shots directly headed the player's way will be red-tinted, while the rest of the bullets flying will be directed toward NPCs. It's a bit of an artificial distinction, but it works well enough for the game. In addition to the wide variety of soldiers and vehicles that'll be gunning for the player, Time Crisis 4 introduces swarming hordes of insects, a biological weapon code-named "Terror Bite." Now this is the part where any player with a brain rolls his or her eyes, as the plot in this game is absolutely ridiculous. A battalion of US military troops specializing in handling these biological weapons has gone rogue for some reason or another, and it's up to Giorgio, Evan and Captain Rush to save the day.


(Source - http://videogames.techfresh.net)

The game actually has two modes. The first is the arcade mode, which is a faithful reproduction of the arcade original, with the duck/reload function matched to the A1 button on the Guncon 3. Players will have a limited amount of credits with each play, but will earn more with subsequent playthroughs, similar to House of the Dead 3. In general, it's not a huge evolution from previous TC games, but it's a fun little ight gun game for light gun fans.

However, the main mode is "Complete Mission," which intersperses the arcade levels with FPS stages where the player assumes Captain Rush's character. These stages are, to say the least, awkward with the Guncon 3. In two stick control, players use the A stick (on the second grip) to move along with the B stick (at the back of the gun) to turn. Combined with the manual aiming that is expected of any light gun game, the controls can be a bit much to handle, especially since plenty of buttons are used on the gun. Playing with one-stick controll eliminates the need to use the B stick for moving (though you'll still need to click it to zoom), allowing you instead to turn by moving the gun toward the sides of the screen, much like Metroid Prime 3. Indeed, by turning the cursor on (press the C2 button), players can save the stress of staring down the sights and just play this like MP3. However, the levels aren't anywhere near as inspired as Metroid Prime 3's, making it clear that this was a tad bit of an afterthought. Also, since players are jumped between both modes during the Complete Mission, it's hard to get used to either style. Also, while players are given four life units at the start of each arcade stage, they're bumped to the beginning of the stage upon dying. At least Complete Mission has no credits to worry about. Death in FPS mode is at least a bit more forgiving, allowing players to start at the last checkpoint they reached.

The problem with this game is that it doesn't seem to understand what it wants to be. The FPS mode was clearly made to accomodate western gamers, but it fails to stack up to the FPSes of today, especially stuff like Rainbow Six or Halo. Also, the light gun game isn't nearly as intense as it should be, with the action too clearly broken up into pieces, making for an experience that is somewhat lacking compared to Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles and House of the Dead 4. In trying to be all things to all people, Time Crisis 4 ends up not really being anything for anyone. it's not a bad game, by any means, and any PS3 owner looking for a lightgun game will find a servicable one here. However, those who have access to other games (especially people with a CRT display television and access to a Guncon 2) are better off looking elsewhere.

On a side note, multiplayer is supported with Time Crisis 4, but the gun is not available by itself in North America, leaving the equally unpleasant choices of either getting another copy of TC4 or importing a gun from Japan, which is proving difficult for me at the moment. That's very bush leage there, Namco.