The Time Crisis series has come along way. When I first heard the fourth iteration was coming to the next gen consoles, I was excited. This would be the first lightgun game of the next generation, and I was interested to see how Namco Bandai would make it work. As many of you know, older lightgun games don't work, or don't work well at all, on flat screen TVs. Also of interest with this release was the exclusivity to the PS3, and the introduction of the GunCon3, which will hopefully open the door for more lightgun games, a dying but timeless genre.

What's New For the Series

Having not played a lot of the previous Time Crisis games (more so out of lack of having the software than not wanting to), this new title was almost completely new to me. I had heard about being able to duck and cover in the game, and that is still a big part of this fourth iteration. Players also have the ability to switch between multiple weapons, including shotguns, machine guns, and grenade launchers. You can always fall back on your pistol, which has unlimited ammo, but the other weapons provide obvious benefits in certain areas. Ammo for these weapons is found on certain enemies and sometimes in destructible items in the game world if I'm not mistaken. Switching between these weapons is a snap, and being able to take cover to switch weapons or reload is a big help in fending off the WOLF terrorist organization. Enemies have a variety of ways to attack you, ranging from firing guns to throwing objects to rushing straight at you with melee attacks. The name Time Crisis has a double meaning, too, as it refers to having to deal with each section of enemies in a certain amount of time, otherwise your character will lose life.

That said, the biggest addition found in this Time Crisis is the Full or Complete Mission Mode, whereby you can play through several levels in typical First Person Shooter format. Rather than your character following a mostly predetermined path like you do in the Arcade Mode, you will instead by walking around and navigating a 3D world. This is possible with the addition of a second analog stick on the GunCon3 controller.This took me a while to get used too; in fact, the setup and game play took me a while to get used to, but more on that soon. As far as this Full Mission Mode goes, I have not completed this entire story mode yet, but what I have played has been enjoyable. What's interesting about it is that the player takes the role of William Rush, a prototypical military badass who takes on tough missions. These missions actually fill in gaps of the story missing from the brief Arcade mode, in which you also cannot play as Rush but you do work with him. Nicely rendered cutscenes start each mission, and the missions can be surprisingly long -- the first mission took me nearly an hour, and I didn't restart at any point, there was just a lot of ground to cover. One curious thing about these missions is the health system for Rush -- by just standing still, you have the ability to recharge your health all the way back to full. There are also health packs lying around; having to stop and wait for your health to regenerate throws a bit of a wrench into the action in my book, but it's better than having to restart a mission over and over, as certain areas can be tough if you're not a quick dead aim. Overall, these are definitely basic level designs, the first one for example just being a large shipyard, but they are pretty enjoyable. The objectives are very basic too, and you shouldn't really get lost with the help of a radar system and constant on screen and aural reminders about where to go and what the next objective is, so that's a plus too; although, it does keep the missions in a "sandbox" if you get my meaning. However, I have to say that this setup is a unique experience--being able to walk and jump around like a first person shooter, but using a lightgun as my controller is definitely something new and different to me.

Another new feature to the series is the multi-screen sequences, whereby you change your characters field of view. At times, you will have to fend off an area from attackers for a certain amount of time, but they will come from multiple directions. You have to switch from say, Left to Center to Right, to see where enemies are coming from and take them down. You will get visual and aural cues on when to do this, but they aren't always quick enough, so you have to stay on your toes and be checking down each path. Combined with the ability to take cover, it can be a lot of fun ducking in and out of cover to take out the bad guys.

The Setup

At this point I'd like to discuss how the GunCon3 works. The GunCon3 has a long USB cord on it, probably about ten feet. You can plug this into any available USB port on the PS3, and you're good to go as far as that is concerned. The real hassle comes in when you setup the sensor. What you are looking at is basically a mix between the Wii sensorbar and an old PowerGlove get-up. You have two small square LEDs, each with three sensors, and a cord in between, with a small notch point that is supposed to represent the vertical mid-line of your TV. Two small rubbery weight belts come with the sensors; so, the idea is that you attach these weight belts onto the LEDs, and these will help hold them up and steady on top of your TV. For some TVs, this is arguably going to be troublesome; on my setup, it wasn't too bad, but my LEDs would fall over or get mispointed fairly easily with some walking traffic around the TV. Also, the LED sensors have a single USB male end coming out of them that requires being plugged into the PS3, but this cord should be plenty long enough for most setups.

In game options, like the mini games and a calibration control panel accessed from the main menu, will help you get the point. I actually had to stand back from my TV about seven feet to get inline with the LED sensors, so I was standing behind my couch. Trying to play standing up, holding the GunCon3 steady for upwards of an hour or more can be quite tiresome, let me tell you! However, all that said, I have never used a more accurate lightgun. You can seriously aim down the sites of the GunCon3 and fully expect to peg whatever it is you're aiming at. I was quite pleased; Namco did an impressive job with the accuracy of this setup. My biggest complaint would just be that the LED sensors are a hassle to place securely on your TV, and the long USB cables are a bit bothersome too.

More Depth Than Most, But Worth Price of Admission?

The inclusion of the Full/Complete Mission Mode gives Time Crisis 4 a level of depth that no other lightgun game to my knowledge has ever had. At the same time, the Arcade Mode is as short as you would expect for a lightgun game -- roughly an hour, but until you get used to where enemies pop out at, it's no walk in the park. When I grew tired of that, I tried one of a dozen or so mini-games, and then of course the Full or Complete Mission Mode was a nice distraction too. Also worth noting, playing the Arcade Mode multiple times earns you unlockables, like more continues, which, until you have enemy positions memorized, are vital.

There is definitely more content here than your typical lightgun game. Furthermore it's accessible and fun enough that I found myself going back to playing several times after I told myself that 'this would be the last time.' I'm sure this game is even more fun with a second player, but as far as I know, you can't buy a second GunCon3 by itself, making it a very pricey proposition to get a second controller. In fact, buying the game to begin with isn't cheap; it retails for about $90, which gets you the game and the GunCon3, which is currently used only by TimeCrisis 4. Hopefully, if the PS2/GunCon2 is something to measure by, there will be more lightgun games coming for the PS3, but I think it’s fairly unlikely.