You gotta love it when they bring a video game from the arcade into your living room. Thats because in the long run it is cheaper. You no longer have to stand there shoving in token after token (after token, after token...(in my case anyways)). So you can imaginme my surprise when I find Time Crisis 4 on the shelves (I have only started to pay attention to video game news so it really was a surprise) and I decided that I had to have it. I started to save my money, very slowly but surely until I finally was able to pop it into my PS3. All the the tension and anticipation all came to a head at this moment and what was my first feeling? Disapointment!
It was a first person shooter (I later found out that only a few levels were like this, but we'll get to that later). How could they do this? Where was all the action that was promised? It took my like 10-15 min to figure out the controls. And then when i finally got used to them I had to get used to the incredibly slow pace of the game (as I experienced it thus far), and I seriously considered bringing it back right then. The only thing that really stopped me was that I was the last customer to leave the store before it closed, so I decided to play a little longer and see if it got any better (I have been proved wrong before, The Darkness for one).
So I finally beat the first level and am awarded with the fast paced, tensioned filled rail shooter that I know and love. Why do they have those FPS levels anyways? They do nothing to move the story (although who really cares about the story when you get to shoot many bad guys), personally I found it hard to even aim because of the way you have to hold the gun while moving. I could seriously go on for a while but I am getting bored writing about how bad just a few of the levels are. The rest of the game is great.
The graphics alone are worth at least renting this game. I have not tried playing it with the six-axis controller, but everything looks great (better even, then what you find in the arcade) without losing the cartoon feeling that I hope is intentional. The controls are all responsive, especially the gun sensors themselves (they have never failed me...yet). The only complaint I have with the gun is the layout of the actual buttons, but then again there is little they can do with the space they are given.
The mini-games are the reason to buy the game. They are all a way to practice your aim and reaction times. Trust me, after a few tries of even the easiest games you will feel like you can join the FBI and take out all crime single-handed.
The only real complaint I have for the game overall is the story. And my complaint is that there is none. What they have is something about bio-engineered insects that are so deadly that you can take out whole swarms of flying bugs with a shot gun at long range, scary. Other than those two big things I love this game. Fast pace, decent sized levels, with a heck of a lot of replay valure equals something that I will be playing for a long time.
