Time Crisis (series)

Time Crisis
Genres Light gun shooter
Rail shooter
First person shooter
Developers Namco
Nex Entertainment
Publishers Namco (currently Namco Bandai Games)
Platforms Arcade, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, iOS
Platform of origin Arcade
Year of inception 1995
First release Time Crisis
December 1995[1]
Latest release Time Crisis 5: True Mastermind
August 2015

Time Crisis is a first-person on-rails light gun shooter series of arcade video games by Namco. The first installment of the series was released in the arcades in 1995[1] and later ported to the PlayStation consoles.[2]

Overview

GunCons were bundled with the console versions of Time Crisis. This is a GunCon for the original PlayStation.

The setting of each Time Crisis revolves around a serious threat to usually one nation. However, some games have involved a threat to either the world (as in Time Crisis II) or the protagonist (as in Time Crisis: Project Titan). The V.S.S.E. (Vital Situation, Swift-Elimination), a covert organization, must send in its highly skilled agents to eliminate any security threats. The first Time Crisis had three stages with four areas (location where the game starts) each. The second and third installments have three stages, each with three areas. The fourth installment adds a prologue for a total of 4 stages each with three areas (with the exception of the prologue, which has only one area). The fifth installment has an exclusive upgrade kit version of (True Mastermind edition, which is the full version of the game) to double the stages from 3 to 6, with 3 areas that was interconnected with each other, thus there would be no breaks/loadings after clearing an area (with the exception of the final stage, which only has one area)[3]

Many of the fighting areas are almost ludicrously unlikely, such as a steadily capsizing ship or a train dangling off of a damaged bridge (as in Time Crisis 3). In the third and fourth installments, supporters from various organizations come in to assist the V.S.S.E. agents, sometimes to aid them in their mission, sometimes to protect their own reputations. Crisis Zone has a different plot. It takes place in the United Kingdom and concerns the S.T.F. (or Special Tactical Force)'s attempt to destroy the U.R.D.A., a terrorist organization. Razing Storm and Time Crisis: Razing Storm, which take place in the near-future, involve an elite task force known as S.C.A.R. (Strategic Combat and Rescue) being sent to a South America country under a bloody revolution to capture and defeat the mastermind who has orchestrated an attack on the United States together with several international military organizations, while battling terrorists and other renegade soldiers that join male protagonists.

Games

Gameplay

Time Crisis focuses on shooting all on-screen enemies when spotted in an area while taking cover. Successful players must proceed to the next area or level. The franchise's distinctive feature, a foot pedal, controls whether the player's character takes cover (leaving him invulnerable by dodging from enemies' attacks but unable to shoot) or attacks (which makes the player vulnerable). In Time Crisis 5, the pedal has been redesigned to divide into two pedals, one in the left and one in the right, to move the players. Players must take cover to reload their guns (in the first and second installments) or in the third, fourth and fifth installments, to change guns. Time Crisis 3 and Time Crisis 4's weapon changing system can be done by pulling the trigger while hiding / pedal is released, however Time Crisis 5's weapon changing system was simplified, which involves pressing a gun button located on the left and right side of the gun, and can be done either when attacking or hiding. A countdown clock, recharged by clearing an area and stage of enemies, forces the player to take risks by remaining vulnerable most of the time, shooting quickly at any enemy on sight. This time limit prevents the player from taking cover indefinitely. In Time Crisis and Project Titan, after the clearance of an area the game adds only a partial amount of time to the clock while the timer keeps running down. The game ends if the time reaches zero. In multiplayer installments (starting with Time Crisis II), the clock runs only when the player fights and moves, with the timer resetting back to a certain amount of seconds when a portion of a battle stage is cleared. In addition, if time runs out the player will only lose one life.

Hit detection

In the first Time Crisis enemies fired "unannounced" direct hits, which caused problems because players did not know when they would be hit and loss damage for their lives. Different-colored enemies provided different accuracy-levels (with red soldiers the most accurate). Project Titan attempted to address that problem using "different colored bullets", but this did not fix the "unannounced" direct-hit issue. This problem was fixed in Time Crisis II; life-threatening shots are indicated with a red flash (known as a "deadly eye") which gives the player time to release the pedal. Since then, this mechanism of hit detection would be used in later main installments. In Crisis Zone, enemies that are about to hit the player with a shot had a target icon on them, reminding the player to stun them quickly or hide. Physical objects such as punches, kicks, and blades will not be announced so players would need to shoot or hide quickly. In Razing Storm, enemies which about to attack the player will marked with a crosshair, with four arrows constantly closing into the center. Letting the arrows hit the center resulted in losing a life. Throwing weapons, such as grenade and rockets are indicated with a yellow triangle, and these attacks can be deflected by shooting them.

Characters

Each Time Crisis game features a different protagonists as playable characters (each of them a field agent of V.S.S.E.), one or more supporting characters, and a different set of chief antagonists. Spinoff games often do not involve the V.S.S.E. and instead have the playable character be a soldier in a military squad team.

Protagonists

Supporting characters

Antagonists

While the games have some contributing unplayable or non-playable characters and serves as primary or secondary antagonists in addition to/for the aforementioned chief antagonists, all Time Crisis antagonists have employed and/or conspired with a mercenary named Wild Dog – and was the only character to appear in all of the main Time Crisis video games series. At the end of every battle, after the player has defeated him, he will be caught within an explosion (often self-induced) and appear to die, only to return in the next game. Wild Dog lost his left arm in an explosion following his defeat at the hands of Richard Miller. In Time Crisis: Project Titan and Time Crisis 2, Wild Dog outfitted it with a Gatling gun arm (the "gun arm"), which would later receive flamethrower upgrade, a rocket launcher in Time Crisis 3, and a grappling hook and a tractor beam in Time Crisis 4. In Time Crisis 5, Wild Dog has a new robotic arm with an in-built tractor beam device. The character is inspired by Mad Dog, Philip Kwok's difficult to kill gunfighter from the film Hard Boiled. Wild Dog was the main antagonist in Time Crisis: Project Titan, Time Crisis: Strike and Time Crisis: 2nd Strike, and serves as an antagonist in the first 3 stages of Time Crisis 5. He serves as the boss in the first three stages, piloting a giant spider-shaped tank in the first, a missile carrier in the second, and a transport vehicle in the third; attacking the pursuing agents with gunfire and stationary objects.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Time Crisis". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis) (76): 217. November 1995.
  2. ↑ "time crisis arcade video game, namco, ltd. (1995)". Arcade-history.com. 2012-02-13. Retrieved 2012-06-13.
  3. ↑ http://arcadeheroes.com/2014/12/15/time-crisis-5-debut-eag2015/
  4. ↑ http://www.siliconera.com/2015/03/30/bandai-namco-terminating-love-katamari-noby-noby-boy-splatterhouse-many-ios/
  5. ↑ http://www.arcadebelgium.be/ab.php?r=art&p=repeag2015
  6. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpuEQu8TJ80

External links

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