I just got this the other day and it's pretty darn good, not quite as good as 2 though. The single player is a biiiiiig improvement but the hallowed Arcade mode seems to have dipped a bit, not enough maps if you ask me. Anyone else?

No, they have enough maps, they just....arn't fun to play on.
Also, is flame tag available in this? As I've completed most challenges and arcade league but I still don't have it.

I did notice Flame Tag was missing, which is a shame because I much prefer that to Virus. When I said not enough maps I should probably have been clearer, I don't like how they're all unlocked at the start and there aren't any more to get throgh challenges etc., even though I think there's still less than there were in 2. Of course, it could also be the case that in my exalted crapness I havn't unlocked them yet. :)

this game has been EA'ed. pretty much anything with EA on the cover (excluding Oddworld Strangers Wrath) seems to be a lot tackier than the prequels (sp?) Example: Burnout 3.

Thats just my opinion on EA

I wouldn't say tackier, rather, I reckon it's too polished now, I can't quite place it but something just feels not right with it. Although I reckon the mapmaker has been improved rather well, even if it eats your memory card.

this game has been EA'ed. pretty much anything with EA on the cover (excluding Oddworld Strangers Wrath) seems to be a lot tackier than the prequels (sp?) Example: Burnout 3.

Thats just my opinion on EA
And my opinion too. And a lot of peoples opinions. And a lot of people's friends opinons. And a lot of people's friend's cousons's opinions. And a lot of....

Timepliters Future Perfect is a very good game.

One might say that EA have "spoilt" the game to an axtent, which I do agree with, within reason. Some aspects of the game are crammed with EA:
- The announcing during matches (this guy pisses me off)
- The advertising on the loading acreens ("have you played virus?" "you have completed 56.0% of the game so far!" etc.)
- Some of the humour is a little lame.

But they are my main critisisms. What areyou talking about, not enough maps? There are 15 maps to play on which is more than Timesplitters 2, and I only ever played on Steets, Ice Station, Mexican and Chinese on TS2. Timesplitters 3 has some great arcade levels, Disco is good for some furious deathmatches, Siberia is good for 2 player deathmatches or 4 player team deathmatches, Vietnam is good for Virus, or just deathmatches and theres the three classic TS2 levels which are fun to play in as their design has been improved slightly.
Story mode still isn't delivering as much as it good, which is why TS is not getting as higher ratings than they should, but there is an improvement, the levels are much more fun to play, I think and still pretty frustrating at times "You Genius U-Genix" for example, on whihc you have to hack in to the computer system, its very hard to get the hang of. There are more checkpoints than ever, and of course you have a woman guiding you through the levels which makes it even easier.
Challenge are just as fun as ever, if not better I really enjoy the behead the undead and the cat racing, and the story classics against the clock.

Yes, EA have fucked the game up a little, and they are taking over to many developers, imo, however I disagree about Oddworld: Strangers Wrath, the game LOOKS very good.

- The announcing during matches (this guy pisses me off)
- The advertising on the loading acreens ("have you played virus?" "you have completed 56.0% of the game so far!" etc.)
- Some of the humour is a little lame.Those are all things that Free Radical put in quite willingly. EA doesn't breathe down the neck of each developer beyond saying "Hey guys make sure you get it out by XX date." Trust me on this. Congratulations on yet more tin-hat wearing conspiracy theories.

Hmph, seen the case? "EA" in fairly huge letters on the front, and Free Radical in small at the back, even though it was Free Radical that actually developed the game, whereas EA published it.

I don't understand why Free Radical would want to spoil their already amazing deathmatches by putting corny announcers on and advertising.

- Have you played x? (Most people who have bought TS2 are already veteran TS players and therefore no game modes are new to them.
- You have completed x% of the game so far... (Who gives a shiny shit?)
- You can fully customise arcade matches (We know this, for fuck sake, we have played TS1 and 2)

No, obviously EA doesn't demand certain release dates of their developers, but TS3 does seem very much different to TS2, and TS3 just happens to have a new publisher.
I don't know, maybe they wanted some changes, but new arcade levels and improved story, with all the original features would have been just fine for me.

Hmph, seen the case? "EA" in fairly huge letters on the front, and Free Radical in small at the back, even though it was Free Radical that actually developed the game, whereas EA published it.

I don't understand why Free Radical would want to spoil their already amazing deathmatches by putting corny announcers on and advertising.

- Have you played x? (Most people who have bought TS2 are already veteran TS players and therefore no game modes are new to them.
- You have completed x% of the game so far... (Who gives a shiny shit?)
- You can fully customise arcade matches (We know this, for fuck sake, we have played TS1 and 2)

No, obviously EA doesn't demand certain release dates of their developers, but TS3 does seem very much different to TS2, and TS3 just happens to have a new publisher.
I don't know, maybe they wanted some changes, but new arcade levels and improved story, with all the original features would have been just fine for me.
And? Funnily enough, the box means this side of fuck all to the game itself. Remember Doom 3? Activision all over the box, and iD in the corner/back. Not that large.

Also, mind backing up that fact about people who bought TS: FP? With, you know, actual statistics? Who says that the game might not have a wider audience this time, because - guess what - games have got more popular over the last year? The % thing? Surely you want people to know when they've got EVERYTHING, rather than letting than leave it to ambiguity?

Or would you rather gaming be left to the few elitists who have played the first few games? Fuck anyone who didn't buy the first game in the series from having hints about what they can do.


No, obviously EA doesn't demand certain release dates of their developers, but TS3 does seem very much different to TS2, and TS3 just happens to have a new publisher.
No, they do. It's called a deadline. You get them when you work. They're just tighter with a big publisher, as they schedule all their releases around eachother.

Just because less was "enough for you" doesn't mean you share the exact vision of Free Radical.

Timesplitters 3 has some great arcade levels, Disco is good for some furious deathmatches, Siberia is good for 2 player deathmatches or 4 player team deathmatches, Vietnam is good for Virus, or just deathmatches and theres the three classic TS2 levels which are fun to play in as their design has been improved slightly. Allow me to disagree on this one, I don't find the new ones to be all that amazing. The Hotel, Bunker, Zepellin and Disco I find to be pretty dull, Vietnam is pretty so so but I'll agree with Siberia, you can have some grade-A carnage in that one. As for less maps, in 2 they had 16 maps, which, through simple deduction, is more than 15. :p

Sun and Steel, you are right, my mistake!



Surely you want people to know when they've got EVERYTHING, rather than letting than leave it to ambiguity?

The game is pretty self explanatory regarding whether you have everything. On the "player progress menu" you can view: What awards you have won, what medals you have on each and every Arcade and Challaenge level, what characters you have unlocked, and how long it took you to comlete each Story level both on Co-op and Single Player. All it takes is common sense to look at this and think "right, I still need a gold medal on so and so" or "right, I still need to complete this story level" etc.
Therefore, in my opinion stating how much of the game that has been completed isn't necessary, and seems like something that would be used on a game aimed at kids.


Or would you rather gaming be left to the few elitists who have played the first few games? Fuck anyone who didn't buy the first game in the series from having hints about what they can do.

I played TS1, I own TS2 personally. I wouldn't consider myself an "elitist", just a huge fan. I don't think gaming should be left to people who have played the predecessors, I was merely stating that a veteran Timpesplitters players, we do not need to be told things we already know, I would say that at least 80% of people who bought TS3 had played one of the previous titles, just think about it, whats the point of buying the third in a series of a game without knowing what it entails? There isn't . "You can fully customize arcade matches" TS1 and 2 already featured this, not to mention that this is included in the booklet. "Have you played virus?", well I would have thought so, as explained above...


Just because less was "enough for you" doesn't mean you share the exact vision of Free Radical.

Less wasn't enough for me, at all. I did feel disapointment after playing the game several (hundered) times :( It seems really coincidential that the game had changes so drastically as EA became the developers, Eidos did a grand job of TS2, at least.

(Geez, it is really scary disagreeing with you, when I see that you have posted, I think "shit, I am fucked")

=\

I thought the inclustion of online play on the PS2 and Xbox was a nice and exciting feature.

I played TS1, I own TS2 personally. I wouldn't consider myself an "elitist", just a huge fan. I don't think gaming should be left to people who have played the predecessors, I was merely stating that a veteran Timpesplitters players, we do not need to be told things we already know, I would say that at least 80% of people who bought TS3 had played one of the previous titles, just think about it, whats the point of buying the third in a series of a game without knowing what it entails? There isn't . "You can fully customize arcade matches" TS1 and 2 already featured this, not to mention that this is included in the booklet. "Have you played virus?", well I would have thought so, as explained above...

I find the rest of what you said pretty much possible to summarise in this response. TS3 is an evolution of the series encompassing new players. TS2 wasn't really - it was the game that made the series far more than TS1 did. TS1 was the game that set up the control system, and (IMHO) did much more for console gaming than goldeneye ever did. The dual analog control system FR pioneered is seen in pretty much all console FPSs.

Conversely, TS2 wasn't a really deep game. Yes, there were challenges, but let's be honest, it was hardly MGS3 or GT4 as far as depth goes. TS3 is much the same in that - these "drastic" changes you talk about aren't really that noticeable to me, and I was one of the first people to own TS in europe, and played it a fuckton. The same goes for TS2.

Now, also, you might not realise what a publisher does. They publish the game. They get it out on the shelves. Having a big name publisher like EA means that your game is going to be advertised much more than Eidos (A company currently being thrown around by SCI of all people). EA most likely did not put a huge amount of strain on FR, as proven by a few interviews I've read about the freedom of character and story design. More than likely, though, they were asked to make the game somewhat more accessible to the new person to the Timesplitters series - and guess what Jack, that's where your "why not try blah blah" mode came in.

The percentages thing is actually for percentage freaks who want to say they got 100%, who are not the casual gamer and definitely not a large section of anyone's demographic. Do not make me drag up every game that includes % systems so that I can happily prove to you that A) these games are not easy and B) that they're not kiddy either.

If you still think EA are fucking Free Radical, just listen to the game in its storyline mode. Would a game that's had any developmental charm sucked out from it really have a main character who said "IT'S TIME...TO SPLIT!"

Finally, the announcer thing is probably a response to UT2K4. From Free Radical. Not EA.

Just a quick thought:

I actually don't even mind seeing % complete in my video games, or what I've earned or what I still need to get. I think it's fine the way it is, and I don't see what the big fuss over it is.

@ Smokey, I actually prefer games with % completion, but I don't really think it is necessary to advertise it on loading screens when all this info is accessbile. Well advertising full stop.

@ mmm, I dont think EA is Free Radical, I do actually know there is a difference between the developers and the publishers, so maybe my anger should not be aimed an EA, mreoso for Free Radical. In any case, the "drastic" changes:
- Announcing (although you can turn this off) (Free Radical came up with this? Fuck them)
- Weapons (seem alot different to previous, it is much harder to kill)
- Graphically, it seems less cartoon like, less like TS. Sure it still has Snowman, but yeah...

As for the % thing, I have absolutely nothing against you being able to find the % whenever you like, but showing (advertising) it on a loading screen, I can just imagine my 7 year old brother coming to me and saying "hey guess what, Lewis, I have completed 56% of my game". But maybe this game is an isolated occurance.

Also, witht regards to the "Time to split!" thing, TS has always had this "lame" and "corny" humour, its the same when Amy says "and Cortez, be careful" and Cortez replies something like " Hey, dont worry about me" in that little voice.

But anyway, I do understand what you are saying, Timeplitters 3 has these things to introduce the game to people who haven't played the game, so these kind of people can think "wow, no I havent played virus, I will do that now". I mean, there was obivously some reason behind it all, I s'pose.

@ Smokey, I actually prefer games with % completion, but I don't really think it is necessary to advertise it on loading screens when all this info is accessbile. Well advertising full stop.
Well, I don't have the game yet, but showing it while it is loading saves you a few seconds so you don't have to find it later!


As for the % thing, I have absolutely nothing against you being able to find the % whenever you like, but showing (advertising) it on a loading screen, I can just imagine my 7 year old brother coming to me and saying "hey guess what, Lewis, I have completed 56% of my game". But maybe this game is an isolated occurance.
I'd rather have the % thing shown on the loading screen than absolutely nothing. Even if it is just a small thing to look at, it would be more enjoyable for me.

I actually like seeing how much % ive completed in a game as well as how long ive played and all of those other hundereds of stats. I don't see why people hate EA so much, the only noticeable thing is the " you have completed..." etc along the bottom of the loading screens, and it is a tiny thing which dosen't effect the game in any way at all. I have to say compared to other online games by EA I have played this has definitely been the best online experience on ps2. Ive heard ALOT of bad things about the XBOX online mode but the ps2's has been very good and I've not had any problems such as freezing and being disconnected such is being reported with the 'box. I would say this has improved on everything apart from maybe the amount and difficulty of the arcade leagues ( i've got quite a few platinums already and in 2 I had like 2 in total.) I would go as far as to say this is one of my fave games ever...

I whant to get this game i saw it in nintindo power

I actually like seeing how much % ive completed in a game as well as how long ive played and all of those other hundereds of stats. I don't see why people hate EA so much,

i can anwer that for you, the main reason why alot of people hate EA so much is because their always fucking delaying their products, half their games suck and the ones that dont suck are so god damn glitchy