Free Radical's Finest

By Hardcore

Free Radical was born from the success of GoldenEye, that near-perfect first-person shooter on the N64 that fundamentally legitimized the FPS genre in the console world. While Rare developed the game, many from the team went on to create Free Radical, the developer for the TimeSplitters series, for which all hardcore gamers are thankful. While Halo® 2 often seems to exist alone atop the FPS mountain, many would submit thatTimeSplitters™, TimeSplitters™ 2, and now TimeSplitters Future Perfect™ deserve a share of the same glory, such is the sublime nature of their gameplay. Few games offer a better and more fluid control scheme, and few games match the level design and pure pace of a TimeSplitters multiplayer deathmatch.

Pretty lasers.

The FPS genre is at home with the hardcore gamer as much as pony kegs are at home in a frat house. They exist nearly because of each other, and, as such, each great new FPS must pass through our critical halls to be blessed or cast aside in a rage of discontented fury. TimeSplitters Future Perfect continues the fine tradition of its predecessors, and now, more than ever, is an ideal fit for the hardcore crowd. It seems to have had our ilk in mind; while many games must be plied carefully over time to fit our needs, Future Perfect is set up for the hardcore experience right out of the box. Therefore, let's ignore that which we can calmly conquer (e.g. Campaign mode), and instead focus on how we can further prove ourselves through the title's other offerings. If you are really the hardcore player you think you are, then you owe it to yourself to engage in the following.

Challenges
Any game that boasts a separate set of experiences called "Challenges" gets my vote. These exist purely for the competitive spirits that must offer proof of their skill to not only themselves, but the whole world. You see, these Challenges don't just live on your Xbox®. The scores you boast are transferred to Xbox Live™ for the entire world to see. Can you bear to let your score lie berated and tormented near that middle third of the curve, or will you man up and slaughter wave after wave of monkeys in Behead the Undead until you crack the top 100?

Is my 'stache still in fashion?

Enough with the Newbies
Any hardcore player worth his overclocked processor can log into an online FPS and dominate the throngs of weak-skilled amateurs all night long, but with a few little tweaks in the match setup, you can at least offer yourself a challenge. The following are either just this side of standard or Future Perfect-specific, but all of them should encourage a more challenging experience. If you think you're hot #$%# in a Dixie cup when it comes to gaming, set up a match with the following options in mind and prove it.

• One Shot Kill: Make sure you play a few matches with this bad boy turned on. It ensures one thing: Your skills, not the weapon you're toting around, decide who gets snuffed and who keeps walking. It's an every game sort of option, but it helps separate the men from the boys. For further challenge, try this option on with nothing but pistols on the map.
• Always Start with Gun: Turn this off when playing with a full set of skilled combatants. The first scramble for the first weapon each player can grab is reward enough, but it also eliminates cheap runs at spawn-points, and gives everyone a chance to get into the map.

Time to find some cover.

• Vampire: This mode seems clearly crafted with the skilled gamer in mind. Your health continually drains during play, but you can add to it by killing your opponents. If ever there was a way to eliminate camping, this is the mode to do it. You must be proactive, even reckless, to survive. Win consistently in this mode and you've got my blessing.
• Bag Tag: One bag exists on the map, and the only way to win is to hold it for the longest period of time. This is another hardcore-friendly map, as it encourages split-second strategy since you can't defend yourself while carrying the bag. Knowing when and where to drop it, fire off a few rounds, take out a few people, and pick it up again takes enormous timing, map knowledge, and fundamental FPS skills.

TimeSplitters Future Perfect offers the experience you crave as a hardcore gamer as soon as you boot it up, from conquering the single-player on the hardest difficulty to unlocking every last character, map, and item for the mapmaker to dominating hardcore multiplayer matches on Xbox Live. It doesn't take much work to mold this game to your needs, so get out there and let the title prove once and for all just how hardcore you are. There's no hiding from the leaderboards, after all.