Time Crisis


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 arcades in 1995 and later ported to PlayStation consoles.

Overview

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 or the protagonist. The V.S.S.E., 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 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. The fifth installment has an exclusive upgrade kit version of to double the stages from 3 to 6, with 3 areas that were interconnected with each other, thus there would be no breaks/loadings after clearing an area.
Many of the fighting areas are dangerous situations, such as a steadily capsizing ship or a train dangling off a damaged bridge. 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. 's attempt to destroy the U.R.D.A., a terrorist organization. Razing Storm and , which take place in the near-future, involve an elite task force known as S.C.A.R. being sent to a South America country during a 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 and other combatants.

Games

Main series

''Time Crisis'' (1995)

The first Time Crisis was released for arcades in 1995 and ported to the PlayStation in 1997. It was the first game to support the GunCon light gun peripheral.

''Time Crisis II'' (1998)

A two-player sequel, titled Time Crisis II, featured two machines linked together, allowing players to cover each other. Each player dispatches enemies on slightly different routes, creating unique environments to defend themselves on. It was released for the arcades in 1998 and for the PlayStation 2 in 2001. It was the first game to support the GunCon 2 light gun peripheral.

''Time Crisis 3'' (2002)

In 2002, Namco released Time Crisis 3 for arcades and the PlayStation 2. It granted four different weapons available at the start. The ammo of the latter three had to be recharged during play. The home version, released for the PlayStation 2 featured a new side story in which the player can use a sniper rifle during certain scenes.

''Time Crisis 4'' (2006)

In 2006, Time Crisis 4 was released and introduced a refined multi-hiding system where the player can move the gun in a certain direction to move the character's position in certain areas of the game regardless whether or not the player may hiding or attacking the enemy. A PlayStation 3 version was released in 2007 in the United States and Japan, and in 2008 in Europe and Australia, bundled with the GunCon 3 light gun peripheral. It was notable for introducing a first-person shooter mode to the series.

''Time Crisis 5'' (2015)

Time Crisis 5 was released by Namco in March 2015 in the arcades. It is the first entry in the Time Crisis series to use Epic Games' Unreal Engine. Unlike its predecessors, the game uses two pedals. Namco later announced a True Mastermind edition of the game which was released near the end of August 2015, and includes the second half of the game, consisting of three new stages, for a total of six stages, the largest in the series.

Other games

''Crisis Zone'' (1999)

Crisis Zone was released in 1999 in the arcades. While Crisis Zone had similar play mechanics as with Time Crisis, Crisis Zone featured solo play with a fully automatic machine gun, interactive backgrounds, and a different storyline centering on the anti-terrorist tasks of elite S.T.F. trooper Claude McGarren. A PlayStation 2 remake of the title was released in 2004 and turns it into a subtitle of its full name, Time Crisis: Crisis Zone.

''Time Crisis: Project Titan'' (2001)

A side story to the first Time Crisis game , was released in 2001 for the PlayStation, featuring a new multi-hiding system.

''Cobra the Arcade'' (2005)

Cobra the Arcade is a Japanese spin-off based on the Cobra manga and anime franchise, released for arcades in 2005. The game uses the same gameplay engine as the main Time Crisis series, adding elements such as the "Psycho Shot" which allows players to lock-on to multiple targets.

''Razing Storm'' (2009)

In 2009 Razing Storm, was released in the arcades. It was re-released in October 2010 with the title , for the PS3. This version is known in Japan as Big 3 Gun Shooting and comes packaged with Deadstorm Pirates and the arcade version of Time Crisis 4. All games feature full PlayStation Move and GunCon 3 support.

Mobile games

''Time Crisis Strike'' (2009)

Time Crisis Strike was released by Namco in January 2009 for iOS and J2ME. It is a spin-off of Time Crisis 3, with a different story.

''Time Crisis 2nd Strike'' (2010)

Time Crisis 2nd Strike was released by Namco in September 2010 for iOS. It is the sequel of the Time Crisis spin-off and the alternate version of Time Crisis 4. It allowed players to use another iOS device as a gun controller via the app iGunCon. It is no longer available for purchase as of March 30, 2015.

Gameplay

Time Crisis focuses on shooting all on-screen enemies in an area within a specific time limit to continue on to the next area and complete the level. The franchise's distinctive feature is its cover system: the player steps on a foot pedal to have the player character emerge from cover and attack enemies, and releases the pedal to get behind cover, protecting the character from enemy attacks but leaving them unable to shoot. In Time Crisis 5, the pedal has been redesigned as two pedals, one in the left and one in the right, to give the player 2 positions from which to emerge from cover and catch enemies unaware. The player must take cover to reload their standard gun. Time Crisis 3 introduced new weapons: a machine gun, shotgun, and grenade launcher, that have limited ammunition but can be replenished by killing certain enemies. To switch weapons in Time Crisis 3 and 4, the player must press the trigger while behind cover; in Time Crisis 5, a separate button located on the left and right of the gun controller allows the player to switch weapons at any point.
The countdown clock prevents the player from remaining behind cover for too long and imposes a time limit to clear the stage of enemies. The player must manage their time in and out of cover to attack enemies on sight, while avoiding being hit by direct shots. In Time Crisis and Project Titan, after the clearance of an area the game adds only a partial amount of time to the overall clock while the timer keeps running down and the game ends if the time reaches zero. In multiplayer installments, the clock resets after the player clears their immediate area of enemies, and will deduct 1 life point if it reaches zero. Time Crisis 5 introduces new scenario-specific timed sequences apart from the standard countdown clock where the player must act within a specific timeframe: dodge moments, a sniper level, and slow-motion target sequences.