G4TV

It’s safe to say that the light-gun genre is a thing of the past, destined to crop up now and then for a warm fuzzy dose of nostalgia to aging coin-op hounds—especially since arcades are, for most, also passé. For fans of the genre, there’s been a pleasant resurgence of classically styled rail-shooters on the Wii. Thanks to Namco Bandai, the PS3 now has a game that is a little more high tech than the Nintendo system’s retro offerings. Time Crisis 4 is certainly the most innovative gun game in years. It’s also the first time home systems have been able to play with a light gun in high definition.

Ready! Aim!

Although the Wii’s Zapper has made that system’s gun games feel more arcade-like, fine-tuned accuracy remains a problem when playing Resident Evil: the Umbrella Chronicles or Ghost Squad. Namco, however, has never had a problem making truly arcade-quality light guns. Their GunCon has been the benchmark for years, and the latest edition is no exception. Taking a very Wii-like approach, the gun requires the use of two small, square LED sensors that sit on the top corners of your TV. When calibrated properly, it’s dead-on accurate.

Unfortunately, unless you leave the sensor squares on the TV all the time (which is intrusive) and always stand in the exact same spot each time you play, you’ll almost certainly have to recalibrate each time you set the game up. That caveat aside, the GunCon 3 is superb, if cluttered. The gun has a light near the hammer to let you know when it is out of range, two analog sticks—one of which is on a strange addition to the side of the barrel—and a crazy amount of buttons. Even so, the gun is fairly light, and all those additions do have a point—both now and, hopefully, for future games.

Gun games were popular in the arcade in the 80’s because advanced first person shooters weren’t yet truly possible, and also, anyone could easily grasp the gameplay mechanics. Unfortunately for the genre, modern shooters have far outpaced rail-games in every way except the actual use of a light gun. Time Crisis 4 attempts to find a happy medium by including a version of the game that shoots like a light-gun game and moves like a traditional shooter.

Shooting… Your Way

Surprisingly, the results are pretty good, even though moving and looking with the gun’s analog sticks is still a bit clunky. It is remarkably engaging to move easily and still have the accuracy of the light gun. The FPS version is a modified version of the original arcade game, with some new and expanded locations that take better advantage of the extra mobility. The actual game technology is basically the same as the arcade version of course, making Time Crisis 4, as a FPS, still technically behind the times. This is certainly the best looking version of the game, but compared to other modern day shooters, it looks and feels old school.

Thankfully, for purists, the original coin-op game is also included. This version is an intense, fun, and shallow coin-op experience—all of which make for a great time. If shooting terrorists just isn’t enough, Time Crisis 4 also contains a veritable potpourri of target mini-games—enough to make any Wii owner jealous.

Either mix of Time Crisis 4 by itself wouldn’t have been quite enough to get excited about, but both versions together, with the inclusion of a flurry of mini-games, make the package definitely worth having. There’s simply a lot of gunplay to be had. The GunCon 3, despite the semi-intrusive sensor set up, is the most accurate light gun Namco’s ever released. The graphics are crisp and colorful, though not state of the art, and the audio is as cheesy as ever.

No Crisis Here!

If there’s a real problem with Time Crisis 4, it is, ironically, Namco Bandai’s current refusal to release the gun separately. This means that a second player either has to use the control pad or buy a second copy of the game, both of which are unacceptable. Also, if you simply don’t like the light gun genre, there’s really nothing here to change your mind. Overall, this package should make any arcade lover happy.

Review by: Jason D'Aprile