Timesplitters (PS2)
Rating: 6.8
Familiarity: 2.2
This is the first entry into the Timesplitters trilogy, and to be honest, I never played it much at all. It was given to me as a gift because I mistakenly requested it instead of Timesplitters 2, which is what I really wanted. All the same, it's still a decent local-multiplayer-focused game. The characters are interesting and so are the maps, and the only real issues I have with the game are that it is a CD and not a DVD, and thus will not work on my fat PS2, and that you die super quickly unless you give your player a higher damage handicap.
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Timesplitters 2 (PS2)
Rating: 9.2
Familiarity: 8.7
This is one of the best FPS games you'll find if you're looking to compete locally against friends. Tons of unlockables, completely customizable controls, varied weapons (even ifa lot of them are a bit too sci-fi for my taste), memorable characters, great maps, etc. Heck, you can even build your own map! This is one of those games that was simply built for replay value, and trust me, you'll find it's there. The only downside? Well...some of the special challenges in the game are extremely tough to complete with a gold medal, and the story mode is fairly weak. But that's it. Everything else is golden.
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Timesplitters: Future Perfect (PS2)
Rating: 9.3
Familiarity: 9.0
No, not quite perfect, but still pretty darn great. Moving up to an "M" rating didn't kill the cartoon-like fun of the two previous games the way I thought it would, and there are even more characters, weapons, maps, and modes than the past titles. The story mode was also given a major overhaul and is actually very fun to play through (though if you can make it through some of the puzzles in the campaign without looking up a FAQ about them online, you must be a certified genius). If you want an FPS game with which to mess around with friends in local competition, look no further. It's a real shame that TS4 will probably never see the light of day, or the inside of my PS3. We miss you, Cortez, and those wacky monkeys as well.
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Turbo Prop Racing (PS1)
Rating: 6.8
Familiarity: 5.0
This is a boat racing game. If you want any more info, you'll have to play it for yourself, because it's hard for me to think of anything. The gameplay is pretty solid, and the different "courses" to race on are pretty neat. There's plenty of boats to pick from and also plenty of cheats, including the ability to turn all of the boats into rubber duckies that quack when they're bumped. Gotta love that. You can also race on a river of lava, which...doesn't make much sense, but is still awesome.
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Thanks for reading.
NOTE: I skipped Tiger Woods PGA Tour '10 in my last blog because, even though I was given it as a gift, I have yet to even try it. I also haven't tried From Russia with Love, so I haven't mentioned it either.