Let's quickly nip back in time. It's autumn 2000, Xbox is still just an entry in Microsoft's To Do list, and TimeSplitters is a PS2 launch game. Made by Free Radical Design, aka Some Of The Blokes What Made GoldenEye on the N64, it's slick, polished, a little bare, and nothing more than a glorified game of Capture The Flag bundled with an avalanche of multiplayer options.

Fast forward to the present day and the game has spawned a sequel. It seems that the developers have also travelled back - to the drawing board. A big part of why TimeSplitters 2 is how it is must be the time and effort spent looking at the first game and changing it, to make something better the original. As it goes, the hard work has paid off in abundance.

The TimeSplitters are a lowly bunch of dimension-hopping, freaky-faced aliens who view humanity as a valuable commodity to be manacled, enslaved and exploited. They plan to achieve their aim by crawling through time and meddling in several periods of civilisation. This is where you intervene, Quantum Leap style, to halt their apocalyptic temporal gropings.

It doesn’t matter where the jackknifing plot carries you, because you can be certain of having a good time wherever you go. Within minutes of first play, it becomes obvious that TimeSplitters 2 is a genuinely excellent game.

Maybe you'll get that feeling from the beautifully pitched scale of challenge posed by each difficulty level. Or the polished quality of the vividly coloured environments that read like Dr Who's passport: Wild West, Aztec Jungle, Robot Factory to name three of the ten. No iffy collision detection or sloppy glitches here, just finely tuned, lovingly buffed, gameplay throughout.

But that should already be obvious in the expansive range of options, tweakables and unlockables that are on offer, making TimeSplitters 2 one of the best value-for-money games available. A hundred-plus characters to uncover, over 50 inventive and thoughtful challenges to joyfully plough through, a ream of arcade modes to conquer - you've got to love it.

And all that before considering the definitive range of multiplayer preferences. No other Xbox game, not even that one with Master Chief in it, comes close to offering the huge number of deathmatch variations present in TimeSplitters 2, or the amount of wonderful little touches that you won't see unless you look really close.

Maybe it's obvious in the cheeky, self-aware humour on display throughout. There are umpteen nods to GoldenEye in TimeSplitters 2 but it's not shameless, lazy theft. It's all used in an entertaining manner for those in the know, and makes for damn good content for those who aren't. There are also sly, witty digs at other gaming goliaths. Those pointless, destructible melons dotted about the first level? Come in, Metal Gear Solid 2, you're being mocked. Those hidden objects shaped suspiciously like grey plastic N64 cartridges? Lovely stuff.

Whatever you decide to pin it on, the fact that this is a class game socks you square in the face from the off. Good enough to whisk you away for days at a time, you'll love every impressive, rewarding minute of TimeSpliters 2.

But before the verdict, your honour, we'd also like to call a few criticisms to the dock. While there's no damning testimony, there's some evidence of room for improvement. Visually polished, with its own great, cartoon-for-grown-ups style, this is not as stunning as the graphical cream of Xbox titles. But we can live with that, like we'd happily live with a supermodel with a few pimples on her bum.

And, strangely, given the anal attention to options and configuration throughout the game, there’s no option to alter the control sensitivity, making initial handling in your first few games a bit awkward. Aiming can be twitchy at first yet, bizarrely, turning your character feels a little sluggish. Once you begin to adapt though, it becomes precise and instinctive. Clicking down on the Right thumbstick brings up a crosshair, allowing for zoom, and also lets you swing your aim about without moving your body too much, which sounds bemusing but actually works fine.

On the trickier difficulty settings, the breathless speed demands hair's breadth precision shots in double-quick time. You could argue that it's too hard. We say that challenge only makes you stronger.

It's frenetic, relentless, brash and, once you've become attuned to the 0 to 60 in five seconds, momentum-free pace of the action, it becomes violently enjoyable second nature. And finally, in answer to the prosecution's final question, no, this isn't as good as Halo. That game is still something else, and remains superior in terms of looks, feel and that ever so crucial enemy intelligence.

But Master Chief is away prepping himself and learning his lines for his next big adventure, which is some way off. TimeSplitters 2 is right here, right now, and it's the third best game on Xbox, m'lud. It's sleek, finely tuned and anything else we can say that indicates an incredibly well-crafted game. We need more games like this, so get out your wallet at the first opportunity and vote TimeSplitters 2.

1. Polished, solid, hyper-paced action
2. Excellent animation and SFX
3. The everlasting gobstopper that is multiplayer mode

1. Fixed sensitivity
2. No system link co-op

Power
Looks accomplished in action, but there's an angular, basic design to some levels and a few dull textures.

Style
Cool, chunky characters, slapstick SFX, and a top look that's halfway between cartoon and movie.

Immersion
Frantic, heart-pounding firefights, whether solo or with friends in tow. Truly thrilling stuff.

Lifespan
There'll be a McDonalds on Mars before you can exhaust all the deathmatch variations.

Summary
The most complete first-person shooter package on Xbox. A frantic actioner rife with detail, features and... ah, just buy it.