Not perfect, but extremely fun, and pretty freaking good!

"Hey Doc, do you mean you built a time machine? Great Scott Marty, we have to get you back to the future!" Ah, the 80's and the dream of going back and forward into time and changing the way you turn out. Who am I kidding, that idea has been around for eons, yet no one has devised such a product. I guess until it becomes science fact, it will remain a mystery in science fiction and the basic plotlines for Sci Fi films, books, and games yet to come. This brings us full circle to Free Radical's latest Timesplitters title called Future Perfect. After the fair Psi Ops knock off called Second Sight, it is nice to see the former Goldeneye creators go back and do what they do best, and that is a kick ass first person shooter that gets by on story, but thrives in multiplayer goodness. This holds oh, so, true for TSFP as you not only have an engaging, humorous, and albeit short story mode, the multiplayer is fast, deep, and online for everyone...oops...except for you Game Cube owners.

You are Cortez, the Vin Diesel from Pitch Black look-alike hero, who is ever so generous to lend a hand in saving the world, the human race, or just a hand full of monkeys. He is just so cool. Unlike the other games in the series, you don't play as other characters in the story, as you are Cortez for this whole adventure, love him or hate him, you are stuck with him. You continue in the Timesplitters universe trying to find those dang time crystals. In the right hands can save humanity, in the wrong hands can change the way we see things. You go hither and thither, to and fro hoping to seize these items of time defiance and keep your hero's status in tact. Each level you venture upon is another time period. You meet up with an off the wall character that is more than willing to help some freak who just fell out of the sky, and as long as you do them a favor, they got your back. Grab the crystal, complete challenge objectives, and go to the next level. Sounds corny and old school right? Well that is exactly what it is and I love it!

Visually, Future Perfect isn't going to set the world on fire like Doom 3 or Half Life 2, but it does hold its own with enough visual oomph to keep even the biggest skeptics happy. If you have played the series before, you'll know how the art style goes, and while it is campy at times, it does a remarkable job with the presentation and overall style. The game runs smooth most of the time, with only hints of slowdown occurring when huge items are on screen or massive explosions are happening, otherwise the game moves at a smooth 60fps. Level design is unique to each of the game's time events you visit, and accurately portray the timeline and the architecture, but also in the weaponry you must use. There are weapons a plenty in TSFP, and some even deliver some unique special effects. The character design is original, and while only a handful of a certain enemies are around for each level, it is good to see that your foes consistently change from era to era. The game supports widescreen and progressive scan on all systems, so there is no reason your adventures with Cortez shouldn't be pretty.

Audio is equally as pleasing with an uplifting musical score that fits each era sublimely. The sound effects seem genuine enough; from the gunfire to the explosions, you can expect authentic sounds all-around. Even the vocal work is pleasing, and quite comical. What's more, the jokes delivery would not work if the acting weren't well done, so thankfully I was rolling in my seat at some of the very funny lines delivered in TSFP. All rounded off in a roaring Dolby Digital wonder that makes good use of that expensive sound system.

Gameplay is what sets this game on the top of the food chain. Delivering both sharp A.I. that will challenge your awareness, and a handful of puzzles that will scratch at your brain, Timesplitters: Future Perfect will engulf you into its world and you'll love every minute of it. While the difficulty setting will set the tone of how tough you want it, the A.I. is still fairly smart on even the easy settings. The downer comes in the form that it is all over too soon. Only 13 levels will have you waiting for Free Radical's next installment with great anticipation. There has to be something that will help pass the time between now and the day we see another adventure.

This comes in the form of Timesplitters' intense multiplayer action. Remember the days of playing the now famous Goldeneye? Well this is as close as you will get as the level design, weapons, player count, and overall addictiveness is as good as it gets when asking for a FPS online or offline. To add more value, you can take the map editor, once famous for offline multiplayer action, create your own map, swap it online with other players, which will deliver an unlimited amount of freshness and challenge which will keep those spawn campers and map learners at bay. The anticipation of downloadable content makes you wonder what it could be. New skins for maps, new characters, whatever it may be it will be a welcome addition to an already fantastic multiplayer title.

Honestly, the only way you won't get what I'm trying to say in this review, is if you have never liked the series in the first place, or you thought Goldeneye was overrated. Everyone else looking for that "other than Halo 2" great multiplayer experience, will find it in Timesplitters: Future Perfect. It's not perfect, but it's pretty freaking fun!