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Time Crisis: Project Titan

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Time Crisis: Project Titan
Developer(s)Namco
Flying Tiger Entertainment
Publisher(s)Namco
Producer(s)Masanori Kato
John Brandsetter
Designer(s)John Brandsetter
Programmer(s)
  • Naoki Takishita
Artist(s)
  • Yoshinori Wagatsuma
  • Crystal Kanai
  • Tim Nign
  • Mike Chung
Writer(s)
  • John Brandstetter
  • Mike Chung
  • Gina Brandstetter
  • Nickos Constant
Composer(s)Tommy Tallarico Studios
SeriesTime Crisis
EngineTime Crisis 1
Platform(s)PlayStation
Release
  • EU: April 6, 2001
  • JP: April 26, 2001
  • NA: June 19, 2001[1]
Genre(s)Rail shooter
Mode(s)Single-player

Time Crisis: Project Titan (タイムクライシス プロジェクトタイタン, Taimu Kuraishisu: Purojekuto Taitan) is a 2001 light-gun shooter video game developed by Namco and Flying Tiger Entertainment and published by Namco for the PlayStation. It is a spin-off of Namco's Time Crisis series, serving as a direct sequel to the PlayStation port of the original Time Crisis.

Gameplay

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See also: Gameplay in Time Crisis

Project Titan features the same gameplay as the other Time Crisis games. It also retains the signature foot pedal. Players by default are in hiding position. They are shielded from taking fire, but they cannot fire back. In order to begin play, players must step on the pedal and begin firing. Stepping off the pad also allows the player to reload the gun.

This game introduces a new gameplay mechanic that allows the player to move to multiple fixed locations, which are activated by shooting yellow arrows while the player is hiding.[2] This feature was later reused in the arcade version of Time Crisis 4.

Plot

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Several months after the events in Sercia, V.S.S.E. agent Richard Miller is informed by his superiors that Caruban president Xavier Serrano has been publicly assassinated by a man dressed like him. With no evidence to the contrary, V.S.S.E. is prepared to extradite Miller to Caruba to stand trial in 48 hours. With only that much time to prove his innocence, Miller is alerted to the presence of an undercover agent codenamed Abacus who can help him obtain the information he needs.

Meanwhile, Kantaris, the arms dealer Miller supposedly killed in a previous mission, discovers that her secretary Marisa Soleli is in fact Abacus. Unable to determine the extent of what she knows, Kantaris has Abacus taken on board her private yacht to be interrogated by her new security chief Zeus Bertrand. Miller parachutes aboard and makes his way down to the crew's quarters, where he fights a crazed chef in the kitchen. Locating and dueling Bertrand in the engine room, Miller takes him out and rescues Abacus, who reveals that a Caruban anti-government militant named Ricardo Blanco was the real killer.

Escaping the yacht by chopper just as Kantaris destroys it with explosives, Miller gets Abacus to safety before hopping a flight to Caruba International Airport. There, he fights his way through Blanco's men until he gets picked up by Abacus's contact, who takes him to Blanco's mansion. Blanco and his surviving allies fight Miller in a pitched battle in the back, dying one by one until only Blanco stands. Wounded, he tries to escape, but is immediately gunned down by Wild Dog, who survived his apparent death but lost his left arm, which he replaced with a gatling gun. A dying Blanco reveals Dog's hideout is in an abandoned nuclear research station on Rio Oro island.

Infiltrating Rio Oro and defeating Dog's men, Richard destroys a weaponized drilling machine sent to kill him. He then discovers Serrano is alive and well, having been kept by Dog as a bargaining chip after his death was faked. The president reveals Dog and Kantaris are conspiring to mine his country's rich titanium resources so that they can build mechanized battlesuits, under the name "Project Titan". Serrano gives Miller the project blueprints before making his escape. Richard acquires a speedboat and makes his way to the excavation site.

Engaging the surviving mercenaries in the ruins, Miller is eventually confronted by Dog, who leaves two Titans codenamed Deimos and Neimos to kill him. Defeating them in a thrilling fight, Miller then takes on Dog himself, damaging his gun arm. A defiant Dog activates the majority of his Titan army before making his escape via helicopter. A few well-aimed shots from Miller disable the chopper, causing it to crash into the assembled Titans and destroy them.

His name finally cleared, Miller declines an award from President Serrano in favor of tracking down Kantaris. He is last seen driving down a lone road as the sun sets in the background.

Development

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Time Crisis: Project Titan was developed by Flying Tiger Entertainment, a third-party company in the United States, and was published by Namco as a PlayStation-only title (unlike other Time Crisis games that were released for the arcade first). The game took two years to develop.[2] Namco opted to create a new game instead of porting over Time Crisis II since the specifications of the arcade version and the PlayStation are so different.[1] Like other Namco games of the era, it was released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Europe.

Reception

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Project Titan received "average" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[3] A major complaint about the game was the poor graphics. Ryan Davis of GameSpot called the visuals "badly outdated" and the animation "downright bad".[2] Douglass C. Perry of IGN opined the game looked "old, dated, and bad" and that it did not look any better than the original Time Crisis PlayStation port.[1] Eric Bratcher of NextGen said of the game, "PlayStation finally answers Saturn's Virtua Cop 2, only it's five years too late and shooting blanks."[9] In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of 30 out of 40.[6] Air Hendrix of GamePro said, "If you love lightgun shooters, Titan will make for a thrilling weekend rental. Since it pretty much amounts to an add-on level pack, you'd have to be ultra-hardcore about Time Crisis to spring for your own copy."[12][b]

The game was a nominee for The Electric Playground's 2001 Blister Awards for "Best Console Shooter Game", but lost to Halo: Combat Evolved.[13]

Notes

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  1. ^ Two critics of Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the game each a score of 6/10, and the other gave it 4/10.
  2. ^ GamePro gave the game three 4/5 scores for graphics, control, and fun factor, and 3.5/5 for sound.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Douglass C. Perry (June 19, 2001). "Time Crisis: Project Titan". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on January 3, 2024. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d Ryan Davis (June 18, 2001). "Time Crisis: Project Titan Review". GameSpot. Fandom. Archived from the original on October 5, 2001. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Time Crisis: Project Titan". Metacritic. Fandom. Archived from the original on January 3, 2024. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  4. ^ Che Chou; Jonathan Dudlak; James "Milkman" Mielke (June 2001). "Time Crisis: Project Titan" (PDF). Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 143. Ziff Davis. p. 105. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 15, 2023. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  5. ^ Jules Grant (June 25, 2001). "Time Crisis: Project Titan". The Electric Playground. Greedy Productions Ltd. Archived from the original on August 17, 2002. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
  6. ^ a b "プレイステーション - タイムクライシス プロジェクトタイタン". Famitsu (in Japanese). Vol. 915. Enterbrain. June 30, 2006. p. 25. Archived from the original on February 21, 2024. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  7. ^ "Time Crisis: Project Titan". Game Informer. No. 98. FuncoLand. June 2001.
  8. ^ Romendil (April 3, 2001). "Test: Time Crisis: Project Titan". Jeuxvideo.com (in French). Webedia. Archived from the original on September 9, 2021. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  9. ^ a b Eric Bratcher (July 2001). "Time Crisis: Project Titan". NextGen. No. 79. Imagine Media. p. 86. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
  10. ^ Sam Kennedy (June 2001). "Time Crisis: Project Titan". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. No. 45. Ziff Davis. p. 104. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  11. ^ Stephen Frost (June 2001). "Time Crisis: Project Titan". PSM. No. 46. Imagine Media. p. 32. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  12. ^ Air Hendrix (July 2001). "Time Crisis: Project Titan" (PDF). GamePro. No. 154. IDG. p. 91. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 9, 2024. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  13. ^ EP staff (2002). "Blister Awards 2001 (Best Console Shooter Game)". The Electric Playground. Greedy Productions, Inc. Archived from the original on July 13, 2003.
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