Some of the younger Game Rant readers may not believe this, but online multiplayer gaming wasn’t always around. Before Xbox Live and PSN easily connected gamers across the globe, players wishing to get down with other players actually had to do it in the same room! One of the gold standards of first-person shooters during this by-gone era was a little gem called TimeSplitters. Even though we haven’t heard from this franchise in over five years, developer Crytek UK hopes to breathe some new life into the fast-paced FPS.
Crytek UK Managing Director Karl Hilton had a lot to say regarding the developer’s desire to get a new TimeSplitters underway, as well as their talks with publishers:
For those unfamiliar with TimeSplitters and its pedigree, let’s first take a look at the original development team, Free Radical Design. Free Radical was comprised of members from the original GoldenEye 64 team who left Rare to form their own house. TimeSplitters was Free Radical’s most notable creation and managed to capture much of the same Goldeneye spirit that fans were looking for.
“It’s down to us talking to publishers about what their interest is and where they see it going. If they’re keen for a TS game, then we’d be happy to do one. If they’d like us to develop something new then we’d do that.”
“TS had a very high profile within the industry, among press and game developers and publishers. That’s great. And certainly within our team there’s phenomenal enthusiasm for it and we’d love to do another one. But everyone realizes it’s a hard commercial climate out there, so you’ve got to do something that’s commercial but still has integrity. That’s the balance you’re going to have to find…But yeah, we’d love to do it.”
Unfortunately, the current gen hasn’t been so kind to Free Radical. Their PS3 exclusive FPS, Haze, was almost universally considered a disappointment and all but sank the developer. That’s when Crytek stepped in and scooped them up, renaming them Crytek UK.
Despite the Haze hiccup, this is a developer that is more than capable of delivering a unique FPS experience in the midst of the same old space-marine and modern warfare landscape. TimeSplitters was known for an arcade-style speed and feel while also being filled with humor that was…quirky, to say the least. The last entry, TimeSplitters: Future Perfect, was indeed online, but by then already had Halo to compete with. A new TimeSplitters would definitely be a breath of fresh air to the genre.
Are there any TimeSplitters fans out there? Would it make your day if Crytek UK got the chance to develop another one? Would you rather see them do something new, or are you sitting there scratching your head wondering what the heck these publishers are waiting for?
Source: Eurogamer
