Time Crisis is a first-person on-rails light gun shooter series of arcade video games by Namco, introduced in 1995.[1] It is focused on the exploits of a fictional international intelligence agency who assigns its best agents to deal with a major threat by a hostile organisation, which has ranged from criminals, terrorists and hostile military outfits, and mostly take place within fictional locations across the world. The arcade series differed from other light gun shooters of its time by incorporating unique mechanics, including the ability to duck into cover to dodge attacks and reload the player's weapon, and forcing players to complete battles in each level within an allotted amount of time.
Over time, the series developed to incorporate additional features of gameplay, including two-player co-operative modes on arcade machines, the ability to use additional weapons in combat, and dealing with dangerous events. Alongside arcade machines, the series was also developed for consoles, beginning with a port of the first installment to PlayStation consoles in 1995,[2] with all ported versions of arcade titles featuring additional content and game mechanics, such as additional stages, and different difficulty modes.
Alongside the main games in the series, it also has spawned a number of spin-off titles that incorporate the cover mechanics and time limit gameplay elements, but with notable differences in combat situations and organisations involved in each game's story and levels.
Many of the fighting areas are dangerous situations, such as a steadily capsizing ship or a train dangling off a damaged bridge (as in Time Crisis 3). In the third and fourth installments, supporters from various organizations come in to assist the V.S.S.E. agents, sometimes to aid them in their mission, sometimes to protect their own reputations. Crisis Zone has a different plot, which is focused on a SWAT team rather than secret agents. It takes place in the United Kingdom and concerns the S.T.F. (or Special Tactical Force)'s attempt to destroy the U.R.D.A., a terrorist organization. Razing Storm and Time Crisis: Razing Storm, which take place in the near-future, involve an elite task force known as S.C.A.R. (Strategic Combat and Rescue) being sent to a South American country during a revolution to capture and defeat the mastermind who has orchestrated an attack on the United States together with several international military organizations, while battling terrorists and other renegade soldiers and other combatants.
The first installment, Time Crisis, was released for arcades in 1995.[1] Its story focuses on Richard Miller, an agent of an international intelligence agency, as he races against time to rescue the daughter of a newly installed president, from a member of the previous regime seeking to reclaim control of their former country. The game introduced several of the gameplay elements that would form the foundation of the series, including combat sections that had to be completed within a strict time-limit and the cover mechanics, and well as introducing the recurring character Wild Dog, who would feature prominently as a boss character in the main series.
Time Crisis II, released for the arcades in 1997, focuses on the efforts of intelligence agents Keith Martin and Robert Baxter, as they attempt to thwart the efforts of a major industrial tycoon from launching a nuclear military satellite in space, and rescue a fellow agent that they kidnapped. The game offered co-operative gameplay between two players for the first time, with the arcade original being launched with linked game machines that featured contrasting coloured light gun controllers. In addition, the original game mechanics of its predecessor were modified for the sequel, including the time-limit system, while incorporating new elements such as each playable character having their own battle situations at times, players receiving a score penalty for shooting the other character, and a new game highlight system for indicating a deadly shot about to hit the player. A port of the game for the PlayStation 2 was released in 2001, supported by the GunCon 2 light gun peripheral, which included enhanced graphics and additional story scenes.
The Time Crisis series focuses on the exploits of a fictional international intelligence agency Vital Situation, Swift Elimination International Intelligence Agency[1] (V.S.S.E.) who assigns its best agents to deal with a major threat by a hostile organization, which has ranged from criminals, terrorists, to hostile military outfits, and mostly take place within fictional locations across the world. The Arcade series differed from other light gun shooters of its time by incorporating unique mechanics, including the ability to duck into cover to dodge attacks and reload the player's weapon, and forcing players to complete battles in each level within an allotted limited amount of time.
Over time, the series developed to incorporate additional features of gameplay, including two-player co-operative modes on arcade machines, the ability to use additional weapons in combat, and dealing with dangerous events. Alongside arcade machines, the series was also developed for consoles, beginning with a port of the first installment to PlayStation consoles in 1995, with all ported versions of arcade titles featuring additional content and game mechanics, such as additional stages, and different difficulty modes.
Alongside the main games in the series, it has spawned a number of spin-off titles that incorporate the cover mechanics and time limit gameplay elements, but with notable differences in combat situations and organizations involved in each game's story plot.
Time Crisis focuses on shooting all on-screen enemies in an area within a specific time limit to continue on to the next area and complete the level. The series' distinctive feature is its cover system: the player steps on a foot pedal to have the player character emerge from cover and attack enemies, and releases the pedal to get behind cover, protecting the character from enemy attacks but leaving them unable to shoot. In Time Crisis 5, the pedal has been redesigned as two pedals, one in the left and one in the right, to give the player 2 positions from which to emerge from cover and catch enemies unaware. The player must take cover to reload their standard (default) handgun.
Time Crisis II introduced segments which the player can use non-standard weapons for a limited time. In Time Crisis II, it is the machine gun with unlimited ammunition; in both Time Crisis 4 and Time Crisis 5, they are helicopter mounted weapons with unlimited ammunition in the form of the mounted machine gun, automatic cannon (only in Time Crisis 4) and rocket launcher (only in Time Crisis 5), and sniper rifle which needs the player to take cover to reload in Time Crisis 4 but is automatically reloaded with a delay between shots in Time Crisis 5.
The countdown clock prevents the player from remaining behind cover for too long and imposes a time limit to clear the stage of enemies. The player must manage their time in and out of cover to attack enemies on sight, while avoiding being hit by direct shots. In Time Crisis and Time Crisis: Project Titan, after the clearance of an area the game adds only a partial amount of time to the overall clock (which goes up to 60 seconds) while the timer keeps running down and the game ends if the time reaches zero. In multiplayer installments (starting with Time Crisis II), the clock resets after the player clears their immediate area of enemies (though it always resets during a WAIT sequence, a reset might happen once players cross past a certain point in an ACTION sequence mode) and will deduct 1 life unit if it reaches zero. Time Crisis 5 introduces new scenario-specific timed sequences apart from the standard countdown clock where the player must act within a specific timeframe: "Evasion Activity" (the player must press the indicated left or right pedal to avoid a hit from incoming debris or attack) and "Crisis Event" (shooting bullseyes painted on a target before they turn red and not being able to use the pedals).
Many of the fighting areas are dangerous situations, such as a steadily capsizing ship or a train dangling off a damaged bridge (as in Time Crisis 3). In the third and fourth installments, supporters from various organizations come in to assist the V.S.S.E. agents, sometimes to aid them in their mission, sometimes to protect their own reputations. Crisis Zone has a different plot. It takes place in the United Kingdom and concerns the Special Tactical Force's (S.T.F.) attempt to destroy the U.R.D.A., a terrorist organization. Razing Storm and Time Crisis: Razing Storm, which take place in the near future, involve an elite task force known as S.C.A.R. (Strategic Combat and Rescue) being sent to a South America country during a revolution to capture and defeat the mastermind who has orchestrated an attack on the United States together with several international military organizations, while battling enemy terrorists, other renegade soldiers and other combatants.
Time Crisis is a light gun shooter arcade game, developed and released by Namco in 1995, and the first title to be released in the series of the same name. The game differentiated itself from other light gun shooters of the time by incorporating a pedal that controls when the player character takes cover to reload and avoid enemy fire. Players have a limited amount of time to clear each section by defeating enemies. The game's story focuses on Richard Miller, a secret agent, who is sent to rescue a kidnapped woman from a ruthless tyrant seeking to reclaim control of their former country from a new regime.
The game consists of three stages, each consisting of three areas and a boss battle. Each area consist of a series of firearms battles, in which players must defeat a set group of enemies in order to advance to the next battle.[6] Each area features a one minute time limit to begin with, which counts down during battles and transitions between each, and is only extended by clearing a current battle; defeating certain optional enemies also gives a few extra seconds.[citation needed] To avoid running down the clock, the player must take risks, shooting enemies rapidly and hiding only when necessary.[10] Each playthrough sees the player given a set number of lives, in which one is deducted when the player is hit by an enemy, or fails to avoid being hit by a hazard in the current battle, with the game being over when the player runs out of lives or time.
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