Okay . . . a couple days ago, we finally got Time Splitters: Future Perfect for X-Box . . . after I’ve been waiting for the thing to come out for what seems like ages and ages . . . I loved the first two games on PS and PS2 but this one just plain rocks, rocks in a big way.

The game is coming out on PS2 but I opted for the Xbox version (even though the PS2 would be cheaper for me) because it has X-Box Live Enabled and PS2 doesn’t support online play here in Taiwan.  It is worth it to get this savory goodness earlier and to have the ability to play online . . . online kicks butt.

This game rocks in online. Heck, it rocks offline.

The graphics are strong and with one hundred and fifty playable characters . . . yes, that’s 150 . . . it is well beyond the limited character sets available for Halo 2 (even if you can change color combinations, they’re still the same two character fits). The characters are wonderful . . . the kids had been playing a lot of Halo 2 recently (that and Kung Fu Chaos), but now that they can be monkeys and talking ducks and bears and demon possessed little girls and nurses and ginger bread men and robots and well a whole lot of things . . . also hot babes and handsome brutes . . . okay, the last two are of little interest to the kids but there are a LOT of really hot babe characters in this game so I’m a happy camper.

The game is rated for older players because of the violence (watching someone take three darts into the chest and then inflate to the point their body explodes may be violent but it’s also surprisingly funny watching them get fatter as their little monkey body runs around picking up grenades) but that won’t stop many parents enjoying the game with their kids – appropriate age and guidance.  BTW, the monkey characters and other little characters are really cute but they are also damned hard to shoot.

The story mode is engaging, while I found the older games to not have as interesting a story. The graphics are stronger . . . and cleaner . . . as one would expect with a current title.

The offline play is strong . . . story mode and arcade multiplayer. There are also weird challenge modes that are fun. The online play kicks butt . . . nice. I enjoy it more than Halo 2 . . . of course, for me, online play is the only thing really engaging about Halo 2 as the so-called bilingual edition sold here has English subtitles with Chinese voices that are often unsubtitled so you miss a lot of the mission statements and objectives in that mode (although my daughter loves story mode for Halo 2). So, when I compare the two games, it’s not a fair comparison . . . but as a LOT of folks who have a proper copy of Halo 2 are also giving Timesplitters: Future Perfect the thumbs up, I can’t be completely wrong. Please don’t get the misimpression that I don’t think much of Halo 2 . . . it is an awesome game . . . really awesome. However, I am certain I’ll be playing a LOT more of Timesplitters from here on out (albeit, I will probably still get in some Crimson Skies too as it’s an oldie but goldie . . . really wish someone would do a new flying game for dogfighting with planes, balloons, spaceships, and catapult launches, and dragons, lots of variety of dragons . . . something transdimensional with customizeable rides . . . actually, my old Time Trippers stories would do the trick for a background . . . some folks reading this, particularly my buddies from way back when dinosaurs walked the planet and we were hanging out in dorm rooms, will know who Sonya Soyuz, Kaptain Krimesquasher, the Enchantress, and Krimemaster are). Coincidentally, we bought the sequel to Blinx the Time Sweeper for Kaye when we picked up Timesplitters . . . don’t bother.

A very very nice thing about this version of the Timesplitters game is the mapmaker is stronger and easier to use AND you can share your homemade maps with others online and we’re not just talking about deathmatch levels to kill your friends, you can create story mode games, fully functional games . . . so the game has every possibility of creating and sustaining a real community. Personally, I’ll be creating the Brothel of Badass Babes and a Xanadu Temple level as soon as I get the hang of the whole thing and tweak it all up nice.

You can buy the game here (be suire to note the reviews). If you are on X-Box Live and play this game and aren’t too good in terms of skill levels (I may love the game but I still suck), my gamertag is meiguolangren.