Whilst the coin-op arcade is sadly becoming a dying breed (although big love for retro-inspired bars), there was a time when shooters ruled the roost. From the early days of Virtua Cop and House of the Dead, right through the Silent Scope’s to Tomb Raider and Halo, there was one dominating series throughout. It’s name is Time Crisis.
It was, to put it bluntly, the real deal. Over the top story and corny dialogue, awesome graphics (for the time) and on-rails, cover-based shooting before Gears of War popularised it. It was a race against time, funnily enough, and we loved it. So much so that it’s had four sequels and two spin-offs.
Now, thanks to the lovely folk at G’AIME, they’ve captured that arcade magic into the G’AIME Time Crisis home system. We were fortunate enough to be sent the Ultimate edition, but we’ll break down the variants as we go. Does it stand the test of time? Let’s find out.
The Right Tools
Firstly, we’ll look at the hardware. G’AIME have done their best to almost replicate the Guncon that was bundled with the PlayStation release of Time Crisis. It even has the buttons on the side for those that didn’t use/didn’t know you could use a controller in the second port as a foot pedal.
The version we got, but are also sold separately, comes with a foot pedal for that full immersion. Weirdly, I played the PlayStation version with the aforementioned button. Yet having since played the arcade games (specifically a lot of Time Crisis 2), I can’t play without a pedal now.
The unit that houses the hardware is nifty, a tiny little black box that sits under my TV nicely. It’s not overwhelming or complicated: USB power lead and HDMI cable ports at the back, with two ports at the front for gun and pedal/two guns. It’s worth pointing out that it doesn’t come with a mains plug adapter in the Standard or Premium versions, only the Ultimate. Yeah, it’s a weird thing to withhold to a higher price point, I know.
Crisis Management
So, we have the tools for the job, but what is the job? Oh, only the epic action that is Richard Miller one man army-ing his way through Sherudo Garo’s forces. Well, if Garo will kidnap the President’s daughter, what would you expect?
If you haven’t played Time Crisis before, the core gameplay is pretty straightforward. One points the gun at the screen, pulls the trigger at anyone pointing a gun at you, and shoots them first. What Time Crisis made popular was a cover system. Unlike House of the Dead’s “shoot off screen to reload” mechanic, this one was tactical as well as necessary.
Miller has to duck to avoid being shot, or hit with some scenery, which is his window to reload too. So the game makes players take cover, pop back up, assess and shoot, to duck back down again.
The over caveat, the time aspect in Time Crisis, is the race against the clock. In the literal sense, I mean: Miller’s given a certain time to clear sections. So it meant now ducking and hiding for ages. It means rapid up and down, shoot and cover gameplay. And it looks just as glorious as it is in the arcades.
A Different Kind Of Way Of Spending Credits
Now, given that this is called the “G’AIME Time Crisis System”, it’d be fair to expect it being just that. For the most part, it is. Which, at this juncture, is probably where I should break down the different versions of the system:
- Basic Edition RRP £99.99: one gun, TV unit, HDMI cable, USB-C power lead and just Time Crisis
- Premium Edition RRP £149.99: all of the above, with the addition of Point Blank, Steel Gunner 1 & 2, a pin badge and keyring
- Ultimate Edition £199.99: all of the above, two guns, pedal, AC power adaptor (and regional plug heads), commerative keyring and TC diorama
So… herein lies the first major question. Why does the full Time Crisis experience, with the pedal and such, get hidden at the highest cost? As previously mentioned, additional guns and pedals can be purchased separately. But by then, you’re looking at the same price as the Ultimate.
It’s also worth pointing out that the G’AIME unit, the important console bit, doesn’t have any connectivity other than HDMI. There’s no way of running any updates (that I know of without getting all hacker-y on it), so if one buys the Standard edition… that’s your lot. Which raises a few technical issues too…
Out Of Sight
Outside of the arcade, where the cabinets were calibrated by professionals [slightly off-centre to make you miss and die more often], calibration had to be done on the home console ports every time you played. That’s the same here, fair enough.
Yet something feels off each time I play, and in a very literal sense, it’s my aim. For context, I am playing on a 53″ Philips The One ambilight TV. It’s modern enough, if not all singing and dancing. The viewing height is about 3ft off the ground, on a low unit, for sofa-based comfort. I have a decent distance to sit in the middle of the sofa, with the pedal, and have no obvious issues when it comes to hitting the calibration targets.
So why, I wonder, does that not translate into gameplay? I’ve aimed one handed, with both hands, both eyes open and alternately aiming down the sights with each eye independently. It’s always somehow a little off. Perhaps it’s me, not having the lounge of a millionaire and a properly wall-mounted TV for standing and recreating the arcade feel? But in that case, I’d rather have an arcade cabinet for real.
The thing is, I’ve searched a few similar issues on forums and such, and the response from G’AIME is that they’re going to work on it. I can’t find any information that suggests the USB-C acts as a data cable, or that the supposed firmware update Tassei Denki (the parent company) is applicable to already dispatched units.
Not Enough Bang…
So, it is with a bittersweet kick to the nostalgic knackers that I came away from the Time Crisis home arcade system a little bit disappointed. I wanted that wonderful, retro experience ported to my sofa. But I shouldn’t have to feel like one runthrough of Time Crisis was one of attrition, not enjoyment.
I loved having a crack at Point Blank and the Steel Gunner’s, but had this nagging thought about why this is only available on the higher end and not to all versions. If the box is the same unit throughout, why not include in every tier and not dangle them like the proverbial carrot? Alright, yeah we got offered the Ultimate edition so gift horses and whatnot, but still.
I don’t even think I can recommend this on nostalgia alone, unless you really want a top-end £200 paperweight. It’s hard to even tell if it’ll fall under the “it’ll be updated/better in time” umbrella, as G’AIME and Tassei Denki are so tight-lipped on forum responses. In fact, they’re even deleting negative complaints and responses, which really doesn’t bode well for a recommendation.
Maybe, if they pull their finger out, this could redeem itself down the line. But for now, your best option is either supporting your local arcade/bar/arcade bar, or playing something more entertaining like Typing of the Dead.
G’AIME Time Crisis System is available in the UK from the G’AIME webstore.