Echoes of Time is a fun hack n’ slash multiplayer game. The game improves upon its Ring of Fates predecessor with a greater emphasis on multiplayer combat and teamwork. Though the Wii version leaves much to be desired, the game is still a solid title on the DS to be enjoyed with friends. Square Enix’s efforts to allow both DS and Wii players to connect and play together are admirable, but one that definitely needs to be tweaked concerning the Wii’s control scheme. Echoes of Time should keep fans happy for some time until the arrival of the upcoming Wii title, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers.

Click here for an explanation of our review and scoring format.

Ring of Fates was Square Enix’s follow-up to their Gamecube title: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles. After receiving fairly positive reviews, Square has returned to tweak the multiplayer features with a greater emphasis on combat in Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time. Though the gameplay is similar, the ability to play with your friends over a Wi-Fi connection on both the DS and Wii versions is a welcome addition to the series. Echoes of Time combines the best of Ring of Fates and its Crystal Chronicles Gamecube brethren into a fun, light-hearted RPG for both casual and experienced players.

The story tells the tale of a young hero who reaches his or her sixteenth birthday. According to village customs, every young villager participates in a special ceremony by defeating hordes of monsters in the dark forest that surrounds the village. The victorious are crowned with a glowing crystal found in a forest clearing guarded by Sherlotta, a fellow villager. However, a village girl falls gravely ill on the brink of the village’s celebration that sends the hero on a mission to acquire the items needed for a cure.

Combat in Echoes of Time is similar to the earlier Ring of Fates DS title. You can attack, pick up and drop and jump in the open field in battle. There are four tribes are available: Clavats, Yukes, Selkies and the Lilties. You can engage the enemy with standard attacks, charge attacks (powerful attack that leaves you temporarily vulnerable) or magic attacks by acquiring various spells. This time around, you can either grab your friends or partner up with the A.I. to form a party. At the start, you can customize your party with as many warriors, mages or tribe kinsmen and kinswomen as you like. Towns  and villages hold save crystals with most locations situated around a trotted path on the world map. A diary is kept by the main character that contains the chronology of events and adventures throughout the game.

You can assign different tactics for your A.I. party members in battle that includes Protect Yourself, Do Your Best, Just Follow Me and Go Nuts With Magic. You can add and drop party members at the Adventurers’ Guild in town prior to your quest. For multiplayer coop, you can team up with your friends via Nintendo’s Wi-Fi connection. You can easily communicate with your party members with a communication panel that features phrases like “Attack Together”, “I’ll take this one” and “Hit it”. Phrases are customizable with a total of twelve phrases available for you to create your own unique message.

Echoes of Time allows you, just like its predecessors, to pick up and drop items, barrels and enemies at will. This is necessary on various quests to solve puzzles and unlock doors. Fighting enemies helps not only to gain experience but also helps you to acquire materials to place custom orders in town. By doing this, you save lots of money that would otherwise be spent on scrolls and materials at Custom Fabrications.

Visually, the game has polished character designs and detailed environments. After a short run, the Wii version is essentially a ported DS game. The graphics are only slightly improved with a rather mediocre control scheme using the Wii remote. Between the Wii and DS version, the latter is preferable as Echoes of Time was originally designed with Nintendo’s handheld in mind. The soundtrack is soothing and accompanies the game quite well with its light hearted and relaxed musical tunes.

Regrettably, the A.I. party members are more trouble than they are worth as they will often miss platform jumps, fall into lava pits and stand around idly while your enemies are attacking you. Echoes of Time shines in the multiplayer aspect as the single player adventure mode is very short-lived. Regarding the portability and the convenience to play with your friends, both Wii and DS owners can connect online with one another for quests. However, I personally recommend the DS version as the Wii online interface to join other quests is not very user-friendly at all.

The report claims that staff arrived at work only to find the doors locked with instructions to meet at a hotel for a final meeting, and office phones aren't being answered.

Also, the unnamed project that Free Radical was working on, believed to be Star Wars: Battlefront 3, may have been sent to Rebellion, the developer of the PSP Battlefront game. TimeSplitters 4's status is currently unclear.

Since an official announcement hasn't been made about the closing, file this one in the "rumor" category until more information is available. 

Update: Confirmed.

Time Ace has a suggested retail price of $29.99 and is rated “E10+” by the ESRB.

• First Brothers In Arms for the DS System: Exclusively designed for Nintendo DS with easy-to-use, stylus-based controls such as using the Touch Screen to aim, with the camera following the stylus.
• Impressive, Realistic 3D Graphics: Incredibly detailed environments with highly believable characters and enemies, cinematic camera angles, and great animation.
• Drivable Vehicles: Drive a recon car or a Sherman Tank. Use a wide range of weapons such as bazookas, sniper rifles, grenades and more to destroy your enemy.
• 16 Missions and Three Different Campaigns: Relive the intensity of WWII through three different campaigns, from Normandy to North-Africa and Ardennes.
• Redesigned New Multiplayer Experience: Fight major multiplayer battles with three of your friends in different multiplayer modes, including Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch.
• Contextual Movements: Gameplay adapted to the Nintendo DS hardware with auto-cover behind walls or auto-recovering life system. 

• Next-Generation Brothers In Arms - The award-winning WWII franchise comes to the Wii system with all of the action, story and authenticity that has critics and fans eager for more.
• Combining All 31 Playable Levels: Play as Sergeants Matt Baker and Joe Hartsock, leading your squad behind enemy lines through the Normandy invasion.
• Unrivaled Authenticity: Fight actual Airborne Infantry battles of D-Day accurately recreated using thousands of official photos, maps, After-Action Reports and eyewitness accounts under the direction of Military and Historical Director, Col. John Antal.
• Challenging and Dynamic Combat: Featuring close-quarter urban environments and a next-generation artificial intelligence system, Brothers In Arms Double Time promises to take authentic military action to the next level on the Wii system.
• Enhanced Control Scheme: Issue orders and perform military gestures to command and lead your team using the Wii Remote.

We've added 20 screenshots from both the PC and Xbox 360 versions of Timeshift, many of which show the game's unique arsenal in action. Maybe it's only fitting then, that we supply some details on how the weapons will work within the game, straight from Saber Interactive. Read below for more information, and enjoy the visuals.

KnuckleDusterThis small caliber one-handed pistol has excellent accuracy at all distances in primary fire mode. The primary mode shoots individual bullets with a zero blast radius and medium shot power. The ammo cartridges are small, so frequent reloading is required. Due to the small size of the cartridges, you can carry a large amount of spare ammunition. Alt-fire mode is rapid but less accurate and uses ammunition much more quickly than the primary mode.MagCannonThis weapon uses energy cells to shoot concentrated projectiles of magnesium. The two modes of fire utilize the same energy source, but have very different effects. The primary mode shoots projectiles at a medium rate of fire and is highly accurate up to medium range. The shot power is medium and the blast radius is small. This mode of fire is useful in combat situations against large numbers of mid to small-range opponents. The weapon allows for an average amount of shots before reloading. The alt-fire mode creates an extremely powerful projectile with a large blast radius. In this mode the weapon utilizes a significant portion of the internal energy cell for one shot. It is slow to fire and is best used against slow moving opponents, to pierce armor or break objects. The range of the alt-fire is considerably greater than that of the primary mode of attack.M74 BloodhoundThis shoulder-mounted rocket launcher has two unique modes of fire. The primary mode fires rockets that are effective at long range, cause high damage and have a high blast radius. The Bloodhound can only hold a small number of rockets, so you'll want to conserve ammunition and use it only against the toughest opponents. Alt-fire mode launches a guided rocket that you can aim as it flies toward its target.GearMasterThis double-barreled shotgun is extremely effective at close range. It shoots multiple pellets that spread out quickly, so its effectiveness at medium distances is limited, and at long range it is essentially useless. It has a zero blast radius, so you will not incur damage by using it at close range. This weapon reloads relatively slowly, so it is important to shoot accurately and to have room to maneuver after each shot. The Gearmaster carries a medium amount of ammunition. Alt-fire mode shoots both barrels, employing twice as many pellets for twice the damage at close range.KrossBowThis weapon shoots energy projectiles that penetrate an opponent or armor and detonates immediately. The projectiles fly at a medium-fast rate of fire and have a medium blast radius. This weapon holds a medium amount of ammunition, and requires frequent reloading. The KrossBow is extremely accurate at short to medium distances, but it will deteriorate in accuracy at greater distances. The KrossBow's alt-fire mode is as a sniper weapon. Its zoom lens allows you to target opponents from medium range.Echo RifleThis weapon is a single-shot sniper rifle. It possesses 8x zoom capabilities in alt-fire. The gun shoots large caliber projectiles that are extremely powerful and effective at long range. The weapon must be reloaded after every third shot and has a relatively lengthy reload time. The Echo Rifle is most effective in picking off opponents from a distance. It is best used against slow-moving or stationary opponents because of the difficulty in aiming in zoom mode. It is also easier to use the weapon from a stationary position and is thus not particularly useful in fast-paced combat situations.KP-HellRazerThis uzi-style weapon shoots incendiary bullets. Its alt-fire mode provides you with a close-range flamethrower. While the flames are less damaging than a bullet-burst, they are faster, have no recoil, and sow confusion and terror on groups of enemies.Stalker RifleThis automatic rifle fires powerful bullets at a high rate of fire and is extremely accurate at long distances. It has limited ammunition per cartridge and requires relatively frequent reloads. The alt-fire mode is a grenade launcher.Surge GunThis is your most powerful weapon, firing an energy charge that latches onto any enemy it comes in contact with and disintegrates them instantly. In alt-fire mode, the Surge Gun generates a massive pulse of energy that builds up until it fires and annihilates any enemy (or destructible object) in its vicinity.Clutch GrenadeClutch grenade adheres to enemies, using electro magnetic energy.Swarm GrenadeThese grenades are actually miniattack drones. When thrown, these drones deploy in the air and hover in place while firing electricity bolts at nearby opponents.

Static WeaponsIn addition to the handheld weapons and grenades you will also find static turrets in some levels of the game. Turrets can be used by you and your opponents. They are extremely lethal, and you are advised to use the TIME SHIFTING functions of your Quantum Suit to avoid their fire, or even to back an opponent out of a turret that he has recently mounted. The TimeShift world is populated by a host of opponents each with its own unique mode of attack and behavior.

]]> Fri, 07 Jul 2006 10:10:00 -0500 Brian Mohr http://www.gamebump.com/go/tenchu_time_of_the_assassins_officially_announced http://www.gamebump.com/go/tenchu_time_of_the_assassins_officially_announced http://www.gamebump.com/go/tenchu_time_of_the_assassins_officially_announced# This article was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Certain formatting, imaged, and embedded content may have been lost in the transition process.

SEGA has officially announced the upcoming release of the PSP title, Tenchu: Time of the Assassins.

In the game, player will follow the ninjas, Rikimaru, Ayame, Tesshu and Rin as you follow each character through a specific storyline. Something added to the game is the free mission mode which allows players to play 50 independent missions once you beat the single-player game.

Tenchu looks to include ad hoc multiplayer support as well. Allowing gamers to play head-to-head or cooperatively. There is also a level editor giving players the ability to create their own levels and share them with others through ad hoc download.

Tenchu: Time of the Assassins is scheduled to release June 23rd, 2006.]]> Mon, 22 May 2006 20:47:00 -0500 Tim Grube http://www.gamebump.com/go/alawar_releases_time_breaker http://www.gamebump.com/go/alawar_releases_time_breaker http://www.gamebump.com/go/alawar_releases_time_breaker# This article was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Certain formatting, imaged, and embedded content may have been lost in the transition process.

Visit www.alawar.com to view screenshots and download the free trial version of Time Breaker. You can also purchase the full version of Time Breaker online for $19.95.

]]> Thu, 01 Dec 2005 21:52:00 -0600 Tim Grube http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_preview_shogun_warrior_realtime_conflict_ds1 http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_preview_shogun_warrior_realtime_conflict_ds1 http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_preview_shogun_warrior_realtime_conflict_ds1# This preview was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Its format does not match our own but we support its content.

There aren’t many real-time strategy games for the Nintendo DS as of yet. But Namco and developer Box Clever, wants to change that by releasing Shogun Warrior: Real-Time Conflict for the Nintendo DS in October. What makes this title stand out the most is the fact that gamers will be able to utilize the Nintendo DS touch-screen features. To add onto its replay value, Namco will pack in several mini games such as Forest Duels, Castle Siege, Sea Battle, and Ninja Battle, while several more that have not yet been announced.

As stated above, gamers will be able to use the DS’s touch-screen functionality by planning out the strategy on how you’re going to attack your enemy and then you can watch it in full 3D in the top screen. I find that to be pretty cool, since it is kind of difficult to play a real-time strategy game like this one on a handheld.

The goal of the game is to conquer all neighboring armies and become the ultimate ruler of Japan. Once Japan is conquered, you will unlock the secret to the legend of the lost army of rebel monks. Wireless functionality is also integrated so you can play with up to 8 friends in several skirmishes.

Namco plans to show this one off at the upcoming E3 Expo. Expect more very soon.

With ]]> Mon, 18 Apr 2005 19:08:00 -0500 The Gaming Horizon Archive http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_review_timesplitters_future_perfect_xbox http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_review_timesplitters_future_perfect_xbox http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_review_timesplitters_future_perfect_xbox# This review was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Its format does not match our own but we support its content. It was written by Chuck Landry.

The team over at Free Radical would have a hard time shaking the title “the makers of Goldeneye for the Nintendo 64.” But if your development studio had that label, would you mind? Of course not – because Goldeneye (developed by Rare employees who later broke off to create Free Radical) is generally accepted as the best N64 game that ever was. The reason I mention this is that everybody who’s anybody has played Goldeneye at some time (if not, go find a used N64 and a copy). Therefore, everybody should have a good idea of how the Timesplitters series plays once it’s in your hands. Timesplitters: Future Perfect is the third in the series that began on the PS2, and is essentially very much like the famous 007 game in terms of the controls, pace, and core gameplay mechanics.

Of course, Timesplitters doesn’t follow the exploits of an agent of espionage. Instead it revolves around Sergeant Cortez – space marine extraordinaire. Cortez is always trying to keep the time crystals away from evil mutant monsters called (you guessed it) timesplitters. Each Timespliiters game sends players back and forth through different eras on a mission to collect the time crystals before they fall into the wrong hands. These are first-person shooter games that are fast, colorful, and frantic – and most importantly never take themselves too seriously.

Timesplitters: Future Perfect is the third game in the series, and while it will be familiar to veterans of the sequence, it does add a few twists to the gameplay experience. For one thing, past games had players take control of characters living in each particular time period, taking on their forms. In the newest game, players will be Cortez throughout the entire story. But don’t fret – that doesn’t mean the game isn’t chock full of quirky new characters that will assist you (or defy you). In fact, don’t be surprised to see plenty of cameos from returning favorites like Harry Tipper (Austin Powers wannabe) and Khallos (cat-stroking maniacal fool bent on world domination). And monkeys.

Yes, monkeys. As previously mentioned, the Timesplitters games aren’t to be taken seriously. How can you take a game seriously that features a multiplayer mode called “Monkey Assistant” which unleashes a crack team of assassin monkeys into the foray armed with machine guns whenever someone falls behind in the scores? Or a mode where you race Khallos’ remote control cat around makeshift courses, effectively making you stare at it’s puckered (this is a family website) the whole time, as it bangs into walls and screeches, meows, and tips over constantly? There’s humor here for everyone. Some of the jokes are subtle, such as when your partner disguises you as a doctor and tells you, “Remember, your name is Gordon.” And then there’s the opposite end of the spectrum: Harry Tipper dresses as a woman and henceforth walks around with his elbows at his waist and his hands waving around in front of him, later being hit on by a male guard. If anybody plays through the entire game (and multiplayer modes) without laughing, stick a mirror in front of his or her mouth and see if it fogs up. It’s not that Timesplitters: FP is hilarious, but the zaniness certainly makes the experience more enjoyable.

The graphics on Timesplitters: FP are improved over the previous versions. They are incredibly vibrant and colorful. Each game in the series has been known for moving at a gloriously smooth framerate, although they are never graphics akin to Half-Life 2 or Halo (either one). Still, refinements have been made over the years, and the environment textures seem much more detailed this time around – especially on the island level and the haunted house. There are also some new special distortion effects throughout the game. They may not be technically demanding, but the effect when the mothership explodes on level one, or anytime you throw a time grenade or use the manipulator is impressive. The game showcases the usual assortment of different levels and time periods, ranging from Khallos’ secret base, to a moving train, to a haunted mansion, to a Terminator 3 robot war, to the earlier part of the 20th century. It’s all here to ensure the environments never get too stale.

Everything is pretty exaggerated in the universe Free Radical created – especially the characters. Still, there is a noticeable improvement in the character models over those of yesteryear. There are definitely more polygons being spent on each person, especially noticeable in their faces. You can really see this in Cortez’s expressions, which are often priceless. When he unwittingly signals the Navy to begin their artillery barrage on the island he needs to retrieve a time crystal from, you can read the “Damn, am I an idiot” look in his face once he realizes his mistake.

Whole body animations are also superb, as always, providing evidence of a development team that had way too much fun doing motion-capture. Why else would the entire ending credits roll while a disco dancing Cortez cuts loose on a glowing dance floor in the background? Plus, enemies always react to hits appropriately, reeling around, grabbing their wounds or what have you. This is something Free Radical has always done well since the Bond game, and still seems painfully missing from several first-person shooters, such as the Red Faction games where enemies don’t react at all when hit (until they die, that is). Characters are further brought to life with appropriate voiceacting. That isn’t to say it is Hollywood caliber, but it suits the game perfectly. There is certainly talent, and the voices feel right at home with each character.

The storyline in Timesplitters is nothing too special, but is great for the game’s overall tone. It’s essentially the same thing as before, visit the past, visit the future, and visit the distant past, the distant future, etc. to gather all of the time crystals. Future Perfect does introduce some Back to the Future situations that make you question the logic of how the same person could be two places at once because of time travel. Try not to think about it too much when you run into your future self, or your head might explode. However, this does mean you’ll have a good idea of where you’re about to be and what you’ll soon be doing…before you actually go and do so. Now I’m confused again. Suffice it to say, there’s even one point where you’ll see no less than four Cortez’s in the same room, and you will (eventually) control each one.

In addition to the single-player mode (which can be played cooperatively split-screen), Timesplitters: FP comes with tons of extras. You can play the various challenges to earn medals, which unlock cheat codes (like “Viking hats” or “thin players”). These range from the aforementioned “cat racing” to breaking every plate in a restaurant with bricks, to knocking the heads off of zombies. Easily the strangest one asks you to keep battery-powered cyber monkeys dancing on the disco floor with the electrotool weapon, careful not to let them run out of juice (or over-juice them to death). Cyber monkeys were (according to the developers’ note in the game) “inevitable, really.”

Arcade mode also returns, which lets players without Xbox Live (or any real friends) play multiplayer against bots. The other reason is of course to unlock more cheats and awards. As usual, Timesplitters delivers its normal fare of multiple game types rather than limiting the options to simply “Deathmatch” or “CTF.” I don’t have the space to describe each type, suffice it to say there should be at least a couple that strike your fancy. You can unlock 150 different characters for use in arcade mode or online. Everything is possible, from Cortez, to henchman, to zombies, monkeys, a bear, and even a robot with a fish tank on his head. Xbox Live also works very well, and it’s about time the series went online. Finding a game is easy enough, although I was kicked out of one after only one match. I can only assume that the players didn’t like that I constantly honked the horn of the jeep before I ran them over from behind. At least I gave them a warning. Sore losers.

Timesplitters: Future Perfect does a lot of things right, both in its single and multiplayer modes. The single-player game is funny, incredibly charismatic, and a blast to play. Plus, it lets you play the actual game cooperatively, rather than limiting the experience to separate mini-missions. My complaint, then, is that it is over too quickly. You’re looking at a story mode that would be possible to complete in one sitting, although we’re realistically talking about two or three sessions.

Also, in the cooperative play I ran into one problem. Although the mode itself is a great treat, on some levels a friend and I became very disoriented due to the “warping” of whichever player is lagging behind when the other makes progress to a certain point. I found these “points” too frequent, and at one time I was warping back and forth so quickly and often that I was completely confused about which direction I was facing and which room I ended up in.

While on Xbox Live, I also found it difficult to understand just how the game wants you to select your character model. You can only choose it before joining a server, and once there, cannot change it without exiting. Even so, sometimes I’d join a server only to end up playing as a random character other than the one I’d selected. I’m still not sure how the game decides when to choose for you. I also am a bit disappointed to see that, so far, it’s an exercise in patience to get players to join a server for one of the stranger gametypes. Getting players for Deathmatch is a cinch, but try starting a Gladiator server, and prepare to wait a while. Still, the game hasn’t been out very long yet, so here’s hoping we get more diverse players to pick it up from stores.

Oh, and why is there a Half-Life 2-ish manipulator gun in the game if you only use it once or twice?

Timesplitters: Future Perfect is a worthy successor to the series. The graphics show a noticeable improvement, and still run at what feels like 1,000 frames per second. You don’t realize how big a difference that can make to a game until you see it in action. It plays with that familiar Goldeneye style, which is great, plus it’s full of slapstick humor and just random oddness. In other words, it’s simply a good time for any FPS fan. The single-player story might be over quickly, but there are still hours of challenges to complete, and that’s before you even connect to Xbox Live. Free Radical isn’t going anywhere for a long while.

Varied, frantic, and wonderful

A step up from last time. Still not on par with the latest games

Great voice work and sound effects. No complaints here.

There’s a ton to do. Combat is engaging, the game makes you laugh, and monkeys dance the disco

Xbox Live certainly helps, but so does coop play and the range of crazy challenges.

]]> Thu, 07 Apr 2005 13:53:00 -0500