Gaming Greats – Time Crisis (1997)
The best gun game since Duck Hunt – and that G-Con 45 controller was no orange kids toy
Time Crisis was released as an arcade game in 1995, with children and adults alike queueing to step up to the pedal and get hold of the blue recoil powered gun. And absolutely, definitely not the pink one.
Then, in 1997, the arcades emptied as hordes of PlayStation owners got their hands on the console version and locked themselves in their rooms, attempting to blast a hole in their big fat CRT TVs.
Gone were the childish blue and pink guns and holstered in your belt at breakfast (the only time you stopped playing) was a G-Con 45. This chunky hand-cannon would’ve done Stallone himself proud – even without the realistic recoil created by the blowback function.
Sadly the arcade game’s pedal didn’t make it into homes, with the G-Con 45 side button used to duck into cover instead.
Cool as it was to shoot a gun at your telly, it was dwarfed by the sheer awesomeness of playing as one-man-army Richard Miller. The ability to duck for cover while reloading made you feel more in control of the rail-style shooter than any before it.
Of course, that timer kept you from cowering too long, since time bonuses were only rewarded for a cleared room. But when Wild Dog came on the scene, that was easier said than done.
Wild Dog was the henchman of the big bad guy Garo who’d kidnapped the president’s daughter. Sure, the story wasn’t that innovative but the bosses were great. Moz the claw handed fiend, Garo with his throwing knives, then finally Wild Dog armed with explosives and a helicopter.
After winning, the satisfaction of knowing the same feat would have cost you months of pocket money in credits at the arcade left you feeling good enough to do all over again.
Namco Bandai Games has announced there will be a remake of Time Crisis coming to the Wii U, PS3, Xbox 360 and PC, bundled with the GunCon 3 hand-blaster. This time it will be in full HD and, get this, 3D – imagine that.
We can’t wait and will be glued to Time Crisis 5 when it’s released at the end of this year, just so we can survive the wait for the Time Crisis remake, due out on its 18th anniversary: July 2013.
You may also like
Bethesda trials Kinect-controlled Skyrim
Gaming Greats – Dead Rising (2006)
Gaming Greats – After Burner (1987)
Dan Grabham
Editor-in-Chief 
