Editing Time Crisis II

{{Short description|1997 video game}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2024}}{{Infobox video game
| title = Time Crisis II
| image = Time Crisis II Flyer.jpeg
| caption = North American arcade flyer
| developer = [[Namco]]
| publisher = Namco<br>'''PlayStation 2'''{{vgrelease|NA|[[Namco Hometek]]|EU|[[Sony Computer Entertainment]]}}
| director = Takashi Satsukawa
| producer = Takashi Sano
| composer = Kaz Nakamura
| released = '''Arcade'''<br />{{vgrelease|JP|December 13, 1997<ref>{{cite web |title=Time crisis 2 (Registration Number PA0001076183) |url=https://cocatalog.loc.gov |website=[[United States Copyright Office]] |access-date=13 January 2022}}</ref>|NA|February 1998}}'''PlayStation 2'''{{vgrelease|NA|October 2, 2001<ref>{{Cite web |author=I. G. N. Staff |date=2001-10-02 |title=New PlayStation 2 Releases |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2001/10/02/new-playstation-2-releases |access-date=2023-12-02 |website=IGN |language=en}}</ref>|JP|October 4, 2001|EU|October 19, 2001|AU|October 26, 2001<ref>{{Cite web |title=''Time Crisis II'' |url=http://www.gpstore.co.nz/product.x?1456250 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030521184932/http://www.gpstore.co.nz/product.x?1456250 |archive-date=May 21, 2003 |access-date=July 8, 2024 |website=[[Gameplanet]]}}</ref>}}
| genre = [[Rail shooter]]
| modes = [[Single-player]], [[Multiplayer video game|multiplayer]]
| platforms = [[Arcade video game|Arcade]], [[PlayStation 2]]
| arcade system = [[Namco System 23]], Super Namco System 23
| series = ''[[Time Crisis]]''
}}
'''''Time Crisis II''''' is a 1997 [[light-gun shooter]] [[video game]] developed and published by [[Namco]] for [[Arcade video game|arcades]]. It is the second installment in the ''[[Time Crisis]]'' series. The game incorporates the same mechanics of its predecessor, with some minor changes, but with the addition of co-operative two-player gaming. The game's story focuses on the efforts of two secret agents, Keith Martin and Robert Baxter, as they attempt to thwart the efforts of an industry mogul's plan for world dominance.

The game was ported to the [[PlayStation 2]] in October 2001, as part of a bundle to coincide with the launch of the [[GunCon 2]] controller (G-Con 2 in Europe), with enhanced graphics. Ports for the original [[PlayStation (console)|PlayStation]] and [[Dreamcast]] were cancelled during development.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uk.ign.com/games/time-crisis-ii/dc-10952|title=Time Crisis II (Dreamcast)|website=IGN}}</ref> The game received mostly favorable reviews for the arcade and console versions. A sequel to the game, ''[[Time Crisis 3]]'', was released in 2002.

==Gameplay==
{{see also|Time Crisis#Gameplay|l1=Gameplay of Time Crisis}}
[[File:Time crisis 2 cabinets.jpg|thumb|left|The game's arcade machines]]

The game utilizes the foot pedal system, just like ''[[Time Crisis]]'', allowing players to hide from enemy fire.<ref name=EGM105>{{cite magazine |title=Time Crisis 2: An Interactive Two-Player Gun Game |magazine=[[Electronic Gaming Monthly]]|issue=105 |publisher=[[Ziff Davis]] |date=April 1998|page=72}}</ref> The "crisis flash" system alerts players when the enemy's attack would cause a direct hit, a feature not present in its predecessor, ''Time Crisis''. When pressing down on the pedal, the player comes out of hiding and can shoot enemies. Releasing the pedal puts the player behind cover to avoid bullets and reload the weapon, though the player cannot shoot while hiding. Certain sections of the game give players a machine gun with unlimited ammo.

The player loses a life if hit by a critical bullet or an obstacle, and the game ends when the player loses all lives. Players also lose a life if the time limit (which is replenished after each area is cleared) drops to zero, unlike the first game, where running out of time results in a game over. Players can continue from their current position, as opposed to the PlayStation version of ''Time Crisis'', which requires players to restart from the beginning of a section.

This was the first ''Time Crisis'' game to enable two people to play simultaneously,<ref name=EGM105/> allowing each player to cover the other. In single player, the computer controls the other character. The arcade version used connecting cabinets to allow another player to join. The PlayStation 2 version features split-screen and System Link functionality, which requires two televisions, two consoles, two copies of the game, and an [[IEEE 1394 interface|iLink cable]]. Points are deducted for shooting the other player, though neither player will lose lives as a result. The same system is utilized for events in ''[[Time Crisis 3]]'' and ''[[Time Crisis 4]]''.

==Plot==
In 1997, NeoDyne Industries announces it plan to launch a series of 64 [[Communications satellite|satellites]], codenamed the "StarLine Network", that will help to unify the world's communication networks. However,  V.S.S.E. agent Christy Ryan discovers that the company's CEO, a  [[General officer|Gen]] Ernesto Diaz, plans to launch an experimental nuclear satellite into space and sell it to the highest bidder, and is using StarLine as a front. Escaping to a safehouse with a suitcase of incriminating data, she quickly finds herself tracked down and captured by NeoDyne mercenaries, led by Jakov Kinisky, moments before V.S.S.E. agents Keith Martin and Robert Baxter arrive to collect her. While Christy is taken to Diaz, Kinisky flees with the suitcase, forcing the agents to pursue him. After killing him during a boat chase, the pair retrieve the case and learn that the experimental satellite is being transported by train.

Locating the train, Keith and Robert board and attempt to destroy it, but are thwarted by NeoDyne forces led by Buff Bryant, who manages to extract the satellite by helicopter but dies battling the agents. Surviving the subsequent derailment, the agents hijack a mercenary helicopter and make their way to NeoDyne's remote oceanic spaceport, encountering further resistance led by Wild Dog - a former crimeboss thought killed in a [[Time Crisis (video game)|previous V.S.S.E. operation]]. Both agents are forced into a firefight with Dog, who keeps them at bay with a prosthetic minigun and additional assistance from Diaz, but is defeated. He escapes with self-detonation by explosives, leaving the agents to focus on the satellite.

After rescuing Christy, Keith and Robert focus on Diaz, who initiates the launch sequence before activating the defense system of a prototype satellite to engage them. With precious few seconds on the clock, Keith and Robert destroy the prototype and shoot Diaz in the chest, sending him falling to his death. Without him to finish the sequence, the rocket malfunctions and explodes. Christy fishes out Keith and Robert from the waters before the trio are extracted by the V.S.S.E. just as the rest of the base goes up in flames.

=== PlayStation 2 port ===
[[File:Time Crisis II Coverart.png|thumb|North American PlayStation 2 box art]]
The [[PlayStation 2]] version of the game featured enhanced graphics and additional cutscenes. It was packaged with the [[Guncon|GunCon 2]] lightgun peripheral, although it was also compatible with the GunCon 45. When completed enough times, the player could unlock alternative weapons, such as a machine gun or shotgun, and had the option of wielding two lightguns at a time (with combinations of both GunCon 2 and original GunCon possible). There is also a Crisis Mission mode, in which the players have to complete and perform various tasks, including a simulated gun duel against Richard Miller, the lead protagonist of the first ''[[Time Crisis (video game)|Time Crisis]]'' game. Extras also included a clay pigeon shooting mode (including a port of Namco's ''Shoot Away II'' light gun clay shooting arcade game), and a virtual port of the mechanical arcade game, ''Quick & Crash''.

==Reception==
{{Video game reviews
|MC = 81/100<ref name=MC>{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/game/time-crisis-ii/critic-reviews/?platform=playstation-2|title=Time Crisis II Critic Reviews for PlayStation 2|website=[[Metacritic]]|accessdate=19 February 2014}}</ref>
|Allgame = {{Rating|3.5|5}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=34573&tab=review|title=Time Crisis II (PS2) - Review|last=Frankle|first=Gavin|publisher=[[AllGame]]|accessdate=29 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141114190047/http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=34573&tab=review|archive-date=14 November 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|CVG = 8/10<ref>{{cite magazine|author=Mike|url=https://archive.org/details/Computer_and_Video_Games_Issue_0240/page/108/mode/2up?q=%22mario+party%22|title=Time Crisis 2|magazine=[[Computer and Video Games]]|issue=240|pages=108–109|accessdate=30 June 2021}}</ref>
|Edge = 6/10<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Time Crisis II (PS2)|author=Edge staff|magazine=[[Edge (magazine)|Edge]]|issue=104|date=December 2001}}</ref>
|EGM = 7.5/10<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Time Crisis II (PS2)|author=EGM Staff|magazine=[[Electronic Gaming Monthly]]|issue=148|date=October 2001|page=146}}</ref>
|EuroG = 7/10<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/r_timecrisis2_ps2|title=Time Crisis II Review|last=Bramwell|first=Tom|website=[[Eurogamer]]|date=13 November 2001|accessdate=19 February 2014}}</ref>
|Fam = 32/40<ref name=Fam/>
|GI = 8.25/10<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.gameinformer.com/Games/Review/200110/R03.0805.1530.39692.htm|title=Time Crisis 2|last=Leeper|first=Justin|magazine=[[Game Informer]]|issue=102|date=October 2001|access-date=19 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050208103132/http://www.gameinformer.com/Games/Review/200110/R03.0805.1530.39692.htm|archive-date=8 February 2005|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|GamePro = {{Rating|4.5|5}}<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://gamepro.com/sony/ps2/games/reviews/17068.shtml|title=Time Crisis 2 Review for PS2 on GamePro.com|author=Air Hendrix|magazine=[[GamePro]]|date=2 October 2001|accessdate=19 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050207112314/http://gamepro.com/sony/ps2/games/reviews/17068.shtml|archive-date=7 February 2005|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|GameRev = B<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gamerevolution.com/review/time-crisis-ii|title=Time Crisis II Review (PS2)|author=G-Wok|publisher=[[Game Revolution]]|date=October 2001|accessdate=19 February 2014}}</ref>
|GSpot = 7.2/10<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/time-crisis-ii-review/1900-2816441/|title=Time Crisis II Review|last=Davis|first=Ryan|website=[[GameSpot]]|date=4 October 2001|accessdate=19 February 2014}}</ref>
|GSpy = 80%<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.planetps2.com/features/reviews/2001/timecrisis2/|title=Time Crisis II|last=Thornton|first=Benjamin|publisher=[[GameSpy|PlanetPS2]]|date=10 October 2001|accessdate=19 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040804143548/http://www.planetps2.com/features/reviews/2001/timecrisis2/|archive-date=4 August 2004|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|GameZone = 8/10<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ps2.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r18654.htm|title=Time Crisis 2 with Guncon Review - PlayStation 2|author=The Badger|publisher=GameZone|date=27 November 2001|accessdate=19 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090322043536/http://ps2.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r18654.htm|archive-date=22 March 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|IGN = 8.7/10<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2001/10/02/time-crisis-ii|title=Time Crisis II|last=Perry|first=Douglass C.|website=[[IGN]]|date=2 October 2001|accessdate=19 February 2014}}</ref>
| NGen = (arcade) {{rating|4|5}}<ref name="NG43"/><br>(PS2) {{rating|3|5}}<ref name="NGv4n10"/>
|OPM = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Time Crisis II|magazine=[[Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine]]|date=October 2001|page=134}}</ref>
|rev1 = ''[[Maxim (magazine)|Maxim]]''
|rev1Score = 8/10<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.maxim.com/gaming/time-crisis-2|title=Time Crisis 2|last=Boyce|first=Ryan|magazine=[[Maxim (magazine)|Maxim]]|date=4 September 2001|accessdate=14 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140307180153/http://www.maxim.com/gaming/time-crisis-2|archive-date=7 March 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>
}}
In Japan, ''Game Machine'' listed ''Time Crisis II'' on their June 15, 1998 issue as being the second most-successful dedicated arcade game of the week.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - 完成品夕イプのTVゲーム機 (Dedicated Videos)|magazine=Game Machine|issue=566|publisher=Amusement Press, Inc.|date=15 June 1998|page=21|lang=ja}}</ref> It went on to be the sixth Japanese highest-grossing [[1999 in video games|arcade game of 1999]] and [[2001 in video games|2001]] respectively.<ref>{{cite magazine|editor-last=Akagi|editor-first=Masumi|title=Sega's CG Videos Top Game Charts|magazine=[[:ja:ゲームマシン|Game Machine]]|issue=603|publisher=[[:ja:アミューズメント通信社|Amusement Press, Inc.]]|date=1 February 2000|page=18|url=https://onitama.tv/gamemachine/pdf/20000201p.pdf#page=10}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|date=15 January 2002|editor-last=Akagi|editor-first=Masumi|title="Tekken TT", "DOC 2000" Top Game Charts|url=https://onitama.tv/gamemachine/pdf/20020115p.pdf#page=10|magazine=[[:ja:ゲームマシン|Game Machine]]|publisher=[[:ja:アミューズメント通信社|Amusement Press, Inc.]]|issue=650|page=18}}</ref>

The game was met with positive reviews upon release. ''[[Edge (magazine)|Edge]]'' gave the arcade version the award for 1998 [[List of Game of the Year awards|Coin-Op of the Year]], above ''[[Sega Rally 2]]'' and ''[[Sega Bass Fishing|Get Bass]]''. ''Edge'' described ''Time Crisis II''{{'}}s "separate-screen" two-player mode as "one of the most convincing forms of cooperative play ever seen in the arcade".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://retrocdn.net/index.php?title=File:Edge_UK_067.pdf&page=78|title=File:Edge UK 067.pdf - Retro CDN|website=retrocdn.net}}</ref>  [[AllGame]] gave it a score of four-and-a-half stars out of five.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=14268&tab=review|title=Time Crisis II (ARC) - Review|last=Weiss|first=Brett Alan|publisher=AllGame|accessdate=29 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141114190012/http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=14268&tab=review|archive-date=14 November 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>

''[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]'' reviewed the arcade version and commented: "Not as big a milestone as the first, but definitely a superb game from Namco".<ref name="NG43">{{cite magazine|title=Finals|magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]|issue=43|publisher=[[Future US|Imagine Media]]|date=July 1998|page=120}}</ref> They were less enthusiastic about the PlayStation 2 conversion, saying that while it was "great for what it is", wasn't as good as other lightgun shooters.<ref name="NGv4n10">{{cite magazine|last=Lundrigan|first=Jeff|title=Finals|magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]|volume=4|issue=10|publisher=[[Future US|Imagine Media]]|date=October 2001|page=77}}</ref>

[[Metacritic]], which assigns a [[Normalization (statistics)|normalised]] rating in the 0–100 range, calculated an average score of 81 out of 100 ("Favorable") for the PlayStation 2 version, based on reviews from 21 professional critics.<ref name=MC/> In Japan, ''[[Famitsu]]'' scoring ''Time Crisis II'' with GunCon 2 bundle a score of 32 out of 40.<ref name=Fam>{{cite magazine|title=プレイステーション2 - タイムクライシス2 +ガンコン2(同梱版)|magazine=[[Famitsu]]|volume=915|page=66|date=30 June 2006}}</ref> the PlayStation 2 version of ''Time Crisis II'' was a nominee for ''[[EP Daily|The Electric Playground]]''{{'}}s 2001 Blister Awards for "Best Console Shooter Game", but lost to ''[[Halo: Combat Evolved]]''.<ref name=blister2001>{{cite web | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20030713062025/http://www.elecplay.com/feature.html?id=8152&page=5 | url=http://www.elecplay.com/feature.html?id=8152&page=5 | title=Blister Awards 2001 | author=Staff | date=January 25, 2002 | archivedate=July 13, 2003 | work=[[EP Daily|The Electric Playground]] | url-status=dead }}</ref>

{{clear}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Official website|http://www.timecrisis2.com}}
*{{IMDb title|328544}}
*{{moby game|id=/time-crisis-ii}}

{{Time Crisis series}}

[[Category:1997 video games]]
[[Category:Arcade video games]]
[[Category:Cancelled Dreamcast games]]
[[Category:Cancelled PlayStation (console) games]]
[[Category:Cooperative video games]]
[[Category:Light gun games]]
[[Category:Multiplayer and single-player video games]]
[[Category:Namco arcade games]]
[[Category:PlayStation 2 games]]
[[Category:Rail shooters]]
[[Category:Sony Interactive Entertainment games]]
[[Category:Spy video games]]
[[Category:Time Crisis]]
[[Category:Video games developed in Japan]]
[[Category:Video games scored by Junichi Nakatsuru]]
[[Category:Video games set in 1997]]