Time Crisis: Razing Storm Hands-on

Anyone who has been to a respectable arcade in the past 15 years has no doubt caught a glimpse of, and likely played, a game in the venerable Time Crisis series. This fall, Namco Bandai is bringing the long-running light gun shooter to the PlayStation 3, and we visited it at E3 2010 to check out Time Crisis: Razing Storm and shoot approximately 3,000 bullets in a short period of time.

Who's Making It: Namco Bandai games is developing and publishing the game. Namco first released Time Crisis into arcades in the mid-'90s.

What It Looks Like: Crisp, detailed graphics help keep the action fast paced. The screen can definitely get crowded with enemies and indicators of danger, but when it doubt, just shoot it and it'll probably go away. The destructible environments make blasting even the pillars and potted plants fun, and the big bosses make a significant impact when they come into play.

What You Do: Shoot, shoot, duck behind your shield, and shoot some more. While some previous Time Crisis games positioned you behind cover when you weren't popping out to shoot enemies, Razing Storm sits you behind a riot shield that can block enemy fire and keep you alive longer. Large colored icons appear when an enemy is about to damage you, signaling that it is maybe a good time to shield yourself. Shooting enemies and blasting the environment not only keeps you alive, it also earns you points that go toward boosting your score. The Arcade mode allows up to two players to shoot through a series of on-rails levels. Story mode is one player only, but players are not restricted to on-rails motion as they play through a campaign that parallels the Arcade mode. There is also online multiplayer for up to eight players that works similarly to the Story mode (players control their own movement) and a Sentry mode that pits up to four players against each other in a one-at-a-time sniper competition.

How It Plays: We played using the PlayStation Move, and it handled very well. The reticle responded with alacrity and moved wherever we pointed. In addition to the Move, Razing Storm supports the wireless controller and the Guncon 3. In Story and online competition, players can use the Move in conjunction with the navigation controller or a wireless PlayStation 3 controller to control their movement.

What They Say: Razing Storm not only includes hours of new gunplay, it also comes with the full arcade version of Time Crisis 4, as well as Deadstorm Pirates.

What We Say: That's a whole lot of light gun shooting. If pointing and blasting is your thing, then Namco is preparing to bring you a whole bundle of what you like. The controls feel sharp, the action is fast paced and frantic, and there's a lot of content beyond the titular Razing Storm action. Sounds like a good deal to us.