It’s hard to predict certain patterns in the video game industry and which abandoned franchises suddenly receive revivals, but it’s especially exciting that a new entry in the TimeSplitters series has been officially announced. TimeSplitters was one of the crazier and more popular shooter series to come out of the 2000s.

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There have been several unsuccessful efforts to get a new TimeSplitters up and running and it left many wondering if the video game franchise was gone for good. These recent discussions about more TimeSplitters, along with much more of the original creative team back on board, raises some important questions over how a new TimeSplitters should reference its past as well as forge a new path for itself.

10 Be Like The Originals: Have The Same Twisted Sense Of Humor

Game TimeSplitters Monkey Assistant Herd

The TimeSplitters franchise has been dormant for several years, but there’s no shortage of first-person shooters on the market and there are still alternative experiences that exist for those that want to recreate something comparable to the titles from the 2000s.

Shooters have become more sophisticated since TimeSplitters, but they can often be sterile and over-serious endeavors. Part of what made TimeSplitters so unique is its unconventional sense of humor and that it never took itself too seriously, which was evident through certain gameplay modes like Monkey Assistant or challenges that involve racing remote-controlled cats or stealing bananas from a monkey.

9 Should Be Different: New Time Periods That Go Even Further

Game TimeSplitters World War II

The most exciting aspect of the TimeSplitters series is that they push the temporal war to such extreme places and engage in such iconic time periods. The previous TimeSplitters games do an excellent job at visiting major historical touchstones, but the new entry in the series shouldn’t be afraid to write its own history.

A new TimeSplitters can feature many future time periods that are even more disrupted as well as visit the worlds of other popular video games. Some of the cancelled TimeSplitters games wanted to pursue this path, but a new game can make it a reality.

8 Be Like The Originals: Crazy Character Select Options For Multiplayer

Game TimeSplitters Deerhaunter Character

The time-hopping element of TimeSplitters is definitely the major selling point of the shooter franchise. The many different time periods that are at risk mean that the characters that are encountered cover a very wide range.

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TimeSplitters' multiplayer, particularly in Future Perfect, really goes overboard in this department and the game features some of the most unusual playable characters imaginable. Entries like the Gingerbread Man, Carrion Carcass, or the Deerhaunter are all ridiculous and something that the new entry in the series needs to embrace.

7 Should Be Different: Take Advantage Of Modern Online Gaming Capabilities

Game TimeSplitters Splitscreen Multiplayer

The TimeSplitters series pushes some of the most cutting edge first-person shooter gaming from the 2000s. The games were iconic at the time, but in the past decade it’s remarkable how much the medium has grown even more sophisticated. TimeSplitters still excelled in online multiplayer, but a new game could showcase an even more extensive version of this with dozens of simultaneous players.

Additionally, VR technology could also be incorporated into TimeSplitters and even recreate the classic shooter sensation. The heights of modern technology can just do more with TimeSplitters.

6 Be Like The Originals: Retain The MapMaker & Challenge Mode

Game TimeSplitters Challenge Mode

Video games have come a long way when it comes to customization and the amount of control that the player has in regards to mods and level design. It may have been over a decade ago, but the TimeSplitters series still featured a robust MapMaker option that allowed players to create their own environments and then share them with others— features that were incredibly rare for console games at the time.

Similarly, TimeSplitters challenge mode is full of unusual expectations that add to the core game. These are areas that could be taken even further in a new TimeSplitters, especially with how savvy gaming communities have become in the past decade.

5 Should Be Different: Make Sure Single Player Is As Deep As The Multiplayer

Game timesplitters header

A recurring problem with the shooter genre of games is that a lengthy single-player campaign can get sacrificed in favor of a more detailed multiplayer experience. Both of these components are essential, but it’s usually the multiplayer component that’s prioritized and viewed as the title’s future.

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TimeSplitters: Future Perfect gives the single-player story a major upgrade, but a new title could really embrace this. It’s a foregone conclusion that the multiplayer will be enjoyable, so a truly surprising and lengthy solo campaign could help get the franchise a new audience.

4 Be Like The Originals: Strange & Weird Weapons In Addition To Powerful Ones

Game TimeSplitters Flamethrower Attack

A diverse inventory of weapons is essential for a good shooter, and TimeSplitters benefits from how it’s able to pull from a litany of time-appropriate weapons due to the many different periods from history that the games visit.

TimeSplitters features some classic and authentic weapons, but it also leans in the opposite direction with a number of stranger attack aids like the Baseball Bat, HeatSeeker, Harpoon Gun, and the Flamethrower. A new TimeSplitters should return to this formula that gets the most out of the many weapon possibilities that the series’ strange story makes possible.

3 Should Be Different: A Season Release Model & Additional Content

A huge gun is positioned in TimeSplitters

The technology behind video games has evolved in some major ways since the most recent TimeSplitters title, but the same is true for the very release model that’s used for shooters. TimeSplitters was restricted to the capabilities of the time where DLC and additional content weren't the norm, particularly on consoles.

Now, a fresh TimeSplitters game could involve seasons of content with new episodes, maps, or even additional characters across a transparent schedule. This approach was part of the plan for some of the TimeSplitters sequels and remakes that didn’t come to fruition, but it’s now viable to make this approach work.

2 Be Like The Originals: Return To The Same Characters & Story Instead Of Rebooting

Game timesplitters-port-feature-header

The core story behind TimeSplitters involves time crystals and a temporal war that’s in play because of the renegade actions of the TimeSplitter team. Across three games, a dedicated cast of characters get established and it’d be satisfying to see a new TimeSplitters return to this lore rather than reboot the premise with a new crew.

There’s a surprising amount of personality in the established TimeSplitters universe and its characters, and audiences want to see them back for more action. That’s not to say that a new TimeSplitters can’t introduce new characters, but it shouldn’t come at the expense of the old games’ history.

1 Should Be Different: A New Engine & Alternate Shooter Mechanics

Game TimeSplitters Grim Reaper Attack

TimeSplitters benefits from having some of the key team from other influential shooters like Goldeneye 007 and Perfect Dark to help push the genre to its limits. The series is groundbreaking, but what it accomplished back during its original release is now no longer special.

Some of the cancelled TimeSplitters titles contemplated the use of completely new engines like Unreal Engine 4 and CryEngine 3, but even more time has passed and a new game could use something even better. A new TimeSplitters could even offer a third-person perspective or other variations beyond just the FPS model.

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