Time Crisis was always one of those games at the arcade that I can remember constantly shoving nickels into. I usually B-lined straight to the blue plastic gun once my foot touched the carpet inside the building. As a fan of the series since I was a kid, but not having the chance to play a variation of a Time Crisis game in several years, I was excited to play the latest iPhone release of Time Crisis: 2nd Strike. Read on for my review of the game after the break.

If you have played any of the games in the Time Crisis series, you may remember that this is one of those first-person shooters where you can't venture off of a select path. This being a rail shooter, your player will always be on a select path that places them in front of the enemy. This isn't a bad thing since this is how most of the arcade shooters were back in the day. I'm still just not a fan of being dragged places, if you catch my drift.

In Time Crisis: 2nd Strike, you play as Giorgio, a marksman who is sent to save the world from terrorists. When the game begins, we find ourselves needing to rescue a VIP from a hostage situation. As the story progresses, we are sent to uncover a weapons depot where we will need to disarm a bomb from sending us back to the stone ages. The plot is simple, but I wasn't complaining as I still enjoyed busting caps into my little rainbow-colored foe as they appeared on screen. Tap-tap-tap! I was disappointed at the fact that there were only 10 stages to complete throughout the game though, and there didn't seem to be that much of a difference in difficulty between the higher skill levels, which gives no room for growth.

The enemies aren't overly challenging for anyone who is familiar with shooter games. There are a few enemies along the journey though that do become a little a-hole-ish. For those of you who may have difficulty with some of the enemies, if you enjoyed the game "Memory," just remember that is also the favorite game of more than 99.9% of the enemy A.I. with 2nd Strike. Once you memorize the locations and when each enemy appears onto the screen, you will easily be able to mow down the enemy with the machine gun or shotgun in one to two shots. You are also going to want to watch out for a bright red orb hurling at your face. If you see one, get behind cover quick because this orb means death.

I liked that 2nd Strike took full advantage of the iPhone's touch and tilt capabilities, but I found that the game played better when the tilt feature was turned off. With tilt enabled, it became too tedious to try to shoot anything if you aren't in an upright position because it would appear as if your character is popping in and out of cover constantly.

There is also a time attack mode and a competitive mode for those of you who enjoy pushing yourself to the limits of your shooting skills. In each of these modes, you will race the clock or compete with scores to be the best of the best.

Overall, Time Crisis: 2nd Strike was entertaining to say the least for an iPhone app and the convenience of being able to play this game at home or on the bus or alone at the bar (if you are into that) is a definite plus too. But, is this game worth the $9.99 that its priced at on the App Store? No, I personally don't feel that it is. 2nd Strike was still a fun game though and I think that anyone who is a fan of shooters would enjoy some good target practice time on their iPhone. It brought back tons of old childhood memories of playing the originals, but the fact that you can speed through the game in a matter of an hour or so is a bit too much. The biggest issue here is length, but don't feel bad because that's what she said. Boom! Anyway, if you are looking for a casual shoot 'em up game during your commute in the wee hours, then Time Crisis: 2nd Strike is for you. But, if you look at difficulty and duration as two factors of gaming, I'm sorry but the wisest thing to do here in this situation would be to just pass this one up...

  • Title: Time Crisis: 2nd Strike
  • Platform Reviewed: iPhone
  • Developer: Namco Bandai Games
  • Publisher: Namco Bandai Games
  • Release Date: September 15th, 2010
  • MSRP: $9.99
  • Review Copy Info: A downloadable copy of this title was provided to DualShockers Inc. by the publisher for the purpose of this review.
Time Crisis: 2nd Strike
5 / 10