Discussion Timesplitters 2 Remake footage appears online

[HockeyBird]

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Somethings really are just better off left in the past, I guess.

 

[ProteusRidley]

looks early and eerily similar to fortnite.

 

[Tangerine_Cookie]

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Somethings really are just better off left in the past, I guess.

... Okay, am I going crazy or that footage is just... Fortnite.

Like, not meant as a meme or a diss, that's literally the Fortnite UI.

 

[oomoepoo]

Already shared that in General Discussion a bit ago... yeah, it does look like Fortnite. At first I was mad that they canned it but now... maybe it's for the best?

 

[Dardan Sandiego]

I know that my brain is broken because my first thought was

...the cancelled TimeSplitters 2 remake looked terrible!"

 

[Kingpin Rogers]

No longer sad it was canceled.

 

[Procheno]

Huge Timesplitters 2 + 3 fan.

That's not Timesplitters. That's Fortnite with Timesplitter character skins. I'm genuinely disgusted. Why is it in 3rd person? Why the terrible UI? Who's idea was this?

Glad it was cancelled. The creatives don't deserve Timesplitters

 

[Brofield]

That is heartbreaking, to see what it became.

From the other thread, I understand that there was maybe an attempt at corporate subterfuge to get the publisher to greenlight the project as a GaaS shooter, and wrestle control into steering to a traditional FPS, but at the quality it looked in July of 2023...what changes could still have been made/reversed to ensure it kept it's TS identity?

The artstyle and aesthetic admittedly did have cartoonish properties before Fortnite even existed, but it did feel they were trying to emulate Fortnite's art direction more than their build on what was existing or go in an entirely different direction. The death animations and weapons spilling out of characters just like Fortnite was a shameless rip-off, though; that was disappointing to see. TimeSplitters is about parody, not about chasing trends. It was the gaming equivalent of Scary Movie, but unironically good even if you didn't get the references.

Now, weapons? Characters? The health screen/armor pak HUD? True to Timesplitters spirit, I had no problem with it. I did dislike the weapon select being too close to Fortnite's UI, but I feel that could have been easily adjusted to be true to match what TimeSplitters should have been by the time of release.

Third person shooter is flat out disgusting. First-person boomer shooter or bust.

I'd still wish Nintendo could have found some way to save FRD no matter how financially infeasible it realistically would have been, but at least it would have had less corporate meddling and sought to make a feature-complete game without season pass bullshit.

 

[ScOULaris]

This prototype goes beyond just mimicking Fortnite and was encroaching into full-on copyright infringement with most of its assets, menu design, digital storefront, etc. all being similar to the point of potential illegality. Maybe it was all just placeholder since the game was nowhere near finished, but either way that's a big yikes from me. I always feel bad for developers slaving away on a game that never sees release, but in this case the world is a better place for the Timesplitters brand not having been tarnished by this creatively bankrupt turd of a "remake."

Good riddance.

 

[Brofield]

Steve Ellis just confirmed this build was an earlier but ultimately scrapped prototype.

The story of TimeSplitters Next and Free Radical Design 2.0

The story of the second Free Radical Design and the TimeSplitters reboot it was making

www.gamesindustry.biz

Ultimately I want to retract my earlier comments disparaging this and I want to buy Ellis a beer; honestly he seemed truly let down more than anyone who ever asked him about TimeSplitters remakes to have an opportunity so close to bringing it back, only for it to go belly up. Even he seemed caught off guard that they got the chop from Embracer.

It's one thing to bemoan a return of a classic, but from his philosophy on hiring new graduates to bring in fresh ideas, I truly feel awful for a young fledgling team that never even got a chance to prove themselves.

Fuck Embracer.