Crytek is allowing a group of 25 fans to create a game based on the best of the TimeSplitters franchise. The game is currently slated for PC using CryEngine 3 (surprise!).
It's a very cool idea to involve fans but I have to wonder why Crytek bothered to buy Free Radical if they weren't interested in the Timespliiters franchise. I suppose a game from loving fans is better than having a game without the previous FRD team at the helm.
Finally, what can you tell us about the status of the Timesplitters franchise?
I tested through my official blog to see how big the Timesplitters community is, and while the volume of responses was quite high, we feel it’s not high enough yet. That being said, it did indeed trigger a deeper evaluation of what we do with Timesplitters, and I can only say this for now; we might have some surprises coming soon.
My initial reaction was not good, but that last part gives some hope. It sounds like they may be planning on releasing ports of the previous games (probably digitally) to gauge public interest even more.
The thing is... Do we really want this? The chances that the series could continue without its magical founders is strong. That is something I do not want. The magic was with the original team, it was somehing we saw transition from GoldenEye to Perfect Dark and then the TimeSplitters franchise. Without them I am confident that the game will be a huge disappointment. I love the TimeSplitters, but I don't want that. I want another David Doak and company game.
Crytek founder, CEO and President Cevat Yerli is curious just how big the Timesplitters fanbase is. Let him know just how much we want the fourth entry in the series through Twitter and Facebook.
Additional contact information can be found on this Reddit post.
Game0n.net serves up a delicious rumor sandwich by mentioning that EA/Insomniac project Overstrike and a new Dead Space will be shown for the Wii U. The most interesting part of this juicy trilogy is in the second paragraph:
TimeSplitters 4 will be announced at E3 this year for the Wii U and other consoles.
I would gladly donate a kidney for this to be true. June seems like forever away.
Forget every supposed shooter innovation since. Forget every custom game mode, or option, or bonus challenge, or crazy, emergent meta-game you have ever seen or heard of in an FPS. Forget everything you think is “a Halo thing”. Forget everything you thought was exclusively Battlefield’s forte. Forget how clever and fresh Gears of War 2’s Horde mode supposedly is. Forget this whole generation’s predilection with campaign co-op. Whatever you can think of, TimeSplitters 2 did it all. And it did it bigger, and it did it madder, and it did it in much greater volume. On one disc, with no additional DLC charges.
This. A million times this.