Trigger Happy
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directly at the enemies on screen, and works a footpedal
to reload the gun (after every six bullets) and duck
behind objects to avoid enemy fire. Each section must
be completed before the clock runs out. Though the
games could hardly look more dissimilar, it is Time
Crisis that is the true modern descendant of Space
Invaders. Where the old enemies were alien spacecraft
in two-dimensional formations, the enemies in Time
Crisis are human terrorists scurrying about in virtual
arenas; where you used to be Earth’s last hope, you are
now a member of a U.S. government SWAT team
protecting the interests of national security. But the
purism and simplicity of the gameplay shows that the
games are brothers under the skin. Time Crisis even
manages to increase the sweating tension, because at
your back you always hear Time’s winged chariot. But
relax into your task and revel in the challenge, for the
blissfully simple rules are still the same. Kill them all.
In my mind and in my car
Gamers of a certain age often argue that the oldies
were the best, in much the same way as the pop records
of one’s own youth seem so much better than the
rubbish the kids listen to today. But we can’t
