Time Crisis 4 - Background

Background

The game was first shown at E3 2006 prior to its recent final revision arcade release. One major change is the addition of the multi-screen or multi-hiding system, introduced in Time Crisis: Project Titan. Unlike Project Titan, which players went on the offensive, players are placed on the defensive. In Project Titan, players had to hide and shoot arrows to switch screens. Screen switching has been refined to allow the player to merely point the gun outside the screen to move around. The game also utilizes a new light gun control with infrared emitters. Prior to this, all Namco light gun games used gun controllers that relied on cathode ray timing. Because Namco's light guns with cathode ray timing utilized memory chip-to-lens pointing, the arcade cabinet designers had to ensure that the infrared-emitting light gun controllers would provide the same accuracy as their cathode ray timing-based gun provided in the past. This delayed the game's release given past accuracy issues with IR light guns.

The player can choose to customize gun calibration and/or turn the blowback on or off with a pre-game code explained in the cabinet. The game, like its predecessors, is available either in a 29" standard twin cabinet or a 52" deluxe twin. It also includes the multiple weapon system introduced in Time Crisis 3, with the pistol, shotgun, machine gun, and grenade launcher. On several occasions, the player is equipped with a machine gun with limitless ammo or a sniper rifle used to shoot the tires on a marauding truck. Several other functions exclusive to Time Crisis 4 include a scene where the player must pull himself from quicksand, several scenes where a certain position must be defended, with the penalty of one life if the position is lost. On multiple occasions, Rush appears onscreen, whether caught in a trap or attacking an enemy as a diversion, and care must be taken to avoid shooting him. It also features a voice navigation system that guides players through different situations. Given the voice navigation system, the game can be voiced either in Japanese or English. Prior to Time Crisis 4, the game was voiced exclusively in English.