Think about it this way: Everything that Sega does, Namco copies. At times, Namco does it better. It's not dishonorable that Namco gets a lot of their ideas from watching Sega's moves when it's the consumers that benefit. It is a crime however when a company copies a product and does a miserable job that no one gets pleasure from. We won't find that here. The Time Crisis arcade game was crisp, exciting, and introduced a hiding move where your on-screen protagonist would hide behind objects on screen. This new move allows you to avoid getting hit and to reload in fairly safe haven. It also simulates what you might find in an action movie where you duck, take a dramatic 2 second breather and then come out with guns blazing.
Firefights in public spaces are common
You do not have freedom of movement in Time Crisis but you're led on a pre-determined track that takes you through all of the levels in the game. I don't think a shooter with freedom of movement would work because there would be too much happening on the screen for the player to manage.

Since the game is on a track, you cannot duck behind an object for too long because the game will force you along on its own schedule, not yours. In some parts of the game, this moving track and your own movement gets very tricky. When you have five terrorists shooting at you and your aim isn't what it used to be, you're going to have a hard time deciding when to duck and when to shoot. In the meantime, you'll have to worry about whether or not you'll have to re-load during your barrage. Its an exciting, slightly maddening experience that will have your adrenaline pumping and will put your nerves on end. Time Crisis is dazzling to look at. The camera pans and zooms smoothly as you are taken through the three levels. The breathless views and rapid action don't hurt either.
		Innocent hostages shouldn't be shot...

		Three levels may not sound like a lot but they are long and at times, exhaustive. The background story in Time Crisis is a standard one where you must go on a mission to rescue the President's daughter (Chelsea?) from a group of terrorists. Since no one is going to heed or bow to their demands, you go on a head-hunting mission to take these guys out. The Sony Playstation replicates the arcade action perfectly. It should, since the arcade version is based on Playstation hardware. One extra game option that the home version offers is a time trial where you can choose any one of the three levels and try to complete it within a certain amount of time. Time Crisis doesn't do anything radically different from other shooters that we've seen but it's fast, fun and includes the Gun-Con, an excellent new light gun.
Meet an engaging level boss

Here is Namco's new Gun-Con. The design is superb and of course, it's colored black. One new innovative feature that the gun comes with is an additional connection that goes to the Playstation's video port. This additional cable improves the accuracy and responsiveness of the light gun immensely. I tried playing Time Crisis from a distance of 4' and from 8'. In both instances, the shots from the gun were very accurate with no panning to the left or right of the screen. Many of the other 3rd party guns that we have tried in the past 6 months have this very annoying tendency of firing off to the left or right of your true intended target. We hope to see the majority of publishers support the Gun-con exclusively.
		The red button should indicate that this is a toy

		Here is a diagram of the connections for the Gun-con to the Playstation. The additional connector to the video port is so intuitive that one has to wonder why this was never done before. Namco raises the bar for sensitive light guns and gun games and brings a new level of quality to the Playstation. The Gun-con is currently only available with the Time Crisis package but we expect separate guns to start shipping in July.
Gun-con's easy to assemble wiring schematic		This document is © National Console Support 1997

National Console Support must stress one basic rule that purchasers of the Time Crisis w/ Gun-con package should follow. An owner of the Gun-con should not run out into the street and wave the Gun-con around in an erratic manner while mumbling about the injustices of society. Going to a bank or a grocery store with the Gun-con in full view is also highly recommended against. We live in a nervous country where guns are viewed as threats and agents of terror, rightfully so, since so many of them fall into the wrong hands. Please keep the Gun-con at home and only use it for what it was intended for, that is, for playing a video game on your Playstation. Any other use of the Gun-con will be frowned upon by NCS, and your local authorities. Thank you.