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So you’re sat there watching Hound of the Baskervilles on BBC1, very merry and full of sherry, and Holmes is just about to explain it all whilst pacing around the villainous murderer. So, you sit back, relax, and…what’s this? You hear a beep, and up on your TV comes the message: LOCKED! Then, undeterred, you pop American Pie into the DVD player, and naturally go to scene selection. However, when you try and play the bit where Shannon Elizabeth gets nekkid, you are informed that you can only watch this scene after you watch the others in ‘widescreen’ mode. Disgusted, you storm out and go to the cinema, and buy two tickets to Lord of the Rings…then, just before the battle at Helms Deep, a steward tells you that you can’t see the end until you’ve bought all the members of the audience some popcorn in under two minutes. Naturally, and quite rightly, you’d be outraged! You’ve paid your TV license fee, you bought the DVD, you bought the ticket…so why would you be deprived of getting some of what you’ve paid for?

Fast forward to about a week ago. A mate came round my house and we were on the PS2. I popped in TimeSplitters 2, and as I set up the game my friend as ‘Monkey Assist’. As you may or may not know, this mode sees each player have a little monkey helper by their side at all times, a team-mate if you will, ready to pop a cap in anyone’s skull. Of course it looked like fun, so he asked me to pick it…alas, I haven’t beheaded the undead enough, or thrown enough bricks through windows to unlock this snazzy feature. Then at the character select screen, there’s a huge black space where there are hidden characters, tonnes of them. Now look at the past few months, eh? GTA: Vice City, Smackdown 4, Tony Hawk’s 4 and The Getaway to name but a few titles released and snapped up by me. I don’t have time to complete every tiny section of the extra bonus magical challenges to unlock something. I’m the customer, I’ve paid my money and I want to play the game: not an unreasonable request, surely. So why hide half of it away?!

I’m no gaming god. I’d be hard pushed to qualify as a gaming choir-boy. So when I got GTA3, I was slightly miffed when I got stuck on a mission, the last I believe, on the second island. I just couldn’t do it. It took me about a week to manage to beat the time limit to get to some boat, and then the dreadful handling meant I couldn’t get from A to B fast enough. Disgusted, frustrated, dishevelled and tired I left the game alone. I’ve never been on the third island in GTA3, despite having given Rockstar about £40 of my own hard earned dosh. Luckily I’m faring better on Vice City, I’m up to Death Row…but there’s still lots to do in the game. And here’s where it gets complicated.

I dislike the notion of being forced to do something in order to get something unrelated. For instance, challenges in TS2 and a multiplayer mode, or missions in GTA3 and a new island to walk around in. Vice City was originally going to have everything unlocked at the start, and I think it would have been much more welcoming. Even without the missions you’d have a huge world to potter about in…but then there are the side-missions. Subquests, if you will. Be a pizza boy, a police officer, a taxi driver. There’s the numerous stunt jumps to find and perform, rampages, hidden extras to unlock like extra health, infinite sprint or the ‘crazy jump’. These aren’t really that important, whereas having a whole extra mode in multiplayer, or whole new environment, is. There are other things in Vice City, little easter eggs, hidden messages (remember 3’s “You weren’t supposed to be able to get here you know”?) that are nice to find, rewarding to come across, but not infuriating. They’re not there to tick off on a checklist, they’re not holding you back from something you should have been able to see or do or use or play from the start,

The cheats in TimeSplitters 2 I have no problem with. Look at GoldenEye, and Halo: they gave you everything you’d ever NEED from the start…and quite right too. You’ve bought the game, you shouldn’t have to give blood sweat and tears to unlock everything to get the ‘full version’. I’d be miffed if when I got The Office: Series 1 it only had some of the episodes there – I wanted to have all of it. It’s a challenge sometimes, a bit of an incentive, but when it’s something as unrealistic as completing everything with everyone, like in Tony Hawk’s 3, do you really see someone buying the game and doing one thing over again a dozen times with different skaters when they can just as easily tap in a cheat?

This could be my subconscious whining because it’s rubbish at games, but then it could be that more people feel this way. Do you? Were you miffed when you got a game and couldn’t play everything on it? Do you relish the challenge? Did you click on this topic by mistake? Well please, reply.

Thanks for reading.

-El Blokey

Heh, it seems mr Tagomi has some suppressed hatred.

I have nothing against unlockable bonuses (see Mortal Kombat's Koffins, art cards etc) but integral options should be open.

I don't really agree, I like having things to unlock. It expands the lifespan of the game, gives you an incentive to play it more etc etc. Timesplitters 2 isn't exactly the hardest game to unlock things on - you do one level and a multitude of unlocked extras come out to greet you.

you're a fool, alex. Goldeneye had some of the damned hardest cheats to unlock I've ever played. And I don't think I've ever seen you play Halo single player so don't lie about it as you always do. It doesn't suprise me you want instant gratification in a game, not prepared to put in the effort. After all, you've been banging on about 'spending hard earned cash' when the facts are that

1.) you've never had a job in your life
2.) you never pay for games these days thanks to your intrepid journalism.

you loser.

cookie monster wrote:
> Bravo. Still dont agree with you though.

Just because you don't suck...

I agree

I'm pretty average at games and if I get stuck at a level I'll give it a dozen goes then give up, I'd like all the stuff at start.

Bravo. Still dont agree with you though.

Well done.

Thanks SR!

*hi fives WS*

They are fresher modes, yes, so TS2 should show off their new original modes. Not hide them away.