It's no secret that the light-gun genre has been on the wane for quite a few years now. The heady days of the original Time Crisis, Virtua Cop and House of the Dead are long gone. Well, that's how it seemed, anyway, because much like the side-scrolling shooter, it seems that the humble light-gun genre will be next to receive a wholly surprising but largely welcome renaissance, thanks to the ever-expanding gaming demographic and increase in potential formats.

While the side-scrolling shooter made a surprise comeback thanks to downloadable games and the advent of Xbox Live, further fuelled by the PlayStation Network, light-gun shooters, whose mid-Nineties heydays seemed like a distant memory, have recently burst back onto the scene thanks in large to the creation of the Nintendo Wii, and more specifically, the Wii' s unique Wiimote controller. Unsurprisingly it was SEGA, the king of light-gun shooters, who were first to fully exploit the machine that was surely the perfect console for the arcade style light-gun shooter. In built is a user-base who are ready to eat up quick and accessible gaming, not to mention a controller that could have been made with light-gun games in mind.

Thanks to the relative success of The Umbrella Chronicles, Ghost Squad and House of the Dead 2&3 Return on the platform, it seemed that the stage was set for the Wii to become the unofficial home of the light-gun genre for the foreseeable future. Enter Namco Bandai, one of the few to have stuck with the ailing arcade shooter via relatively solid releases in the form of Point Blank and Time Crisis. Not one to jump ship, Namco Bandai have stayed true to their roots and released Time Crisis 4 on the PlayStation 3, eager to prove not only that arcade shooters still have a place in a more traditional market, but that the genre still has the potential for innovation and forward thinking.

The two primary modes on offer are Arcade and Complete Mission. The first of these is exactly what you would expect from a traditional arcade shooter; an almost carbon copy of the arcade release from early 2006, Time Crisis 4 puts you in the shoes of V.S.S.E global task force members Giorgio Bruno and Evan Bernard - yes, those really are their names. As nonsensical as every aspect of the story is and as inappropriately attired as our two protagonists may be, the whole experience is largely airy and refreshing thanks to its Nineties arcade charm and clearly tongue-in-cheek approach. Okay, so the overarching storyline regarding what look like killer cockroaches may be pushing it, but to be honest, the story isn't what we turned up for. The majority of Arcade mode is played out in the traditional Time Crisis manner as you move automatically from one point of cover to the next, popping up to take out the largely dim-witted cannon fodder before ducking back down to reload, ready to blast the next inevitable wave of enemy goons while always keeping a close watch on the ever diminishing ticking clock.

While Arcade mode is far from revolutionary, it holds enough of those traditional arcade thrills to keep fans of the genre happy, while retaining the pick up and play mentality that has been a staple of the genre since its inception. With that said, Time Crisis 4's Arcade mode does keep things fresh thanks to a range of weapons that can be switched on the fly. While ducked down, you can scroll through your collection of guns that include the obligatory handgun, along with shoot 'em up stalwarts like the shotgun, assault rifle and grenade launcher. The handgun is the only weapon with unlimited ammo, but shooting down yellow coloured enemies allows you to top up the various ammo types at regular intervals. Not only does this allow for a more tactical approach to this simplest of genres, but it also adds a little welcome variation to the proceedings. To add extra tactical depth, many enemies have a 'Best Weapon' option; although this means little more than being easier to take down with specific weaponry, score bonuses mean that those chasing high scores have a real incentive to take down enemies with the best weapon when the time comes. Lastly, there is the introduction of 'multi-screen battles', which are played out exactly the same as the rest of the game, but charge you with fending off up to three screens' worth of enemies at once, by either pointing the gun at the edge of the screen to flick back and forth or by simply using the Guncon's all new analogue stick controller (more on this later).

As exciting as Arcade mode is, it is unsurprisingly very short-lived. Although continues are drip fed as you progress each time, making completion of the game all but impossible for at least the first few playthroughs, from beginning to end, Arcade mode is still only about an hour long. This of course raises questions of longevity, not to mention any real innovation - which is where Complete Mission mode comes into play. However, before we can talk about this unique mode and how it stands as a complete departure for the series, we must first take a look at the all-new Guncon 3 controller.

The gun has six buttons - eight if you count the fact that you can push in the two analogue sticks - oh yeah, the Guncon 3 has two analogue sticks to boot. This may all sound a touch mind-boggling for those accustomed to the simplicities of the genre and, to be honest, it is upon first picking it up. At a glance it has the usual gaudy charm of an arcade light-gun; solid, chunky and brightly coloured, it also has a side handle (think of a mini machine gun) to accommodate the second analogue stick, along with the wide range of bizarrely placed buttons. As crazy as this might sound, when you actually get it into your hands it is surprisingly comfortable; it's still light enough to be used one handed for the traditional Arcade mode, while the collection of buttons and analogue sticks are very well placed, comfortable and immediately accessible for the more complex Complete Mission mode.

As good as the light-gun may be, the same can't be said of its rather unwieldy setup. For one, it isn't supported by Blu-Ray, which of course means wires. Maybe it's down to the reaction times of the light-gun or maybe it was just Namco Bandai being lazy, but either way in this time of wireless controllers as standard, it does prove to be a bit of a nuisance. This really shouldn't be a concern for the majority of gamers, and it wouldn't be if it weren't for the all-new, all-obtrusive sensors that come packaged with the game. In an attempt to make the Guncon 3 even more accurate than the Wiimote controllers, the game comes with two very large, poorly designed sensors. These two rather large, weighty sensors are connected to each other by a wire that runs along the top of your TV, before the wire then connects to your PlayStation 3 via the second USB port. They look ugly, they add to the already growing collection of wiring and, worst of all, aren't nearly as accurate as the Wii's sensor bar.

Upon turning on the game you are asked to calibrate the gun. It's simple enough and initially seems very accurate. Sadly, if you move position by more than a few inches while playing, the aiming does become noticeably off centre. This isn't enough to ruin the game, but considering the amount of wiring and the effort involved with positioning the sensors for just this one game, it does grate quite a bit. Also, it should be noted that the south-paws of this world may want to think twice before purchasing Time Crisis 4, thanks to the fixed position of the controller's side handle and second analogue stick. You can reconfigure the buttons and the sticks to be friendlier if you're left-handed, but it never feels quite as comfortable as it should.

With all this in mind, you are probably wondering why all these buttons and analogue sticks are needed for in a traditional light-gun game. Well, that would be for the all-new, PS3-exclusive Complete Mission mode. In an attempt to revitalise and reinvent the genre, Namco Bandai has created light-gun first person shooter mode, something that you don't come across every day [The only one I'm aware of is Dino Stalker on PS2, which worked really well. Ed]. Movement and looking around is controlled in the traditional FPS style via the use of the two analogue sticks, with the big twist coming in the form of aiming via the traditional light-gun style of pointing at the screen. Although this feels a touch on the awkward side for the first few minutes of play, it is surprising just how quickly you become accustomed to it. Think of it as a more complex take of the controls for first person shooters on the Wii. It may be seen as little more than a forced take on the already established Wii control method, but there certainly is a strange charm to this fusion of arcade and home console sensibilities that is difficult to quantify.

While these first person levels are somewhat haphazardly forced in between bouts of more traditional on-rail sections, they are lengthy, largely exciting and certainly come as a welcome change of pace from the more immediate, gung-ho style that the game is famous for. These levels incorporate all the basics that you would expect of an FPS, but it must be said that the actual content is rather rudimentary. Enemies still attack in the jack-in-the-box style of the Arcade mode and all the objectives prove to be little more than point-to-point advancement. It also doesn't help that the story, an offshoot of the Arcade mode in which you take control of Army operative Captain William Rush [Will Rush? I take it there's a sense of urgency in this mode too then! Ed.], is still reliant upon the cheesy charm that has so successfully carried so many light-gun games of the past. While this style may be passable in the quick-fire world of arcade shooting, it looses much of its charm in the more drawn out landscape of the FPS.

There is also the matter of the painfully slow movement speed throughout Complete Mission mode. While it makes sense to slow down the game when you have to do three things at once, it does clash with the game's overriding arcade sensibilities and becomes increasingly problematic thanks to the large, and surprisingly sparse FPS levels. These issues aside though, the fact of the matter is, Time Crisis 4 is still fun, and with both styles of gameplay catered for, it is hard to judge the game too harshly for trying something new, even if the results are largely hit-and-miss.

While Complete Mission mode and the two separate storylines in Arcade mode certainly add to Time Crisis 4's longevity, Namco Bandai have also decided to throw in a small but entertaining collection of mini-games to round off the package. These mini-games are made up of Crisis Missions that are unlocked upon completion of Arcade mode and shooting gallery mini-games. The Crisis Missions have you revisiting key locations to complete numerous timed tasks that range from reaction times to accuracy, while the shooting gallery is made up of eighteen basic levels that will task you with hitting all the correct targets within the short time limit made available. Both are fun, if forgettable, yet both, especially the shooting gallery are susceptible to the light-gun's slightly questionable aiming.

Although Time Crisis 4's visuals never push the PlayStation 3 hardware, they certainly have a strong arcade charm thanks to the use of bold colours and solid, well-detailed enemies and locations. The FPS levels may be a little sparse and the artistic design might well be trapped in the past, but overall it's hard to dislike Time Crisis 4's unique visual style. The same can't be said of the game's audio however; it's passable, but none of the tunes are anywhere near memorable and the sound of the weapons are just too similar, with only their rate of fire making it possible to really differentiate them to any significant degree. The less said of the voice acting the better, but with this being a Namco Bandai light-gun game at heart, over the top, cheesy American voice acting was always to be expected.

With tons of content and a charm that is missing from many of today's more cynical releases, it's hard to judge Time Crisis 4 too harshly. Its attempts at reinventing the genre may be a bit hit-and-miss, and graphically it could have used a PS3 makeover, but there's enough here to keep the majority of gamers happy. At the end of the day, Time Crisis 4 may well be flawed, but it's also undeniably good fun.

Reviewed by Liam Pritchard for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).