Time Crisis

Time Crisis brought a revolution to PlayStation in the form of a light-gun shooter with cover mechanics that would define the genre for years to come. Playing as a secret agent, you must rescue the kidnapped president of a small European country, using a foot pedal for the purpose — pressing it makes your character step out of cover and shoot, releasing it makes them duck back and reload instantly. This simple but brilliant idea gave the game a pace and tension that classic on-rails shooters had never had before, turning an otherwise fairly passive genre into an active, tactical game built around timing risk correctly.

On PlayStation, the game shipped bundled with the GunCon light-gun controller and offered a shorter but intense campaign split into several areas, each ending with a boss fight where using cover wisely mattered even more than in regular stages. Without the pedal, it could also be played using a controller button, though this took away from the authenticity of the original arcade experience and noticeably slowed the game down. The graphics and sound matched what you'd expect from an arcade hit ported to a home console — the game felt fresh and dynamic, and above all offered instant fun without the need to learn complicated controls, making it an ideal title for quick gaming sessions and for showing off the new console's capabilities to visitors.

Time Crisis became one of the genre's most successful titles, and its cover mechanic influenced dozens of later light-gun and action games, including its own sequels on PlayStation 2. The atmosphere was rounded out by dramatic music and announced time countdowns that forced players to act quickly and precisely, setting the game apart from the slower, more contemplative shooters of the time. It's still considered one of the high points of the genre on PlayStation, and together with the GunCon it ranks among the iconic peripherals of an entire generation, one that players and collectors alike still remember with considerable nostalgia.

Why play it: Fans of light-gun shooters will love Time Crisis for its fast, precise pace built around a cover mechanic that shaped the whole genre, plus the nostalgic thrill of the iconic GunCon light gun.