Time Pilot (Xbox 360)

More on this product: review; screenshots; hints & cheats; specifications; shop

Share
- Digg
- Del.icio.us
- Reddit
- Facebook
E-mail
Print

CNET editors' rating: 3.5 stars Very good
Detailed editors' rating

Average user rating:
Write your own review

Product summary

Time Pilot might not be as well known as some of the other Xbox Live Arcade classics, but it's still a quality shooter with nicely updated graphics and sound.

Specifications: ESRB: Everyone; Genre: Action; Number of players: 1-2 Players See full specs

Gamespot editors' review

Reviewed by: Jeff Gerstmann
Reviewed on: 08/30/2006
Released on: 08/30/2006

There are nine games now available in Xbox Live Arcade's "coin-op classics" category, and most of them are unquestionable, top-tier, A-list arcade classics. Konami's Time Pilot, originally released in 1982, isn't quite as famous as some of the games on the list, but when you're up against the likes of Pac-Man and Frogger, it's a little hard to stand out. After all, Buckner & Garcia didn't write a song about how radical Time Pilot is. But maybe they should have. Despite its almost-famous face, Time Pilot is, and always has been, a great shooter. And Digital Eclipse's Xbox 360 version of the game showcases the original well, while also delivering one of the best graphical updates to hit Xbox Live Arcade so far.

Great Scott! You're traveling through time!

The premise of Time Pilot is simple. You control a jet that stays centered on the vertically oriented screen. This isn't an ordinary jet, though. Your craft can travel through time, so you start back in 1910, pitting your futuristic flying time machine against biplanes. From there, you move on to 1940, then 1970, where you'll fight helicopters that shoot homing missiles. After that, you'll get a "present-day" 1982 level that runs you up against fighter jets. And it all comes to a head in a mind-blowing futuristic showdown in the far-flung year of 2001. In 2001, you'll fight off the flying saucers that were all the rage five years ago. The goal of each level is to blow up as many enemies as possible. After fulfilling a quota, a boss ship will appear; blowing that up will carry you forward through time. In addition to shooting up individual enemies, sometimes you'll get to take out entire formations. Also, you can collect parachuting survivors for bonus points.

There are no power-ups in Time Pilot, but you wouldn't need them if there were. Your ship fires three shots each time you press the fire button, making it easy to keep up a constant stream of fire without having to get frantic about your button mashing. Also, the game makes the most of its eight-way joystick. The ship doesn't just point in eight directions. Instead, pushing in any direction starts your ship rotating in that direction. You can stop turning at any point, giving you a much wider range of motion than most games had back in the '80s. Since enemies will come at you from all sides, this level of control is essential.

See more CNET content tagged:: Xbox Live,; Konami Corp.,; Microsoft Xbox,; Xbox 360,; direction

User reviews

Write your own review Be the first one to review Time Pilot (Xbox 360) and share your experience with the CNET community!

Submit your review

Time Pilot (Xbox 360)

1. Rate this product:: (Mouse over the stars to rate this product and click to set your rating.)
2. One-line summary:(Summarize your review in one line. 10 characters minimum; required.): 0 of 55 characters
3. Pros:(Tell us what you like about this product. 10 characters minimum; required.): 0 of 250 characters
4. Cons:(Tell us what you don't like about this product. 10 characters minimum; required.): 0 of 250 characters
Bottom-line summary:(Explain to us in detail why you like or dislike the product, focusing your comments on the product's features and functionality, and your experience using the product. This field is optional.): 0 of 5000 characters; Submit