January 16, 2002

The first article I've had time to get put together so far. For Sci-Firearms.com.

If you're in to AirSoft, there's a good chance your in to first person shooter games too. I have always been a fan of Namco's Time Crisis series, so as soon as I saw that Time Crisis 2 had been released for the Playstation 2, I snapped it up. The game is fantastic. It is a dead-on recreation of the arcade hit. There is also the added benefit of three bonus fps arcade games on the same disc, Agent Trainer, Quick & Crash, and Shoot Away 2. Depending on where you buy it, there are two version of the game available, one with the new GunCon2 and one without. The GunCon2 has a plethora of buttons that can be used to reload and hide, but none are quite as conveniently placed as the GunCon1, unless you have very long fingers.

One thing that I have always liked about the Time Crisis series is the added realism of having to reload, being able to duck and hide, and a certain amount of recoil when the weapon is fired. However, in these politically correct times, the weapons have never been terribly realistic looking at the arcade, and are even less so for the home version. Namco has also seen fit to remove the recoil function in the home versions. All is not lost though. I had recently spoken to the owner of Arnie's AirSoft about the idea of converting an AirSoft pistol for use as a GunCon. At the time, he had suggested using Tokyo Marui's new EBB Desert Eagle. Unfortunately, we are both terribly busy, and it never got beyond an idea.

In my regular circuit of the game stores this week, I may have found an easy solution to this idea. There are two different companies making aftermarket GunCons which are very realistic in size and detail, if not in color. The first is a replica of the Walther P99K. Made by Logic3. It is a good representation of the weapon Pierce Brosnan made famous as James Bond, but it does come in an overall blue color with a black grip and orange paint around the end of the slide. There is an attached laser pointer, resembling the one from Laser Devices, Inc., which houses the reload button. This lightgun features recoil, auto-fire, auto-reload, and a separate pedal which can be used for the reload/duck feature. Suggested retail is $24.99, but it is available from GameStop for $19.99. This same company also produces a lightgun which is a replica of the H&K P7.

Also available is an extremely well done replica of the IMI Desert Eagle. This replica is actually licensed from IMI and produced by an AirSoft company. Produced by Soft Air USA , which appears to be the American extension of Les Trois Pylones, this lightgun features recoil, auto-fire, and auto-reload. It is extremely accurate in appearance, but is made of a transparent green plastic. Suggested retail is $39.99, and it is available from Electronics Boutique. Looks like someone read Arnie's mind.

After testing both lightguns, they are compatible with the Playstation 1 & 2, but neither is GunCon2 compatible. While both lightguns may work with GunCon1 games (anything before Time Crisis 2 or Vampire Nights), they DO NOT work with Time Crisis 2. This means if a game has a GunCon2 specific feature, you will loose it using one of these. Now, we just need Konami and Namco to come together and produce a Metal Gear Solid version of Time Crisis, and we will have the perfect fps game.

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If you want to add pictures, try these two links to get them from.

http://www.ebgames.com/ebx/categories/products/product.asp?pf_id=213097&mscssid=
T75288NB7W429NJQLJRTAKJNBD9N2W9D&ref=1&PromoCode=&site=&siteID=

http://www.gamestop.com/product.asp?product%5Fid=801346

Thanks.

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Kurtis Harris
3D Modeler

Tactical 3D Game Art Forum Administrator
http://pub33.ezboard.com/btactical3d

While we're on the subject of "lightguns"...

An Australian company, Battlefield Sports, is "...a robust outdoor laser tag equipment for commercial operations", also known as "electronic" paintball". Two of their weapons are styled after the Morita rifle (from Starship Troopers) and the Pulse Rifle (from Aliens). While these weapons are a loose interpretation, the silhouette is very convincing.

Thank you to Nicole for showing me this site.

Citizen Dave

Pulse Rifle Updates:
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