TimeSplitters is the first playstation 2 title to come from Free Radical Design, a company founded by a handful of ex-Rare employees who worked on GoldenEye 007 for the N64. The Story mode tells of the TimeSplitters an enigmatic race capable of traveling through time who have been awakened from centuries of dormancy to eliminate the human race. You take control of characters spanning various eras in human history, from 1935 to 2035, as you attempt to put a stop to this vile plan, once and for all. The main Story mode, while primarily a single-player adventure, can be played by two players cooperatively.

By completing the Story mode, a single-player Challenge mode can be unlocked that presents the player with a series of pre-defined scenarios, such as obtaining a certain number of kills before the time expires, or surviving wave upon wave of zombies in a haunted house. Completing these will unlock secrets and extra characters for use in the multiplayer arena.

A first-person shooter with an emphasis on speed, TimeSplitters' main focus is on multiplayer mayhem, allowing up to four players to take part in competitive and cooperative split-screen action in Deathmatch, Bagtag, Capture the Bag, Knockout, Escort and Last Stand modes. If desired, up to ten computer-controlled opponents known as "Bots" can be included in multiplayer matches. Settings can be altered prior to a game, allowing players to customize the score limit, score method, time limit, friendly fire, one-shot kills, handicaps, and weapons available, among others. Statistics, which range from number of kills to windowpanes destroyed, can be recorded for each player.

A mapmaker utility has been included that allows players to design and save their own maps to the memory card, for future play. By choosing from pre-set pieces, levels of varying sizes can be constructed, after which the player can select a theme and tileset from those provided.