In the year 2401, the space marine Sergeant Cortez returns with a cargo of time crystals from the space station he destroyed at the end of TimeSplitters 2. Using these to power a time machine, The General and Anya send Cortez on a mission to stop the TimeSplitters from coming into existence.

The third game in the TimeSplitters series, Future Perfect is a first-person shooter in the same vein as its predecessors. The main campaign can be played through in single-player mode or cooperatively by two players, and multiplayer modes can be played by up to four players in split-screen mode or with up to eight players via LAN or the internet.

The story campaign consists of thirteen missions spanning six different time periods, and in each period Cortez meets and teams up with a contemporary character. The single-player mode sees these companions controlled by the AI, while co-op mode assigns them to player two. Each time period features its own arsenal meaning that players typically use era-appropriate weaponry throughout the campaign, and several missions include vehicle or turret sequences.

In addition to the main campaign, there are several other game modes available. There's Arcade, available both as a single-player "League" against NPC opponents and as a multiplayer mode (which can also be played with NPC opponents if desired). Arcade mode allows players to choose from the 150 playable characters, and includes genre standbys like Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, and Capture the Flag (or "Capture the Bag" in this instance), as well as more distinctive offerings such as Escort, Shrink, and Monkey Assistant. Beyond that there's also a Challenge mode, in which the missions are more focused in scope - for instance, the "Behead the Undead" set of challenges is all about dismembering zombies.

The game also includes a level editor, allowing players to create custom maps for use in Arcade play.