Title TimeShift Date 11.23.2007 Genre FPS Platform Xbox 360 Developer Saber Interactive Publisher Sierra Games

Timeshift is one of those titles that have been in development for what feels like forever. There've been a couple of demos (both fairly different), and several different looks for the heroes and bad guys. But all in all, the theme remains the same. You are a physicist, wearing the Beta version of a test suit that can jump through, and alter, time. Shooting and time related simple puzzles abound. So, is this one going to be a rental, or a purchase? Read on and I hope to help you find out!

Graphics
Nothing wrong here, nothing really remarkable either. Everything looks good. I didn't noticed too many graphical glitches (aside from body parts getting stuck in doors or something like that). Character movement is solid, but slightly repetitive. Soldiers take appropriate action when in combat, both on your side and the enemy side. People duck out from cover to shoot, roll out of explosion paths, and all the like. It gets the job done and looks right. Water, fire, rain, explosions, gunfire, dead bodies, all of it looks right. It's nothing we haven't seen before, but its solid enough with no hiccups or flaws in this area. A minor problem here is that some of the environments are a bit hard to see around in, especially when you are timeshifting, and vision blurs a bit. Some environments are very gray or a bit complicated and can distract from aiming. This is only on a standard definition television, however. On high def, it's not that big of a problem at all. In the same vein, on standard def, the font is small and hard to read, but that doesn't matter much in this title. All the other standards of a good first person shooter are here, and they're just fine.

Sound
The sound is, again, solid, but again, nothing revolutionary. Guns, explosions, battlefield chatter and screams, they're all here and they are all fine. There is some decent electronic music to be found as well, though it's normally pretty quiet in the background compared to all the action. Shifting has a sound unique to it as well. Sometimes it can be hard to hear what your allies are saying, both in person and over the radio. But it normally doesn't become a major issue, especially if you're decent at multitasking.

Story
The storyline in terms of cut-scenes is pretty nonexistent. You can figure out the majority of what the game is about by just reading the instruction manual and thinking on it a bit. But, there are a few brief scenes told to you via your headset (in game that is), and they're good enough to display what's going on. However, the best parts of the story are definitely found in game, during battles and missions. You'll be working with rebels that are going against the man in possession of the Alpha suit (brother to your Beta suit). He has enslaved the future free world with his knowledge of time and it's up to you stop him and his army of faceless baddies. If you've ever seen the movie Equilibrium, think that, but with time effects in play for our hero. And you truly do feel like a hero in this game, the way everyone talks about you and to you.

Gameplay
Well, this is what it all comes down to, isn't it? The gameplay is very, very solid. The shootouts and even the types of guns found are nothing really new to the FPS genre. There are also some vehicles and turrets to control. It's all fine, and there isn't much wrong with it, other than that it can be slightly repetitive. However, all this can be made up for when you factor in your timeshifting powers. You can Slow time, Stop it completely, or even Reverse it! This can give you a new tactical edge to firefights. You could stop time and place grenades in a room, killing everyone before time even restarts, in a blink. Or you can slow time, rush a room of foes, and steal the very guns from their hands, leaving them to plead for their lives. And many puzzles or mistaken explosion problems can be solved by simply rewinding a few seconds in time, though don't expect your health or ammo to rewind too, because you're unaffected by ALL this time shifting! That's right, while you have slowed your foes or stopped them, you can move freely and shoot at the same, fast rate. Making many foes wonder where you went, how you killed everyone in a blink, and other such things.

It truly makes you feel tough to blaze through rooms of foes without them even knowing you were fully there. The game largely consists of you using your powers and guns against tons of enemy ambushes. In between those segments, you will have to use time powers to solve very simple puzzles. This could involve stopping time to walk through flame or on water, reversing time after you call an elevator, getting in, and restarting time into motion again, or simply slowing time to traverse a hallway filled with deadly lasers and missile turrets. Then it's back to more fighting, a vehicle segment or two (in which you can still affect time!), some small puzzles to progress again, and even more fighting. It you aren't interested in slow motion shootouts, future tech weaponry, and/or just plain repetitive shooting, you will probably get bored here, and fast. However, the guns and bombs can make up for this. There are various types of weapons in the game that are just a (no pun intended) blast to use on your foes. And you can blow them to pieces if you so desire. Standard pistols, machine guns and shotguns are here.

Along with advanced sniper rifles, scoped crossbows with exploding darts (so fun!!), rapid fire plasma and flame weaponry, and a few other surprises I won't mention as not to spoil, but trust me, they are pretty fun, if you can get that far to them. You can save anywhere, and there is also an auto-save feature. Sadly (or maybe not for those that find the game too repetitive), the game only lasts between six to eight hours at best. And when you know what to do and how to progress, even on the Hard mode (Elite), the game becomes pretty simple and fast. I think that's a good thing, as too long of a single player mode in this particular game could get stale. Overall, it's fun if you like the time powers and futuristic guns. It's a plain blast em up title with very little story and a whole lot of powers and shooting. If achievements are your thing, you'll find several varied Time based ones here. They're pretty unique, but not incredibly hard to get (except for beating Elite mode, that may challenge some players).

Multiplayer
This MP is great. You affect time still, but differently, in small spheres that do eventually run out, so that everyone can get in on the action. There are TONS of modes, and you can customize them in a HUGE way. There are a lot of fun things to find here. And the matches go up to 16 players, with no lag. It was hard to find players at first, but with the press of a button you can skip around matches and find a lobby that's for you. The achievements found here are pretty standard for the most part, if you play a lot of online shooters that is. But that doesn't make them any less fun to try and earn. This is probably the selling point for many people to make a purchase. If you're looking for something slightly different from your usual online FPS games, you will find it here. But enough will be familiar for everyone to have a good time and want to return again and again.

Overall, this game is pretty standard, but solid. Nothing will really blow you away, as we've seen it all before (even the time powers) if you play a lot of games. But it's a fun ride, if achievements are your thing you can find a lot of that here in single play and multi, and the time powers are always fun to play around with. The MP modes are really deep, and that sort of makes up for the short single play game. If you're unsure about the setting, gameplay, or multiplayer though, just give it a rental first. If you love the subject matter though, as always, you probably won't be disappointed in a buy. I just have a strong feeling that this time around, the fanbase will be very small when it comes to going out and purchasing the game. I'm not saying it's bad at all, I'm just saying a lot of big titles just came out, and will be coming out very soon. Timeshift is a competent shooter released at a busy time of the year.

Game Score

B-

Reviewed By: Joe Barbee