05 Nov, 2007

Platforms: Xbox 360, PS3, PC
Publisher: Sierra
Developer: Saber Interactive

‘TimeShift’ is a pretty impressive showing if you remember the demo from a year ago. That demo was honestly so sad that I thought maybe ‘TimeShift’ was an XBLA title. Going purely off the vast improvements from that build to the current I want to give ‘TimeShift’ some serious praise. But that aside ‘TimeShift’ still isn’t a stellar game when compared to some of its peers.

‘TimeShift’ does boast impressive visuals, with some areas less solid than others but an overall next-gen look and feel. The lighting and texturing are smooth though at times a bit unnatural, but then again a game in an alternate reality can only look but so natural I suppose. The design of the game as a whole kind of reminds one of a mix between RoboCop and Minority Report. I know it sounds strange but it looks pretty original. The environments even offer up things like destructible cover and strategically placed exploding barrels to reward those who think fast enough to utilize them.

Which brings me to the most hit and miss part of ‘TimeShift’, the single player gameplay. Now I must first say that the game can be quite fun most of the time. Slowing down time and killing 5 or 6 enemies single handedly has been done before but the death animations and hilarious moments that ensue keep things fresh. But sometimes the level design acts as a killjoy slowing the pace of things and leading to unnecessary frustration. Most of the time you simply need to get to a button or lever to proceed to the next objective and even then things can be a bit vague causing you wander around a bit trying to find that non-descript required button or lever. With gunfights that are as intense and rewarding as they are in ‘TimeShift’, it’s a downer when you have to spend 5 minutes trying to find something so minute.

Though the gameplay in the campaign is a bit hit and miss the story is all miss pretty much. ‘TimeShift’ starts out with a hell of an intro but quickly progresses to incoherent. Fragments of plot are just that; so fragmented that it’s just too much of a hassle to put it all together. What you will know is that there are two ‘TimeShift’ suits and the second is occupied by the story’s protagonist, go figure. The story is a bit like watching Memento while high on meth with the sound off; the more you try to understand it the further off you are.

Another point that ‘TimeShift’ is hit and miss on is the sound. The music is fairly bad for the most part, sounding like a bad eighties sci-fi flick. If that’s what Saber was going for, kudos to them. But it at least isn’t too distracting and is timed to cut in when your focus is usually diverted anyhow. The voice acting on the other hand is pretty good for the most part. The cut scenes are voiced well without the overacting that so many games suffer from. What’s even better is the things that enemy soldiers say when approached. While sometimes repetitive, at least they are appropriate and at times funny. The most satisfying thing to me however was the low pitched death groans of soldiers as they are riddled with bullets in slow motion: priceless!

Perhaps the biggest compliment I can pay to ‘TimeShift’ is saying that it’s multiplayer design is simply fun. There are several game types ranging from CTF to Deathmatch with a few more obscure modes thrown in. But to be honest Deathmatch and CTF will most likely prove to be the most fun to the average player anyway. What really makes ‘TimeShift’ shine is that fact that instead of affecting the whole world with your time manipulation techniques you are given time grenades. These grenades represent the same abilities you have in single player except that you throw a grenade that creates a dome. Anyone in that dome is subject to the time manipulation and everyone outside isn’t, thus they are free to shoot at you like a fish in a barrel. The strategy that arises from this is both complex and imaginative, allowing for quite a bit of player creativity. And the pace is simply frantic, reminiscent of Unreal Tournament with a bit more strategy. Throw in host customization options and you have the ability to create some truly entertaining matches. With over a dozen maps to choose from the possibilities continue to multiply.

If there’s anyway to describe ‘TimeShift’ I would have to say it’s hit and miss in many aspects, but it hits where it matters most. The fun and intriguing multiplayer adds to longevity of this title conceivably making this a game you could be playing for months to come. The only catch, some of the Christmas season competition is pretty stiff. I hear Infinity Ward has a killer multiplayer game releasing soon as well. But all in all I’d say Timeshift is a worthy title that is amazing to behold only when compared to the game we saw a year ago.

- Shelly Jackson