Timeshift Review (Xbox 360)

STAFF REVIEW of Timeshift

Sunday, November 18, 2007.
by Tony Ingrassia

Time manipulation has been used in games before, sometimes succefully, sometimes as just a gimmick. I have to admit the concept, in either form, always seems to interest me. Im always wondering how well it can be implemented, and when I first heard of Timeshift by Sierra, I was equally interested. The premiseyou poses the Beta Suit, it can master movement through time, not just forward and back, but you can also bring time to a stand still. Dr. Aiden Krone recklessly makes a Time Jump across the space-time continuum. Now its up to you to hunt him down and restore order to the madness hes unleashed welcome to your alternate reality.

Timeshift hits the ground running with some very impressive, dramatic cut scenes. A quick, yet sketchy storyline starts to unfold, the next thing you know your hardwired into the Beta Suite and your being rushed down dark, dank corridors by Commander Mason Cooke, the leader of the anti-Krone resistance. While the quick, confusing pace seems a little, well, confusing, it does replicate the feeling of not knowing what happened or where you are quite well. There is an element of mystery within this game, because the story is pieced together more so as you play rather than it all being explained up front. The dark, gloomy Alpha District is just that, very bleak, very quiet except for the sound of gunfire or oncoming tanks, Mechs, or helicopters. The silence is almost distracting at times, but again it does lend itself well to the overall feel of the game. Your alter-ego if you will, is the Beta Suites artificial intelligence S.S.A.M. Along with the ability to warn you about impending enemies or obstructions, S.S.A.M can also retrieve any Audio or Video transmit ions within a certain proximity, so while you will have some surprises, you can be prepared for oncoming conflicts and obstructions.

Thats about as much info as your going to get once you start playing. Timeshift at a glance plays out like many FPS, you are able to yield many various weapons, all which have an alternate fire capability, you can man turrets along your route as needed and most importantly if you can get to them in one piece. The game is very tacticalwith a new twist. As much as many gamers will have the urge to run and gun this game, the true concept of the game lies in examining your surrounding and utilizing your time manipulation. New vantage points can be gained by simple things such as barrels that roll off a scaffold in a higher location. Standing on the barrel and reversing time can elevate you to a higher vantage point, helping your AI buddies through some thick fire. Its very difficult to stop and rethink how to play a game, but once you get through the first couple of missions, and a little trial and error the game takes on a new life, large enemy presence isnt as daunting when you know how to use your powers of time bending, slowing down time as you take down enemies one by one with your shot gun, or even disarming them becomes quite interesting. Snapping back into normal time once disarmed, your enemy is pretty much at your mercy, or lack there of.

Overall Timeshift is a well made, and visually pleasing experience, its pitfalls are few, but there none the less. Enemy AI seems to be a race of thick skinned warriors, because at times it does seem an overabundance of fire power is needed to take down what would seem a normal foot soldier, head shots are 50/50 at best, and the missions seem a bit too linear. Again, the concept of the game is to utilize the time abilities, so I can kind of turn a bit of a blind eye to that problem. You can also mount vehicles in the game, more for getting across distances quicker than anything else; they do come in handy for running over groups when needed. When on a vehicle the game retains its FP aspect, the controls are a bit twitchy while driving, but manageable. There is a nice array of weaponry at your disposal, over 10 weapons and assorted grenades will aid you through your missions, and you can reload quite easily and gather ammo along the way from fallen enemies or unmanned Ammo Lockers. The HUD is pretty straight forward, a life bar, or Rapid Recovery system will protect you, the suite will absorb damage, but only do much, dodging into a safe area for a bit will recharge your shielding system and your off and running. Time powers can be activated anywhere, in certain situations the Correct time function will be enabled just by pushing the shoulder button, other times, you can choose which function you feel is needed. The amount of time available in each Time manipulation is dependant on usage, like the shielding system, it will become depleted as used but a few minutes of rest will recharge the system. That being said, you can disengage the time function at any point during use, saving energy for later.

Timeshift also offers on-line muti-player action via XBOX Live; unfortunately I was not able to find players during my review process, besides the usual game types such as capture the flag, Timeshift offers a completely new dynamic built around the Time manipulation theory. Chrono Grenades are the most fun, affecting all players and weapons within the blast radius accordingly, Slow, Back, or Stop Grenades are at your disposal.

Here is the inevitable problem, in my opinion, Time Shift is a solid game, not the end all be all, but its well designed, fun to play, and challenges players to think more than just run guns a blazing, but the inevitable comparisons to another popular FPS will plague Time Shift. Time Shift looks great, aside from a few minor things is very enjoyable, but the concept of Tome manipulation didnt knock my socks off. At times it is used in a very gimmick like fashion, such as stopping time to walk across electrified water, or fire engulfed sewer pipes. Once you remove the Time element from the game there really isnt anything over abundantly new here. Kudos to everyone on the game for delivering a well polished game with a shot at a new twist, it just doesnt have enough to make it a real stand out at the moment.

Gamers may be split on Time Shift, I would recommend giving it a look if your willing to abandon your Run and Gun instincts for a bit and use a little grey matter, but as stated earlier there are comparisons that will be made, whether justified or not.

Suggestions:
I liked the concept, but there needed to be a bit more too it in some way. Entertaining, visually clean, but not enough to set it apart.

Overall: 7.8 / 10
Gameplay: 7.5 / 10
Visuals: 8.5 / 10
Sound: 7.5 / 10

Videos

Comments

Xbox Game Search

Top Community Gamerscores

1. Symmetric-XBA - 129,608
2. Variation-XBA - 82,045
3. Nato King-XBA - 66,408
4. Timmy Bauer - 58,540
5. Symmetrics Love - 48,108
6. Enamelized420-XBA - 41,520
7. Silent-XBA - 38,782
8. Ainokeatoo-XBA - 34,586
9. Roujin-XBA - 31,868
10. Kamshaft-XBA - 30,064
11. sojourner - 29,484
12. oryanphine - 27,431
13. thAshAdyOne - 26,895
14. Casper - 26,315
15. Soda Jones - 24,398
16. SpaceGhost2K-XBA - 23,375
17. Tampad - 22,256
18. Fargoth - 17,904
19. WillyV2 - 16,878
20. Vampero - 14,760
21. TAXCOLLECTER675 - 13,656
22. HaZarD SFD-XBA - 12,822
23. mattgame - 11,925
24. EMX - 10,990
25. BigJosh359 - 9,945

Community Forum Activity

Did you order your day one console?
Post by Kamshaft-XBA
6 Replies, 71 Views

If you're a devoted X-Box game player, why is it better for you than PS3?
Post by GBaxter
3 Replies, 106 Views

Xbox One , No headset !?
Post by Vampero
9 Replies, 282 Views

Forza 5
Post by LiLJoe608
3 Replies, 196 Views

So, the conference is over E3 is over, your opinions?
Post by Ainokeatoo-XBA
13 Replies, 319 Views

Achievment on Xbox One
Post by oryanphine
0 Replies, 290 Views

E3 2013 Pictures
Post by Symmetric-XBA
7 Replies, 272 Views

Episode 20 Posted from E3 2013 - The Press Breifings!
Post by Kamshaft-XBA
0 Replies, 256 Views

Microsoft must be retired Xbox One and videogames ?
Post by oryanphine
6 Replies, 630 Views

Microsoft press briefing floor! - FIXED
Post by Kamshaft-XBA
5 Replies, 250 Views

Raiden 4
Post by oryanphine
0 Replies, 270 Views

We made it!
Post by Kamshaft-XBA
2 Replies, 144 Views

xbox original rare edition
Post by oryanphine
3 Replies, 374 Views

Darksiders 2 and the revival of comics books
Post by oryanphine
2 Replies, 283 Views

Xbox One Controller Info
Post by Silent-XBA
0 Replies, 446 Views

Xbox Addict

STAFF REVIEW of Timeshift

Videos

Comments

Xbox Game Search

Latest News

NCAA Football 14 Demo Launches

Ubisoft announces Spartacus Legends for XBLA

Major: MS will NEVER pull the plug on Xbox One

State of Decay to get "Pure Survival" mode

First State of Decay patch out, but is it working?

Square Enix lays off half of IO Interactive

KI will be available both as full game and F2P

Top Community Gamerscores

Community Forum Activity

Site Statistics