'Shift in Time'
 Developer: Saber Interactive
Publisher: Sierra
Category: : FPS
Multiplayer: 1-16 Xbox Live
Official Site
Platform: X-Box 360
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Date posted: 27 February 2008
Written By: Ian
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Shifting Expectations
"TimeShift" was due to be a launch title pretty much for the 360, but anyone who played the demo released in early 2006 (after the game got delayed till March 06) could see that the game could only disappoint.
However, thanks to the difficulties Atari got into, Sierra and Vivendi stepped in, bought the IP, and basically turned the game around, removing most of what made the first game bad, like the cheesy protagonist, terrible voice acting and confusing time controls.
However, has all this extra development time actually allowed the developers to make a good game, or is TimeShift a wasted opportunity?
TimePlaying with its Gameplay
The gameplay in TimeShift is pretty cookie-cutter, as the Americans say.
The AI is average at best, and if it were actually good, you wouldn't really know, because the time-shifting powers and frequent checkpoints make the game really easy even on the highest difficulty.
If the AI was good, it wouldn't make a difference because you can just freeze time, then shoot the enemies, or maybe steal their weapons, or pin a grenade to them.
This helps spice things up a little, as the combat can be quite varied as you tackle situations differently. However, thanks to the AI and linearity of the levels, it doesn't really matter what you do, and the whole experience remains pretty samey whatever.
The story is also wafer-thin, but thanks to some speechless flashbacks, and random CGI movies, the whole plot (despite being non-existent) somehow at the same time manages to be confusing and bewildering! Quite a feat.
The ending, whilst not exactly a cliffhanger, also points to a blatant sequel. Hopefully next time Saber won't forget to add a plot despite all the dev time.
  
Graphics And Sound
The graphics are at least hit-or-miss.
The rain filled last levels are excellent, with impressive explosions, beautiful weather, huge mechs, and a large number of troops on screen. The standard is never more than pretty however, don't expect any 'Oblivion' or Gears' style 'wow' moments.
At their worst, some of the levels are generic, with repeated textures, little happening on the screen and inexplicable slowdown. Grassy levels look particularly static, and the lighting is less than impressive feature, which adds to the lifeless feel of a lot of the levels.
In SD, the graphics also look pretty terrible, with rough edges everywhere and blurry textures.
The sound in TimeShift is probably the worst aspect of the game. Whilst the guns sound fairly meaty, they could be better, and offer more bass in particular.
The voice acting is forgettable at best, cheesy at worst, but there is so little dialogue throughout the course of the game you could mistake this for an N64 title.
The music is pretty generic, with some techno beats, some generic orchestral rubbish and the like, and whilst not actively terrible, is probably more 'plain' than in any other game I've played for a loooong time.
  
Multiplayer
The multiplayer section of TimeShift is a thankfully, much better experience than the frankly average single player.
Whilst there is the option for local multiplayer, there are no bots, so one should head for Xbox live, which supports dedicated servers for up to 16 players.
There are plenty of game modes beyond the standard deathmatch, and you get the opportunity to use your TimeShifting powers through the use of time grenades that slow down enemies or areas of the map.
It all works really well, and never seems unfair as you have to use your powers quickly and accurately. Whilst the game is not highly populated, finding a game was never hard, and I had a lot of fun in all of the game modes, which feature some impressive weapons, were lag-free and well-balanced.
Whilst the game's community is small and will probably die at some point this year, TimeShift has one of the better multiplayer experiences on offer; it's just a shame the game was never more popular, because more people in the games would have only added to the fun.
Conclusion
"TimeShift" is a little hit and miss. The single player portion is pretty average, with graphics all through the quality spectrum, average sound and music, a non-existent, yet somehow confusing story and fairly poor AI. It never achieves greatness, but manages to be fun nonetheless.
Multiplayer, whilst much more impressive, is somewhat underpopulated, thus reducing the potential enjoyment.
TimeShift is certainly worth a playthrough, but it is probably not going to be a full price purchase for many!
-Ian
Ratings
Manual:
82 % |
Graphics:
79% |
Music & Sfx:
70% |
GamePlay:
78% |
|
This game scores
on our 5-point Rating System
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