	Timeshift
	Developer: Saber Interactive Publisher: Sierra Release Date: Out Now Players: 1, 2-16 multiplayer	Words By:
Firstly I’m going to start off with a rant about Timeshift’s failings, but please keep reading because there’s plenty of good stuff too. Right; so there you are, early on in Timeshift, a scientist all dressed up in your Power Rangers-only-a-bit-cooler-looking time-control suit, chasing after the game’s villain, Krone, who’s stolen a similar time control suit and caused an explosion in which your girlfriend died… …So you burst into a room full of bad guys who immediately turn and empty their weapons in your direction, you return fire with your choice of three weapons and take down a few of them before you die horribly, blasted to smithereens by one of the enemies’ cleverly timed grenades. Not to worry you think, I can rewind time, save my life and do something different (kill the guy who threw the grenade, or slow down time, or even pause it maybe – anything to avoid the fatal sequence of combat). But no – you’re dead and all you can do is reload from the last check or save point, because although you can rewind time in Timeshift, you can’t actually do it once you’re dead, removing a lot of the point of having a time control suit in the first place, and removing the feeling that say, Prince of Persia: Sands of Time gave you; that you can always save yourself from certain death if you’re quick-thinking enough. Unforgivably Timeshift even decides that if you take a fatal step off a high fall, that you can’t rewind time before you hit the bottom and save your life, and that’s just wrong, and I’m amazed this wasn’t brought up and changed during playtesting. Now whilst this may keep the time continuum in place and avoid all sorts of paradoxes and crap that are moot anyway (because time travel and time control is impossible, really it is – at least it better be, or the world might end up chock-full of Arnold Schwarzeneggers and Jean-Claude Van Dammes – oh my God, the very thought of it…), the fact is that even if you play Timeshift on the easiest setting then you’re gonna be replaying a lot of sequences because you did the wrong thing, or didn’t do it quickly enough – always a bit galling when you have time-control trousers… Originally planned for Xbox, in places Timeshift still looks like an old game, but one so plastered with cool effects that you’ll barely notice, and it has some truly outstanding graphical moments as well. The pouring rain at the start of the game can't hide some frame rate jitters, but you can choose to turn V-synch off, which supposedly keeps the game running more smoothly (whilst allowing it to tear horizontally). The game’s setting is fairly unique, looking like some kind of alternative present time with lots of design inspiration that echoes of Jules Verne, ‘steam punk’ and the industrial revolution. Anyone who loved Amiga classic Chaos Engine will feel right at home in Timeshift’s wild, weird world, which seems to be constructed mostly from grey, brown and green cast iron, steel and rivets. The visual FX when you alter time or when a lot of weapons are being used is quite remarkable – scenery gets shredded, blown to dust and there’s more than a little gore too as some of the weapons are hugely powerful, and simply blow enemies’ bodies apart with blood splashes aplenty – great stuff. The nice, sploshy rain is worth another mention too, droplets run down your visor and slowly clear when you go indoors - an effect that's been done before but not better. The weapons are one of the game’s strongest points for me, imaginative and effective, you’ll want to use them all at one time or another, but will develop a favourite combination (you can carry 3 at a time). The enemy AI is good too, they’re very accurate with their weapons and aren’t shy of using grenades either, and the reverse time function is often wisely used to send a grenade back where it came from, skidaddling to another spot and watching it blow up right where you were. But stopping time and snatching an enemy’s weapon from his frozen hands has to be my favourite Timeshift trick – the bad guys even act amazed when time restarts, and will then cower and beg for mercy, but take care and don’t be too merciful, because they’re intelligent enough to pick up any other dropped weapon in the area and re-engage when your back is turned. Unfortunately even weapon snatching has a huge flaw in it; that if you have the same weapon as the target and it’s full of ammo, you won’t be able to snatch theirs! Yes it’s only a small thing to make sure you fire a round from any weapon before you attempt to steal, but yet another small and silly niggle that I feel shouldn’t be there. Another time control problem arises for me when you stop time and move – enemies instantly know where you’ve gone and start shooting – shouldn’t you have become “invisible” to them if time stopped and you moved? Ah well… But in the main Timeshift’s campaign plays really well, with several almost Half-Life 2-ish puzzles to overcome, often with more than one way of doing them, and your suit’s onboard computer (SSAM) will always warn you of and select a suitable action for an upcoming event. Things like the ragdoll and AI are well executed too, with enemies sometimes getting knocked down and firing from a sitting position before getting back up. There are some memorable set pieces as well, they maybe simple exercises in avoidance or ‘boss’ battles with attack choppers or Krone’s monstrous walking tank, a machine SO big it makes Halo’s Scarabs look like, well... bugs. Timeshift’s multiplayer mode was woefully under populated when I tried it, mainly due to Halo3 and Call of Duty 4, but it supplies a reasonable diversion if you’re fed up with either of those two giants. Obviously you won’t be pausing and reversing other players time in the multiplayer game, but you do have time control grenades that form a bubble in which time is slowed down, this can either be used to catch and slow down a fleeing enemy, or to protect yourself as once inside projectiles flying in your direction are slowed down so much that they’re easily dodged. Game modes include the usual suspects plus a couple of time-related games; capture the flag, one on one, deathmatch, team deathmatch, king of time and meltdown madness. There are 14 multiplayer maps and they’ll all be familiar if you complete the campaign because they’re cleverly adapted areas from it. I can’t say as I particularly enjoyed it because some weapons are just so powerful that they mean lots of insta-deaths with no idea who killed you or how, and without any power ups characters move a bit too fast for my liking too, and the game's less-than-solid frame rate means sniping or tracking a moving target is quite hard. Halo and Call of Duty’s characters move at quite a sedate but realistic pace in comparison, and are hugely popular for a reason. Timeshift supplies moments in the solo game that are just so enjoyable and cool to do that you’ll keep playing for ages, and other sections that will just annoy the heck out of you. The quad bike and airship levels for instance, seem to simply be slapped on to add some variety, which they do, but in a less than cohesive way, the cut scenes also seem inconsistent to the in-game graphics, which simply makes the game engine look old. I know I started this review with a rant, but overall I’m glad the game made the trip from Xbox development to 360 because it’s sufficiently different to justify a place in anyone’s collection.

Best Bits
- Time control is cool
- Exciting, fun-to-use weapons

Worst Bits
- The time control is limited and doesn’t always make sense
- Despite some amazing effects, the game still looks last-gen
- Frame rate stutters or tearing - you choose


by: Masonic Dragicoot