Hit me baby one more time
There’s going to be a time soon where destructible environments will be part of the norm in videogames rather than an additional feature to talk about, but in TimeShift it has been done with great majesty. You may be standing behind a wall, but if you’ve been spotted the enemy will blast holes through the plaster or if a soldier is standing behind a crate you can shatter it into splinters of woods. Practically any object in TimeShift can either be blown up or you’re able to make your mark on it, which allows you a certain level of freedom to cause havoc within the game world and test out the superb physics engine.There are plenty of explosions in TimeShift, non-stop bullet fire and debris flying around and as a result you will experience some slowdown at times, but it is limited to the really hectic battles in the game.
From Max Payne to Prince of Persia to Full Auto, the manipulation of time has been experimented with in a number of videogames, but none have examined it with as much depth as TimeShift. It’s not just a gimmick; it’s an essential element of the gameplay and is as entertaining to use as visually and technically impressive to watch."
Click for larger imageIf you saw the trailers of the game way back in 2005 or played the recent demo, neither will give you a true picture of TimeShift now it’s been completed. It’s certainly not a perfect shooter, but amongst the barrage of AAA titles coming out between now and Christmas, it’s a hidden gem and will appeal to anyone who likes their first person shooters explosive and fast.
NOTE: We’re yet to play multiplayer, which features 14 maps, can host up to 16 players online and has game modes such as a capture the flag and team deathmatch. We have had a brief look around the maps though and there does seem to be a good variety. The multiplayer seemsas though it will play rather like Quake’s multiplayer, with fast paced action and gravity lifts, armour boosts, weapons and health pickups spread out on multiple level maps. They’ve also added the ability to throw a Time Stop grenade, which looks similar to the bubble shield in Halo 3. If you throw this and an opponent walks into it, they’ll be frozen for a certain amount of time.
Pros
Time-shifting mechanic implemented superbly
Fast-paced
Explosive
A bloody good blast
Cons
Storyline isn’t actually that great
Some dodgy AI Some slowdown
HEXUS Awards
TimeShift- Xbox 360
