TimeShift US Demo

According to the laws of physics, time travel is theoretically possible and actually quite common, although on a much smaller scale. However, electrons teleporting a few nanoseconds back and forth through time do not have too much influence on reality, unlike if the same thing happened with a full-sized human being.

TimeShift is a first-person shooter that tries to tackle with the idea of time travel and integrate it in the gameplay mechanics, in order to make the action more interesting. Naturally, this can only work in a sci-fi setting, since the technology needs to be explained somehow and make some sort of sense, at least in that particular universe. TimeShift, on the other hand, makes too much of an effort to explain it and ends up confusing everyone in the process, by mixing a lot of weird elements together.

To begin with, the story revolves around Michael Swift, a test pilot for the military who loses his daughter in a car accident and becomes depressed. Given his state of mind, he doesn't think twice when the government asks him to test an experimental time traveling suit prototype, since nothing could theoretically go any worse. However, the universe soon proves him wrong and, after being sent to 1911 to plant some sort of probe, he returns home to a dystopian world ruled by a ruthless tyrant. Naturally, the guy possessing a priceless suit that can control time quickly jumps to the top of the most wanted lists, which makes Michael an enemy of the state and a constant target for the military.

The time manipulation powers basically work as any other bullet time mechanic seen in titles like Max Payne or F.E.A.R., except for when it can be used to reverse time, which looks more like in Prince of Persia. However, most of the other gimmicks are only accessible during scripted events and you basically have to press and hold one key in order to cause time to slow down or go backwards. Thus, while a lot of work went into explaining the mechanics and the science behind it, there's very little originality involved and it's definitely nothing you haven't seen before.

The game forces you to follow strict paths through the levels, while even the open spaces are too small for any kind of surprise attacks. Thus, the game plays out the same way every time you go through it, which severely reduces its replay value to almost zero. The good part, however, is that the graphic quality is more than decent, especially when it comes to animation and special effects. It could have used a bit less motion blur at times, but it can be said that it helps the atmosphere.

In the end, it is quite clear that the developers had a lot of good ideas, but they certainly did not have to force them all into TimeShift. Despite the effort, the game feels very unfinished and the gameplay quite forced, especially due to the linear level design and the scripted enemy behavior. You can, however, forget all about the bad things every now and again, because the slow motion mechanics are always fun and the physics engine can work wonders, even if it the collision system fails from time to time and your bullets go through foes without any effect.