Not Even Time Travel Gimmicks Save Timeshift From Mediocrity
If there is one game genre the Xbox 360 is robust in it would quite easily be the first person shooter genre. But while that isn't necessarily an issue, with games likes Perfect Dark Zero, Prey, Call of Duty 2 and even Halo 3 picking up the FPS limelight with innovative and immersive gameplay, Timeshift developers Saber obviously had a real issue of making their game stand out from the rest. This issue proved so much that eventually Saber caved in and started the game's development from scratch.
Now, 2007's Timeshift looks far, far different from what we originally saw back in 2006 whether that is for better or worse though is ambiguous. So lets not waste time and shift into analysing this game shall we? :-P
Timeshift is a game set in an alternate reality where scientists have developed suits that enable their wearers to travel through time. Using one of the suits, the project leader, Dr. Krone manipulates the Alpha suit to travel back in time and make himself a ruthless dictator of a dystopian society in 1939. Lucky for you though you managed to follow his tracks using the military grade beta suit and stop Krone's menace
From the get-go Timeshift seems like an ordinary shooter with a set of fun to shoot weapons (shotguns, machine guns, etc) and a revolution style storyline where you and a gang of rebels fight back the government forces and essentially over-through the big baddie at the end. However later on your suit actually kicks into gear and serves as a time manipulation device which makes for some unique gameplay in otherwise an uninspired game. This time device can pause time, rewind it or slow it down for a few seconds.
Thankfully this feature is also put to use in parts of the game where you have to bypass physical hazards like electrified floors and powerful wind turbines. It is useful during puzzles and certain enemies can only defeated by it too. Although the majority of Timeshift is spent shooting down numbers of government forces more than anything else. There are a few variations between , such as the quad bike sequences - which has similarities to the buggy sections of Half-Life 2, and turret control - a feature that practically all shooters have now. Both of these are conventionally controlled and aren't too different or original either.
Although that's just about as good as Timeshift gets really, and in honesty, the time feature at core is sparingly used which is a waste of potential. There are no bosses and Timeshift is very much a linear game as well. Visually, while Timeshift is a solid looking game it is very uninspired in design and the dull colours don't do well to make it stand out from other shooters out on the market either. Of-course, non of this measures up to how lacklustre and under-developed Timeshift's story and characters are. For the majority of the game, nothing makes much sense and the motives behind Krone aren't explained very thoroughly. The protagonist lacks a personality and voice which has you wonder how the other characters in the game trust him properly.
The sound of Timeshift is generally forgettable, and the multiplayer is practically non existent on Xbox 360 with few servers still playing. But with that said, even with it's genericness, Timeshift can be fun to play and a budget price is worth considering. For a shooter, Timeshift is a normal sized game that can be completed in a week or two casually. Just don't expect much new from this one, even with the time mechanics in place.
