TimeShift Preview (PC)

TimeShift has seen some major changes over the past few years. It seems like the development team, Saber Interactive, has been going out of its way to completely redesign the game ever since it parted with their original publisher, Atari, and moved on to Sierra, even after nearly completing the game. Gamers will no longer play as the rough-faced Colonel Swift. The brand-new main character still sports a high-tech suit that can manipulate time, but it has been redesigned into a full-body metallic suit with a helmet. Along with the suit, almost every aspect of the story has been tossed out, and unfortunately, the dialogue recorded by Michael Ironside and Dennis Quaid will most likely be lost with it.

The only story that remains consistent will be the bare plot points. Players still take on the role of a special soldier who uses the powers of his suit to slow, stop and reverse time. By using these powers, players fight alongside a ragtag rebellion group led by evil mastermind Krone. Except now the story will be darker, featuring burnt-out, ruined, urban landscapes. Where the original version of TimeShift had plenty of open spaces to shoot across, forcing players to use their time powers to get through, the latest build focuses more on intense close-quarters combat and imposing enemies, including giant robots that plow through buildings to hunt players down.

Gameplay bears little resemblance to the original. Instead of having individual commands for each action (time slowing, stopping, etc.), all commands have been put into a single button, completely removing the puzzle elements from the game. Instead, players can walk up to an interactive area, hit the time manipulation button, and the appropriate power activates accordingly, significantly speeding up the pace of the game. Nicknamed "Sam" by the developers (a Quantum Leap reference?), the time suit has become a character in and of itself with sentient intelligence programmed into it.

Graphics have been completely reworked with advanced lighting effects and surface textures to take advantage of the Xbox 360's hardware. In addition to graphics, TimeShift will be one of the first games to use the Havok 4.5 physics engine, allowing more fluid surfaces and better rag-doll physics.

Multiplayer has also received some major attention. Time manipulation occurs by imbuing special grenades with power from the suit. Throwing chronos grenades will slow down, stop and reverse time within a ten-foot foot radius of the impact point. Anything that enters the time distortion sphere will be affected, including rockets that will slow down to a crawl before speeding back up again as it exits the area. Time distortion doesn't last for very long, so players must think strategically, and creatively, when using the grenades. In addition to the obvious offensive approach (i.e. freeze opponents in time, then take them out), chronos grenades also have plenty of defensive uses, including slowing down a player's decent as they jump from a high position. Multiplayer maps will be designed with the full use of time abilities in mind.

Saber will also take a very different approach to multiplayer design by literally rewriting the rules. If a game host discovers a certain gameplay imbalance, such as spawn camping, he can revise the rules while the game is in session. Temporary spawn invincibility can be added, damage from certain weapons can be modified along with how often special items like armor reappear. Hosts can go even switch out starting weapons, or manipulate the gravity settings. All changes will be implemented right away, so everyone can get on with gaming.

Saber has stated that there are currently no plans for cross-platform competition. Instead, it will focus its efforts on providing the best experiences for each respective system. Look for TimeShift this fall.

Related Links
TimeShift Game Guide
Official Website