TimeShift Review, Continued
Saying that the graphics are sharp and sophisticated is an understatement. The fact is, the visuals are nothing short of dazzling, especially in the beginning and the end when you're burrowing through the dictatorship-driven Alpha District. Heavily detailed environments, from intricate architecture to weeds swaying in the breeze, thrusts you into its alternate reality full force, suspending disbelief. Stone brick walls feel solid and dirty with grime. Wooden planks look weathered, too weak to withhold anyone's weight. Rain effects splash on the suit's visor and fall onto the ground on a realistically wet surface, pooling and rippling around your feet. Spectacular lighting effects stand out in the forefront of it all, casting chain link fence shadows on the pavement, or lighting up a dim area with yellow and red hues. The Saber3D can do some amazing things on the Xbox 360, even when viewed in regular TV mode. It always keeps the frame rates consistently smooth, even during the heaviest of visual moments.
Despite the amazing visuals, TimeShift's arsenal isn't quite so spectacular. It's not that the weapons are lame in general, but the variety seems unbalanced. Some are way too powerful; some way too dull. For instance, the player will pick up the ThunderBolt, a weapon worthy of Chewbacca, which shoots explosive bolts. Pull the left trigger to zoom in on the unsuspecting target and then press the right trigger. BAM! The bolt embeds into the enemy's armor and explodes, offering a beautiful display of fireworks and limbs.
The negative aspect to this weapon is that you can virtually finish the entire campaign with just this one item. On the other hand, it's rendered worthless in the multiplayer games when some fool camps around the SurgeGun and singes everyone on the map with just one shot. The SurgeGun, needed only once in the campaign to take down the giant spider-robot thing (whoops, did we say that?), is the most powerful weapon of the batch, disintegrating the victim with the primary trigger, or annihilating everyone in the vicinity with the alternate trigger. While the flamethrower (Hell-Fire) is pretty cool, and the Echo Rifle is good for squishing heads, nothing beats the SurgeGun and its deadly accomplice, the ThunderBolt.
TimeShift has plenty of shooter action, exciting visuals and bloog and guts, though the weapons are not very balanced.
So are the other weapons useful? They are entertaining to say the least. You begin the campaign with the KM 2103 Karbine (after a long wait), and it just doesn't seem to hold up against enemy fire. The Karbine's primary usage serves as an automatic rifle, requiring frequent reloads. The secondary fire features a grenade launcher, which is a fun and handy tool if you're without the ThunderBolt. The KM-33 is a high-powered pistol, the Bloodhound is your shoulder-mounted rocket launcher (see opening paragraph), the ShatterGun is your double-barreled shotgun and the E.M.F. Cannon acts as a light plasma gun. You've seen all of these weapons before; they just have different models and skins. Honestly, the only weapon that seemed unique in this package was the ThunderBolt, borrowed from Star Wars and amplified for your gibbing pleasure. Players can hold up to three weapons at one time
Of course, the other weapon of choice in TimeShift really isn't a weapon, but more likely a defense mechanism during combat. Time control, that special gimmick at the core of TimeShift, comes in handy during hard times. Imagine, if you will, traveling through a sewer. You come to the end of the tunnel and your only passage is up the ladder. You climb. You peak your head out over the lip, over dirt and grass. You step out into the middle of a park and slowly move forward. Then, as if teleporting straight from the pits of hell, swarms of enemies close in on you.
Naturally, in any other game, you would be fodder. In TimeShift, you can slow time and jump back down into the sewer. At first, this can be confusing (and feel like cheating), as the slowed time doesn't affect your character, since in (virtual) reality, you move at a super speed compared to the environment. There is nothing sweeter than to ambush an enemy in slow motion, plant a sticky grenade on his back, then run and hide behind a rock. Resume time and watch the guy look around in amazement before the grenade sends his family jewels straight to the moon.
In the park scenario just mentioned, the best game plan there would be to hide in the sewer until the suit recharged its TimeShift power. Slow down or pause time (you're super slow in the latter), climb the ladder, take out a few goons, retreat back down into the sewer and recharge. Again, rinse and repeat. If your character takes damage, the suit will regenerate your health after a short wait (in the Elite Mode, the wait time is even longer, accompanied with the I'm-almost-dead red-eyed filter). This regeneration also speeds up when time is in slow motion, making this ability a handy tool when there's relatively nowhere to hide.
The gameplay increases with intensity when the choke areas come down on the player hard, and it's difficult to recharge the TimeShift power. Needless to say, TimeShift is not exactly easy, and you'll find yourself frustrated to no end with the seemingly ridiculous scenarios this game likes to throw at you. The same holds true with the in-game puzzles. Believe it or not, TimeShift actually offers more than the AB linear gameplay. Along the way, gamers must face situations like slowing down time in order to jump a ramp, or to slip through a door before it closes.
One scenario that comes to mind is the dreaded Wind Tunnel (level 21 out of 24). As you probably guessed, your character must cross an active wind tunnel. To do this, you must slow down time; any error in judgment and you become sweet-and-sour chicken on the gargantuan blades. Slowing time worked ideally in this situation, but shifting time isn't the only key here; there's a marginal platform feel going on, forcing gamers to aim the path just right, or in other cases, jump from one spot to another at just the right time.
Join our discussion on this topic
