TimeShift could be considered
slightly under-rated when you look at it's many
mixed and average reviews. What I'd compare
it to most is F.E.A.R. Sure it's missing the
dark horror scares and a story, but the gameplay
is very similar. While in F.E.A.R. you're forced
to use bullet-time constantly during combat,
TimeShift takes bullet-time one step further
and turns it into proper time control. You can
slow time down, completely pause time or, at
some points during the game, reverse time -
which is very, very cool. To balance things
out from being too easy, your ability requires
recharging so you can't just use it constantly.
But you do need it all through the game in order
to survive. The gameplay is fun and well-balanced,
although the enemies and weapons could have
done with some more variety.
On the other side of board,
the 'looks' of the game hold up well. And this
respect it completely demoralises F.E.A.R. The
art direction, textures, level design all look
great. The engine is well up to 2007 standards;
not the best around, but adequate enough. There's
also enough variety in settings that it never
becomes repetitive. You battle through the usual
military sci-fi settings with a bit of snow
and outdoor areas thrown it, capped on either
end by a city setting. All good looking with
the occasional set-piece.
