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Weapons are all great and fun to use. They start off pretty standard with a machinegun, pistol, shotgun, and such, but get more exotic near the end of the game. You can only carry three at a time and ammo is generally plentiful, which is good since most enemies can take a full clip before going down, unless you're skilled enough to score a headshot. Enemy deaths are visceral with enough bloody chunks and other splash damage, combined with the flopping ragdoll physics that really show the impact. Even though there's little enemy variety, it doesn't seem to matter. Taking off a trooper's helmet with a glancing shot before putting a bullet in his now exposed head is pretty cool to see, especially in slow motion. There's also melee attacks for extra punch.
With a slew of customization options, and traditional modes like deathmatch, team deathmatch, and capture the flag, multiplayer here feels like a slowed down Unreal Tournament with more realistic maps. The weapons are well balanced and the action can get intense in a sixteen player free for all, but what makes it stand apart are the time abilities, letting you slow down or stop your enemies for easy shots, or reverse time to send a rocket right back in their faces. While you're not going to find all the options of Unreal Tournament 3 here, it's still a blast to play.
Timeshift is a solid B-class shooter. What's here works extremely well and the action of the lengthy single player campaign flows nicely along from beginning to end. The multiplayer has enough modes and customization options with its timeshifting to offer enough of a twist from the norm. I just wish it had been a little less polished and a little more ambitious, focusing more on the story and developing additional abilities for the player to gain as the action progresses. It'll never be game of the year, but it's a solid experience no FPS fan should overlook. |
