Games Where You Can Rewind Time
Braid finally got its port to PC a few days ago and it reminded me of a topic I was going to finish a while back: games that have features to rewind gameplay. There are tons of instances of games where you can stop time. Slow-motion features are pretty common, too, especially since Max Payne. In recent years, rewinding time in games has become more popular.
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/hosted/...time-braid.jpg
I'm having some trouble thinking of the origins of this game mechanic, though. Infocom's "InfoComics" series from 1988/1989 (Lane Mastodon vs thr Blubbermen, ZorkQuest, etc.) for the PC and C64 let you rewind and fast forward time but these were pretty much interactive stories with branching paths rather than true games from what I remember.
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/hosted/...20mastodon.png
I'm willing to bet there are earlier games with time rewinding that affects gameplay but I can't think of any. Below are some I think are worth mentioning. I didn't include games where you just travel back in time like Chrono Trigger or Sonic CD, just ones that sort of turn back the clock on what you have done. I didn't count instant replays either if all you do is watch them.
The Killing Game Show/Fatal Rewind (1990)
This was published by Psygnosis and developed by Raising Hell (which later became Bizarre Creations) for Amiga, and ported to ST and Genesis/MD. This platform/shooter didn't let you rewind time per se but it did have a VCR-ish fast-forward function like many time manipulation games after it so I think it's significant. If you died, you could hold a button and it would fast-forward, retracing your actions until you stop it.
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/hosted/...ame%20show.png
Time Traveler (1991)
Sega's holographic laserdisc arcade game (later released for home DVD) developed by Rick Dyer of Dragon's Lair fame. It had a time reversal button that sent the player back a few moments if he had collected any time reversal cubes.
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/hosted/...20traveler.png
The Last Express (1997)
This impressive PC/Mac adventure game by Jordan Mechner was innovative for many reasons: it was like Shenmue in that NPCs behaved on schedules and there were some QTE-ish action parts. Plus, the animation done over live actors looked great in motion. Its time rewind function allowed the player to reverse the game to any earlier point in the game in case he missed an item or wanted to try for a better ending and needed to do some event differently.
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/hosted/...%20express.png
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (2000)
Nintendo took a different approach to time rewinding with their second N64 Zelda game. It's kind of like the video game equivalent of the movie Groundhog Day. When you reverse time, you replay the same days. Your major accomplishments won't be lost but knowledge you gain of NPCs and their schedules can be used to help them.
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/hosted/...jora's.jpg
The Sting! (2001)
The Windows sequel to the Austrian Amiga game Der Clou! by NEO Software. It was a burglary sim where you could rewind time to an earlier point if you screwed something up. I haven't put much time into the game but it seemed pretty cool.
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/hosted/...he%20sting.jpg
Blinx: The Time Sweeper (2002)
When Naoto Ohshima left Sega to form Artoon, I was excited to see what he would come up with. I only played the demo of this back then and wasn't overly impressed. It has its fans, though. I should give the full game or the sequel a try some time. It stood out for the time manipulation anyway. You could slow, fast-forward or rewind.
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/hosted/...time-blinx.bmp
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2003)
This is one of the most famous and influential examples of time rewinding gameplay. I thought it was a great addition for reinvigorating the series.
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/hosted/...e-popsands.jpg
Alien Hominid (2004)
This PS2/GC/XB game didn't live up to the internet hype for me (and my damn GC memory card got erased while playing it although that might not have been the game's fault) but I read the PAL version let you rewind levels and play back at whatever point you choose.
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/hosted/...ienhominid.jpg
Total Overdose: A Gunslinger's Tale in Mexico (2005)
A Mexico-themed game developed in Denmark? This was a GTA-style game for XB/PC/PS2. The city designs kind of sucked because of too many dead ends but the on-foot action wasn't bad. Certain power-ups let you rewind time a bit.
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/hosted/...aloverdose.jpg
Full Auto (2006)
There's probably another driving game earlier than this 360/PS3 series by Pseudo Interacive that lets you rewind to fix your mistakes although I can't think of any off-hand. I have yet to play the Full Auto games.
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/hosted/...ull%20auto.jpg
TimeShift (2007)
I should go back and finish this. It was pretty intense, kind of like Black but less frustrating. The time manipulation kept it from being just another sci-fi FPS.
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/hosted/...-timeshift.jpg
And I read the XBLA port of Duke Nukem 3D has some sort of rewind feature but I haven't played it.
Discuss anything related to the topic. Do you like these games? Hate them? Any others to add?
