Widescreen Gaming Forum

OK, I just thought I'd throw out my review thus far of this game after having found a deal on it for $30 at Best Buy. First off let me say part of the reason for this review is that I don't feel this game has been all that fairly reviewed by the review sites. I have found though that those whom have actually bought and played the game in general give it better reviews.

In what is reminiscent of an alternate WWII era history ala Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow with the apocalyptic, police state feel of HL2, this game is rich with awe inspiring scenes and splendid graphics. Moreover the engine is very efficient, in game settings comprehensive, and auto detect extremely conservative (more on that later).

It has been said that the gameplay is very repetitious and time manipulation puzzles overly simplistic, but I have found that this game thrills in both respects just as much if not more so than HL2, FEAR, Gears of War, etc. I almost expected to be poking through the game bored to death after reading the reviews on it but have been pleasantly surprised by the variety of foes, cleverly structured and detailed maps, and engaging gameplay.

To add to that you have a wealth of impressive weapons and spectacular visuals from both time control and the realistic physics and effects. It's basically a frag fest that often leaves you wasting much of your use of slow mo to gawk at the gibs. The combination of the artwork, modern graphics capabilities, and nostalgic settings make for quite a visual treat. There are scenes like the huge crashed zeppelin that are very well done.

At times you'll be merely shooting it out with scads of troops armed with standard assault rifles, at others you'll be swarmed by advanced soldiers wearing jetpacks, shield wielding cyborgs, heavily armored time stopping elite soldiers appearing to warp in out of nowhere with devastating lightning type weapons, or very fast androids whom also wear time manipulating suits, but different from that of yours. I also encountered a road block featuring an enormous heavy artillery bot, with the occasional mini boss fight against a gunship as well. There are also scenes where you are at a fixed gun on a zeppelin with attack fighters swarming fore and aft causing a need to "time" your use of time controls well.

Now I suppose were you to look at just each time use puzzle in itself or the way you can use time in general to fight, one might assume it's all too easy, repetetive or even boring. However when you're surrounded by a variety of foes and obstacles all with individual capabilities, you are more occupied with thinking on your feet quickly and strategizing time use rations and cover spots than worrying about whether you're getting enough out of the game. As well the puzzles actually ARE a bit more engaging than those say in HL2 for instance, rather than just a novlety.

Despite the apathy in the reviews, this game is NOT one that has the feel of something from the bargain bin. It is very polished technically, graphically, and fairly well thought out in gameplay. The intricacy of many of the maps as far as artistic detail and route finding is indicative of what good shooters, some with much better reviews, should have, and many don't. Besides that this game is said to be long, and I've probably yet to get halfway into it thus far.

OK, back to that extremely conservative auto detect I spoke of. It puts my P4 3.0GHz, X1950Pro 512MB AGP, 2GB RAM spec at 1024x768, Best Texture Detail, Good Object Detail (a notch down from Best), 2x AF, etc. That's with full HDR enabled, and full shadow detail. Now since that resulted in upwards 70-100 FPS average indoors, I decided to splurge a bit and crank things up.

I decided to drop HDR since it is not something I prefer or very lavishly done in the game (lights show beams without it anyway). I made some other adjustments in the shadow/parallax mapping department that are probably a wash. I cranked res up to 1200x900, AF up to 8x, and Object Detail to Best, using parallax mapping but not parallax shadow mapping. Even with these tweaks I still average at least 40 FPS outdoors and often much more indoors.

The result is the game looks even more lifelike, high res, and detailed in textures, lighting and reflections, and it looked better than a lot of modern ones before the tweaks. The light and shadow detail are plenty good even without projected or parallax shadows or smoothed edges. Despite having numerous menu settings like parallax mapping/shadow mapping, FOV adjust, there is NO AA adjust. Maybe that's because there really aren't any noticeable jagged edges except with things like shadows of power lines.

In the last month or so I've bought HL2 Orange Box, Bioshock, MoH: Airborne, Star Wars: Republic Commando, GRAW 2, Gears of War, and now TimeShift most recently. Even with the raved about Crysis and CoD 4 included in that mix, which I've only played the demos of so far, I feel this game is one of the best I've played and I haven't even finished it yet.

It's on my list of games to try. :D

I hated it. Now I'll admit when your review filled my screen I tossed the idea of reading it.

Heres why I hated it.

No aiming down sights. VERY xbox feel. Hard to get into and feels slow...graphic demanding on machines when its nothing special. I like the idea...I just think it got pushed out too soon and it needed more beta testers to say...hey this sucks.

Maybe I followed Crysis with Timeshift and that was a mistake...but...come on...

I tried the demo, FPS fans will likely want to try it at least, not me. It's basic, repetitive and pointless. Besides the whole rewind time part was done 3 times over before in POP, another game I couldn't stand, crappy controls and yet again poor camera management.

...graphic demanding on machines when its nothing special.

Personally I don't see how anyone could make that statement regardless of what games one is comparing it to. The Saber 3D engine has to be one of the most impressive at both visual quality AND frame rate efficiency.

...I just think it got pushed out too soon and it needed more beta testers to say...hey this sucks.

The only respect in which I feel it seemed pushed too soon a bit was the rather abrupt and simplistic ending when facing Krone's main defenses and he himself. In that respect it did feel a little as if the problems they had when working with Atari might have caused them to cut short the story/gameplay a bit. It did end with a hint at a sequel though.

I thought the game was great and deserves a lot more credit ... it's easily as good as any of the HL2 lames ... sorry ... I mean games ... :mrgreen:

and it does TripleHead out of the box ... :D
http://www.widescreengamingforum.com/node/8270t

I had fun with the demo. Nice graphic look, and the best exploding bodies I've seen in a long time. Not sure how it would sustain itself over many levels though. I didn't miss iron sites when I played the demo but I agree--these days iron sites are a MUST. Skipped Half-Life Episode 2 just because I got tired of the lack of iron sites in Episode 1 ....

"iron sites" = ??

Iron sights, ironsights, IS means just that, using the iron sights on the weapon rather than crosshairs onscreen. Thus when you engage IS the player model's animation brings the weapon barrel/sights aligned dead on with your perspective (view).

Ironsights are nice when done well, but in many games they aren't. IMO some key things needed for good IS is option to toggle or not, sights made so they don't obscure vision too much, recoil not overly done, and most importantly, the going in and out of IS must be quick and crisp with no lag or hitching, which is a problem in many games that use IS including Crysis. Keep in mind Crysis is Crytek's very first IS game too and even Far Cry was very enjoyable without it. The CoD series is an excellent example of games that do IS well.

That being said, with the clarity of graphics, menu options, and engine efficiency TimeShift has, it could likely have made excellent use of IS and even lean were they needed in such a game. It is clear though that the tactical nature of the game is more in the use of time manipulation than in slowly plodding through battles via typical cover, lean, and aim down the sights tactics. It's part of what sets the game apart and makes it unique. In fact many times if you assume you can hole up in one spot even for a few seconds using typical tactics, you WILL be killed even WITH the time advantage.

This game does have troubled beginnings with Atari, hasn't been reviewed well, and may never be a big title, but it does make you think differently about how to play and uses features similiar in other games in a more detailed and interesting way. IMO it offers more innovation, variety in maps and gameplay, frag potential and visual effects than FEAR by far and with no stuttering and way better frame rates with every bit as decent graphics.

In fact, if you consider TimeShift has parallax technology and a more efficienct engine, you can bump settings way more than in a lot of other games giving you better overall graphics. This is extrememly important to note because lots of devs are making games that take uber rigs to run at max settings and still you get stuttering. Saber is a refreshing change offering a beautiful looking game that can run well on many rigs. We need more of this in gaming.

The reality is TimeShift just wasn't hyped up as much as titles like FEAR. If you look at how rapidly the FEAR forums declined even after the first expansion and free release of Combat, it is clear that the public wasn't getting enough out of the game to make it long term playable despite the initial success and marketing hype.

"iron sites" = ??

Yes, yes, I spelled it wrong.