TimeShift
Encyclopedia
TimeShift is a sci-fi first-person shooter
developed by Saber Interactive
and published by Sierra Entertainment
for Microsoft Windows
, Xbox 360
and PlayStation 3
. It was developed using the Saber 3D engine, v.S-3 and Havok. On August 31, 2007 a demo of TimeShift was released on Xbox Live Marketplace
. A PlayStation 3 demo was then released onto the PlayStation Store
on November 1, 2007. The game was released on Xbox 360 and Windows on October 30, 2007 in North America
; November 1, 2007 in Australia
; and November 2, 2007 in Europe
.
. The project results in the creation of two devices, the Alpha Suit, a prototype jump suit, and the Beta Suit, a more advanced, so-called military grade model with features the Alpha Suit lacks such as combat-related timeshifting abilities and an integrated artificial intelligence
to prevent the creation of temporal paradox
es.
The director of the project, Dr. Aiden Krone, takes the Alpha Suit and travels into the past. Once there he alters the timeline, placing himself as the ruler of the Krone Magistrate that controls a dystopic world.
The protagonist, a fellow scientist whose name is never spoken (never mentioned in the game or manual), then takes the Beta Suit and follows Dr. Krone back to the year 1939 (in an alternate timestream) to a place called Alpha District. During the transport, parts of the Beta suit are damaged forcing the protagonist to assist the Occupant Rebellion against Dr. Krone in hopes of salvaging parts from the Alpha suit.
He is eventually confronted by Krone in a giant war-machine which nearly destroys the Occupant Rebellion, but he succeeds in defeating Krone. As an incapacitated Krone emerges from the wreckage, the protagonist kills him and retrieves the part required to repair the Beta suit. He is thanked by the Occupant commander and returns to the original timeline to save his girlfriend who had been killed by the explosion Krone had caused. He shuts down the bomb and walks up to his girlfriend, who begins to wake up. She reaches out to him although not sure of who he is. As he begins to remove his mask the AI
in the suit warns that a paradox is imminent and transports him away.
, but publishing rights switched to Sierra on April 20, 2006. On August 31, 2006, TimeShift was delayed for a second time.
Because the game had been delayed several times and was not mentioned very much in gaming news, the press thought that the project had been abandoned. However, on April 10, 2007, Vivendi Games announced that they were giving TimeShift a complete overhaul and were fixing many bugs.
One of a number of changes is that Michael Swift, the game's original protagonist, will not be appearing in the game. After the retooling of the game, Saber introduced "the suit" as the time control device, making the protagonist anonymous. Saber said that this change was to let the player imagine that "you are the protagonist".
Initially, TimeShift was announced for Windows and Xbox 360, but at the 2007 SCEA
Gamer's Day, it was announced that the game would also be appearing on the PlayStation 3. All iterations of the revamped game came out on time or early, on all platforms, world-wide in holiday 2007.
.
A single-player demo of the revamped game for Windows was released on October 11, 2007. The demo contains one level and four weapons from the full game. An Xbox 360 demo was also released on Xbox Live. A demo for the PlayStation 3 was released on November 1, 2007.
On November 9, 2007, IGN
announced a multiplayer demo scheduled to be released on November 14, 2007 on Xbox Live Marketplace. It has been released. The multiplayer demo for PlayStation 3 was released on December 6, 2007. Both of these demos and the single player were combined at that time. Thus the demo runs in both single and multiplayer.
First-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
developed by Saber Interactive
Saber Interactive
Saber Interactive is a video game developer headquartered in Millburn, New Jersey, with development offices in Saint Petersburg, Russia. They primarily develop action games. The studio released the game Will Rock in 2003, and released another game called TimeShift for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360...
and published by Sierra Entertainment
Sierra Entertainment
Sierra Entertainment Inc. was an American video-game developer and publisher founded in 1979 as On-Line Systems by Ken and Roberta Williams...
for Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
, Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
and PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
. It was developed using the Saber 3D engine, v.S-3 and Havok. On August 31, 2007 a demo of TimeShift was released on Xbox Live Marketplace
Xbox Live Marketplace
The Xbox Live Marketplace is a virtual market designed for Microsoft's Xbox 360 console that allows Xbox Live members to download purchased or promotional content...
. A PlayStation 3 demo was then released onto the PlayStation Store
PlayStation Store
The PlayStation Store is an online virtual market available to users of Sony's PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable game consoles via the PlayStation Network. The Store offers a range of downloadable content both for purchase and available free of charge. Available content includes full games,...
on November 1, 2007. The game was released on Xbox 360 and Windows on October 30, 2007 in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
; November 1, 2007 in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
; and November 2, 2007 in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
Plot
Scientists from the near future have begun work on creating a viable time machineTime travel
Time travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space. Time travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the...
. The project results in the creation of two devices, the Alpha Suit, a prototype jump suit, and the Beta Suit, a more advanced, so-called military grade model with features the Alpha Suit lacks such as combat-related timeshifting abilities and an integrated artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
to prevent the creation of temporal paradox
Temporal paradox
Temporal paradox is a theoretical paradoxical situation that happens because of time travel. A time traveler goes to the past, and does something that would prevent him from time travel in the first place...
es.
The director of the project, Dr. Aiden Krone, takes the Alpha Suit and travels into the past. Once there he alters the timeline, placing himself as the ruler of the Krone Magistrate that controls a dystopic world.
The protagonist, a fellow scientist whose name is never spoken (never mentioned in the game or manual), then takes the Beta Suit and follows Dr. Krone back to the year 1939 (in an alternate timestream) to a place called Alpha District. During the transport, parts of the Beta suit are damaged forcing the protagonist to assist the Occupant Rebellion against Dr. Krone in hopes of salvaging parts from the Alpha suit.
He is eventually confronted by Krone in a giant war-machine which nearly destroys the Occupant Rebellion, but he succeeds in defeating Krone. As an incapacitated Krone emerges from the wreckage, the protagonist kills him and retrieves the part required to repair the Beta suit. He is thanked by the Occupant commander and returns to the original timeline to save his girlfriend who had been killed by the explosion Krone had caused. He shuts down the bomb and walks up to his girlfriend, who begins to wake up. She reaches out to him although not sure of who he is. As he begins to remove his mask the AI
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
in the suit warns that a paradox is imminent and transports him away.
Gameplay
The key feature of TimeShift is the player's ability to control time: slowing, stopping or even rewinding time more or less at will. This allows a player to stop time to dodge an incoming projectile or steal an enemy's weapon. Specific time-related puzzles also require these abilities. The player's abilities also affect the color of their environment in such that slowing time produces a blueshift, rewinding it produces a yellow haze, and stopping time creates a white filter "haze". The player must use them wisely to make its way through the game. In some parts of the game your time powers are lengthened.Development
The game was originally going to be published by AtariAtari
Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
, but publishing rights switched to Sierra on April 20, 2006. On August 31, 2006, TimeShift was delayed for a second time.
Because the game had been delayed several times and was not mentioned very much in gaming news, the press thought that the project had been abandoned. However, on April 10, 2007, Vivendi Games announced that they were giving TimeShift a complete overhaul and were fixing many bugs.
One of a number of changes is that Michael Swift, the game's original protagonist, will not be appearing in the game. After the retooling of the game, Saber introduced "the suit" as the time control device, making the protagonist anonymous. Saber said that this change was to let the player imagine that "you are the protagonist".
Initially, TimeShift was announced for Windows and Xbox 360, but at the 2007 SCEA
SCEA
SCEA can refer to:* Sun Certified Enterprise Architect, a professional certification* Sony Computer Entertainment of America, the American division of Sony Computer Entertainment* Society of Cost Estimating and Analysis* Single Choice Early Action...
Gamer's Day, it was announced that the game would also be appearing on the PlayStation 3. All iterations of the revamped game came out on time or early, on all platforms, world-wide in holiday 2007.
Demo
The only playable version of the original concept was released on the May 2006 issue of Official Xbox MagazineOfficial Xbox Magazine
Official Xbox Magazine is a monthly video game magazine which started in November 2001 around the launch of the original Xbox. A preview issue was released for E3 2001, with another preview issue for November 2001. The magazine is bundled with a disc that includes game demos, preview videos and...
.
A single-player demo of the revamped game for Windows was released on October 11, 2007. The demo contains one level and four weapons from the full game. An Xbox 360 demo was also released on Xbox Live. A demo for the PlayStation 3 was released on November 1, 2007.
On November 9, 2007, IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
announced a multiplayer demo scheduled to be released on November 14, 2007 on Xbox Live Marketplace. It has been released. The multiplayer demo for PlayStation 3 was released on December 6, 2007. Both of these demos and the single player were combined at that time. Thus the demo runs in both single and multiplayer.
Reception
Timeshift has received "mixed or average reviews."| Reviewer | Score |
|---|---|
| GamePro GamePro GamePro Media was a United States gaming media company publishing online and print content on the video game industry, video game hardware, and video game software developed for a video game console , a computer, and/or a mobile device . GamePro Media properties include GamePro magazine and... |
3.75/5.0 |
| GameSpot GameSpot GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which... |
6.5/10 |
| GameTrailers GameTrailers GameTrailers is a media website that specializes in video game related content. It provides free access to original programming , game trailers and recorded game play. Along with standard definition , many of the video clips are offered in a higher resolution .Users can upload videos, create... |
8.2/10 |
| PC PowerPlay PC PowerPlay PC PowerPlay is Australia's only dedicated PC games magazine. Also available in New Zealand, PC PowerPlay focuses on news and reviews for upcoming and newly released games on the Microsoft Windows platform. The magazine also reviews computer hardware for use on gaming computers... |
6/10 |
| Game Informer Game Informer Game Informer is an American-based monthly magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of popular video games and associated consoles. It was formed in August 1991, when FuncoLand started publishing a six-page magazine, free in all its retail locations... |
7.75/10 |
| IGN IGN IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment... |
7.6/10 |
| IGN IGN IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment... AU |
8.5/10 |
| Team Xbox | 7.9/10 |
| X-Play X-Play X-Play is a TV program about video games, known for its reviews and comedy skits... |
2/5 |
| XGN Entertainment | 8.5 |
External links
- TimeShift at Game RankingsGame RankingsGameRankings is a website that collects review scores from both offline and online sources to give an average rating. It indexes over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 games.GameRankings is owned by CBS Interactive...
- Interview with Matthew Karch (CEO at Saber Interactive) on November 21, 2007.http://firingsquad.com/news/newsarticle.asp?searchid=18419
- Interview with Matthew Karch (CEO at Saber Interactive) on April 14, 2008.http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3167366