TimeShift Singleplayer Demo

[RainOfTerror]

TimeShift is an innovative FPS in which players control time to complete missions and defeat foes, is in development by Saber Interactive. TimeShift will leverage first-of-its-kind gameplay abilities and functionality, the latest graphics technology, and high production values to create a truly unique action game experience.

Atari has released a TimeShift demo allowing you to try out one full level of the game, where you must use your timeshifting powers to infiltrate the perimeter of a heavily guarded building to meet an important rebel contact on the top floor.

You can grab the TimeShift demo (http://www.worthplaying.com/article.php?sid=31497) (577mb) over at WorthPlaying.

[torrefaction]

Ooh...I'm at work. Will one of you other country/lateshift type people grab this and post how it is? I wanna know if it's worth a download. I'm a bit amped about this one.

[eth3rton]

I can never Download anything from Worthplaying. I click on the mirrors and NOTHING...??... WTH is wrong....

Anyone? Thanks - Travis

[Jacob Singer]

Just once, JUST ONCE, I'd like a link that says "Click Here To Download File" TO ACTUALLY START THE DOWNLOAD, and not just lead me to a series of new pages with all new links before I finally get to the destination.

I hope Fileplanet picks this one up soon...

[Klade]

I haven't been following this one, is this a real AAA title that slipped through my radar or is this a budget title?

[TheKeck]

Sounds interesting. I wonder if the time travel deal comes off gimmicky, or is actually a valid new dimension of gameplay. I suppose I ought to try this out and see.

[LilEvilFish]

Time Travel and/or Time Control, as featured in Blinx, FEAR, Prince of Persia, The Matrix, Need for Speed Most Wanted, and many other quality titles! It's all available at rock bottom prices, here at Bandwagon Warehouse!

Sorry but no. Just. No.

[eth3rton]

Here ya go :

http://www.ataricommunity.com/forums/showthread.php?t=511588

[GrinR]

Sounds interesting. I wonder if the time travel deal comes off gimmicky, or is actually a valid new dimension of gameplay. I suppose I ought to try this out and see.

I haven't downloaded it, nor will I, but let me answer your question. Yes, it's gimmicky.

[TheKeck]

I haven't downloaded it, nor will I, but let me answer your question. Yes, it's gimmicky.

Well, I checked out a few videos. I'm willing to keep my eye on this one. See what the reviewers think.

[GodFather]

Cartoony graphics. Turned me off right away. Had a dated feel to it.

[GrinR]

I said it before and I'll say it again:

Timeshift is Messiah reborn.

[Grimgrock]

It doesn't cost anything to download so I'll give it a chance. "cartoony graphics" work for other games that are considered massive successes so that isn't really a reason to discount it.

[TheKeck]

It doesn't cost anything to download so I'll give it a chance. "cartoony graphics" work for other games that are considered massive successes so that isn't really a reason to discount it.

And I'm not sure what that guy means by "cartoony graphics". From what I saw in the videos, I'd say the graphics look somewhere on par with HL2 or FEAR. :confused:

[GodFather]

And I'm not sure what that guy means by "cartoony graphics". From what I saw in the videos, I'd say the graphics look somewhere on par with HL2 or FEAR. :confused:

The graphics are nowhere near the graphics of HL2 or FEAR. There more on par with games released 5+ years ago.

[TheKeck]

The graphics are nowhere near the graphics of HL2 or FEAR. There more on par with games released 5+ years ago.

Are you basing this on actually playing the demo? Maybe I'm getting the wrong impression from in-game videos?

[Suicidal ShiZuru]

I love when people bitch about gameplay elements when they havent played the game yet.

[torrefaction]

He's basing this on rampant idiocy. The kind of idiocy that occurs when people judge things completely offhand. Like the timeshifting mechanics. They sound pretty cool actually. As far as the graphics...well...I haven't played the demo, but I've been watching this somewhat, and I just don't know where the hell he gets 5 fuckin years.

[GrinR]

The graphics are nowhere near the graphics of HL2 or FEAR. There more on par with games released 5+ years ago.

There? THERE? *sigh*

http://nastyhobbit.wordpress.com/files/2005/10/grammartime.gif

[Jacob Singer]

There [sic] more on par with games released 5+ years ago.

That's just nonsense. The game may not be my cup o' tea exactly, but the graphics are very well done, and definitely up to the standards of the current generation.

This has more of a console feel to me, might be fun on the 360.

[GrinR]

I love when people bitch about gameplay elements when they havent played the game yet.

If McDonalds started offering McSushi, how much of a rocket scientist would you need to be to know it's not going to be very good?

Some of us have played literally thousands and thousands of games and watched the PR machines of hundreds of companies grind out info while millions of screenshots (TRIBES 2, BITCHES!) are released into the gamersphere - we have a finely tuned sense for when something is geared around a gimmick, and Timeshift is geared around a fucking gimmick. Believe it.

[Suicidal ShiZuru]

Its on Fileplanet now, Im getting over 700KB/s... 12 minutes left as compared to 6 hours. WP sucks.

Timeshift Demo on Fileplanet (http://www.fileplanet.com/160288/160000/fileinfo/TimeShift-Demo)

[torrefaction]

Have you read the dev blogs? It seems much more interesting than surface appearances would reflect.

[alienchild]

anyone actually played the game yet, and can comment on how it was? I wouldnt wanna spend the 30 minutes or so I have at the end of the day downloading, installing and testing a game that is basically Will Rock with better gfx and a cheap gimmick

[TheKeck]

Its on Fileplanet now, Im getting over 700KB/s... 12 minutes left as compared to 6 hours. WP sucks.

Timeshift Demo on Fileplanet (http://www.fileplanet.com/160288/160000/fileinfo/TimeShift-Demo)

3dgamers has it too. I'm all about 3dgamers.

[GodFather]

I played the demo and thought it sucked. The game is not good at all based on the demo I downloaded and played this afternoon.

How can you be defending how great a game looks by screenshots youve seen in the past and havent even tried the demo? Now whos the idiot?

[Varsity]

anyone actually played the game yet
I'm wondering about that too. Lots of posts, but not a single person has tried it out yet!

[GrinR]

I'm wondering about that too. Lots of posts, but not a single person has tried it out yet!

No need. It's junk.

[Sinistar]

I played the demo and thought it sucked. The game is not good at all based on the demo I downloaded and played this afternoon.

How can you be defending how great a game looks by screenshots youve seen in the past and havent even tried the demo? Now whos the idiot?

Maybe it's just me, but I think that when some of the regulars of this site ask "has anyone played the demo yet" they actually mean "has anyone with credibility on this site played this demo yet and can you please provide us with some real insight to the merits of this game?"

And no, saying it "sucked" does not count as credible feedback.

[Suicidal ShiZuru]

It was ok, it ran like crap though so I put on lowest settings but it still had hiccups. Its either a pos or it hates my system for some reason. Gameplay is nothing special, but it could be kind of fun if everything is fixed. Graphics are ok, even on highest settings. A lot of scripted events. The graphics arent "cartoony" but theyre somewhat like the Timesplitters games[cough].

And Godfather, go fuck yourself.

[GodFather]

It was ok, it ran like crap though so I put on lowest settings but it still had hiccups. Its either a pos or it hates my system for some reason. Gameplay is nothing special, but it could be kind of fun if everything is fixed. Graphics are ok, even on highest settings. A lot of scripted events. The graphics arent "cartoony" but theyre somewhat like the Timesplitters games[cough].

And Godfather, go fuck yourself.


they're not cartoony but there more like Timesplitters?? What kinda graphics would ya call that Mr. Miyagi ?

[GrinR]

Aw come on kids, let's not let this degrade into namecalling. I basically said all that needed saying about this whole thing already.

TimeShift is a run of the mill FPS geared around a gimmick of "pause the game but you keep moving". Nothing to see here, folks, move along.

[Steele Johnson]

Timesplitters is DEFINITELY cartoony:

http://media.cube.ign.com/media/479/479934/img_1575315.html

But Timeshift doesn't look cartoony at all:

http://www.gamershell.com/pc/timeshift/screenshots.html?id=82

It looks closer to HL2, etc, like someone previously said.

[Cool AN]

The demo is, ok at best. It is harder then I imagined since you die pretty easily with out the time powers.

[TheKeck]

It is harder then I imagined since you die pretty easily with out the time powers.

See, now this is what has me slightly intrigued. In so many games, you're this one man army that takes out the world. Here, it's basically the same, but the reason for it is because you are apparently some superhero type guy who controls time. If done right, seems like it could be interesting.

I'm not saying I'm dying to get this game or anything. Never even heard of it before this morning. But I'm interested.

[AboveAvgCharles]

I've played the demo, and I'd have to say I'm unimpressed. The graphics DO have a stylized "cartoony" feel to them... bright colors, exaggerated features, weirdass looking guns with anachronistic spikes on them...

The time features are somewhat fun, but nothing we haven't seen before, and they honestly don't add anything new to the gameplay. Rather than going the route of how well the time effects were used in Prince of Persia, Timeshift really doesn't use them for much more than "look how cool the blood spray is when you shoot this guy in the face... in SLOWMO!!1".

I wouldn't say this game is a godawful mess, it's just not that intriguing to me... and a main character named Colonel Swift, whose archnemesis is Krone? I can't help but think of Commander Keen.

[torrefaction]

You know...I just came to a realization. People who complain at "gimmicky" games are idiots. Gameplay is a gimick. Always. Without exception. I would bet the timeshifter game may even have an interesting story to tell. I think it's getting written off too quick, maybe. (Again, haven't played the demo.)

My point is, if you a gamer (particularlly one from the old school) you have no right to complain about gimmicks. But..real quick, for the people who couldn't connect the dots.

Collecting the hearts in Zelda = Gimmick
Plasma Shield in Halo = Gimmick
Leveling up your character = Gimmick
Collecting all the materia = Gimmick
Getting the high score in Geometry Wars = Gimmick

Every other "feature" of every game ever = Gimmick

Storyline in HF2 = Not a gimmick
Storyline in Baldurs Gate = Not a gimmick

Savvy?

[GrinR]

For kicks, try to look up the definition of "gimmick". That said, in the context we're using it it means "flashy trick that has little to no actual value". THAT said, your whole post is just rubbish, torrefaction.

I have never even laid eyes on TimeShift, and yet AboveAvgCharles managed to write exactly what I predicted about it. The main "feature" is nothing more than a flashy trick that has no real impact on gameplay. Surprise, surprise.

[Zurik]

I suppose next he'll say that using an input device to control on onscreen avatar is a gimmick.

[torrefaction]

[QUOTE=GrinR]For kicks, try to look up the definition of "gimmick".

Didn't get much use out of a dictionary as a child, did you? Or even as an adult, apparently. That is not the definition of gimmick ANYWHERE. I tried. What I love most about your posts is that your wrong.

For instance.
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=gimmick

2. An innovative or unusual mechanical contrivance; a gadget.
1. An innovative stratagem or scheme employed especially to promote a project:

Or, let's consult open source. The hive mind is for SURE smarter than, well, you. Please note in the below, that it's a feature that makes it stand out.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gimmick

A gimmick is a unique or quirky special feature that makes something "stand out" from its contemporaries. Product gimmicks are sometimes considered mere novelties, and not really that relevant to the product's functioning, even earning negative connotations. However, some seemingly trivial gimmicks of the past have evolved into useful, permanent features.

So...when Zelda added collectable hearts, to extend gameplay. That was a gimmick.

When Half Life 2 added physics to gameplay (arguably changing the genre) that was still a fucking gimmick.

I hate people who negate posts on grounds that are completely nonexistant.

[torrefaction]

I suppose next he'll say that using an input device to control on onscreen avatar is a gimmick.

Sure is. When Xerox demonstrated the first GUI, it was a gimmick. Not really neccesarily deemed useful, until Apple got their hands on it.

When the Revolution comes out, the controller will be a gimmick. It will be an innovative and awesome gimmick, but it will still be (Dictionary.com definition) An innovative or unusual mechanical contrivance; a gadget.

Jesus...all either of you had to do is look at dictionary.com or wikipedia. But no, throw up your hands in defense, and you call my post rubbish.

*EDIT* You didn't call my post rubbish personally Zurik, but you responded in the same vein as GrinR, pretty much agreeing with a poorly researched (Or not at all?) argument.

[torrefaction]

Oh...and I'd like to point out this tidbit from IGN. The concept of what their trying to do is pretty cool.

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/666/666503p2.html

"The cool thing about time manipulation is that you really need to use it and it doesn't seem gimmicky at all. You will soon start to think like a time traveler. Instead of sneaking around ala Splinter Cell, why not just freeze time and walk right around enemy soldiers? Is a grenade about to explode at your feet? Reverse time and send it back the way it came. The mechanic looks incredibly cool at this time and we are excited to see the finished product."

*EDIT* Note their popularized, but slightly incorrect, use of the word gimmick. This isn't prince of persia people.

[GrinR]

[QUOTE=GrinR]For kicks, try to look up the definition of "gimmick".

Didn't get much use out of a dictionary as a child, did you? Or even as an adult, apparently. That is not the definition of gimmick ANYWHERE. I tried. What I love most about your posts is that your wrong.

For instance.
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=gimmick

2. An innovative or unusual mechanical contrivance; a gadget.
1. An innovative stratagem or scheme employed especially to promote a project:

Or, let's consult open source. The hive mind is for SURE smarter than, well, you. Please note in the below, that it's a feature that makes it stand out.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gimmick

A gimmick is a unique or quirky special feature that makes something "stand out" from its contemporaries. Product gimmicks are sometimes considered mere novelties, and not really that relevant to the product's functioning, even earning negative connotations. However, some seemingly trivial gimmicks of the past have evolved into useful, permanent features.

So...when Zelda added collectable hearts, to extend gameplay. That was a gimmick.

When Half Life 2 added physics to gameplay (arguably changing the genre) that was still a fucking gimmick.

I hate people who negate posts on grounds that are completely nonexistant.

Cut down on the coffee, my man. You're essentially agreeing with me (albeit unknowingly) and my point stands, whereas yours still fails.

[GrinR]

Just out of curiosity, are you a dev for TimeShift or something? Your posts are pretty vitrolic, considering it's just a demo release of a pretty obscure game.

[torrefaction]

Not at all. I'm just seen a ton of these, It's just a gimmick, how lame posts. Except for these are always things at the crux of gameplay. Changing the mechanics of an FPS through the use of time is, in my opinion, a good gameplay mechanic. A good gameplay mechanic is not a new genre. It's not flashy and useless, it's the crux of the game.
You didn't research the game, and your "definition" of gimmick doesn't even exist. I haven't even played the demo yet. My argument was with your immediate knockdown of a game you knew nothing about, and your using a word, in my opinion, out of context. All gameplay mechanics inside of genres are gimmicks. That doesn't negate the fact that they are crucial to the games we love. Telekinesis in Psy-ops was a gimmick, but it made the game. I didn't agree with you at any point in time.

[torrefaction]

[QUOTE=torrefaction]

Cut down on the coffee, my man. You're essentially agreeing with me (albeit unknowingly) and my point stands, whereas yours still fails.

Man...Killer points. Your a master debater.

[GrinR]

Not at all. I'm just seen a ton of these, It's just a gimmick, how lame posts. Except for these are always things at the crux of gameplay. Changing the mechanics of an FPS through the use of time is, in my opinion, a good gameplay mechanic. A good gameplay mechanic is not a new genre. It's not flashy and useless, it's the crux of the game.
You didn't research the game, and your "definition" of gimmick doesn't even exist. I haven't even played the demo yet. My argument was with your immediate knockdown of a game you knew nothing about, and your using a word, in my opinion, out of context. All gameplay mechanics inside of genres are gimmicks. That doesn't negate the fact that they are crucial to the games we love. Telekinesis in Psy-ops was a gimmick, but it made the game. I didn't agree with you at any point in time.

I am of the opinion that (as I've already defined) the context with which we use the word 'gimmick' in reference to a game is wherein the feature that's touted for said game has little to no effect on gameplay. Your list had many examples of obvious features that DID in fact have a great impact on gameplay, and you went overboard with the closer:

"Plasma Shield in Halo = Gimmick
Leveling up your character = Gimmick

...Every other "feature" of every game ever = Gimmick"

As I had already looked up the definition, and found many, in some cases conflicting, definitions (www.m-w.com for instance) I set about defining the word in the context it was being used here. I did this many posts ago.

So, to define the time-stopping "feature" in TimeShift as a gimmick was to say that it was a feature that had little to no impact on gameplay. It is being able to "pause" the game (a feature as new as the Power-Up) but continue to move. So what? This is no different than making a FPS called GhostShift and allowing the player to be in 'noclip' mode. I knew that it would ultimately have almost no effect insofar as bringing anything new to the table, because fundamentally it's an old - and boring - gameplay element. It's the step between bullet-time and full reverse-time that many console games have been using for years.

If you need the final condemnation for why TimeShift is destined for failure, it's the stone cold fact that nobody knows (or cares) what the plot or goal of the game is, whereas everyone knows that you can "stop time". Game, set, and match. (and since you've taken everything I've said so far personally, let me emphasize that this final sentence is not about you, but about the game.)

[Lutheran]

I played the demo and thought it sucked. The game is not good at all based on the demo I downloaded and played this afternoon.

How can you be defending how great a game looks by screenshots youve seen in the past and havent even tried the demo? Now whos the idiot?


What a shock , the guy who hated the graphics and called them " cartoony " also says the gameplay sucks...way to back yourself up :)

[Lutheran]

Not at all. I'm just seen a ton of these, It's just a gimmick, how lame posts. Except for these are always things at the crux of gameplay. Changing the mechanics of an FPS through the use of time is, in my opinion, a good gameplay mechanic. A good gameplay mechanic is not a new genre. It's not flashy and useless, it's the crux of the game.
You didn't research the game, and your "definition" of gimmick doesn't even exist. I haven't even played the demo yet. My argument was with your immediate knockdown of a game you knew nothing about, and your using a word, in my opinion, out of context. All gameplay mechanics inside of genres are gimmicks. That doesn't negate the fact that they are crucial to the games we love. Telekinesis in Psy-ops was a gimmick, but it made the game. I didn't agree with you at any point in time.


Its Evil Avatar dot com , if your not hating every new game and bashing the crap out of it then your not cool. Asshats unite!

[Lutheran]

If you need the final condemnation for why TimeShift is destined for failure, it's the stone cold fact that nobody knows (or cares) what the plot or goal of the game is, whereas everyone knows that you can "stop time". Game, set, and match. (and since you've taken everything I've said so far personally, let me emphasize that this final sentence is not about you, but about the game.)


Ya because we always know a games plot or goal when playing a demo of a FPS. Speak for yourself , I played the demo and its not bad at all , its not HL but neither was HL2 or most of the rest of the FPS's since.

[torrefaction]

I think you misunderstand me. I do tend to write a bit passionately, but it led by a dismissal of the game on no basis at all. It's not just stopping time, or pausing time. It's reversal of time, and all the effects that go along with it when you have a world based on physics. The ability to act outside the flow of time has never really been explored in a game. Water stops moving. Logs balancing stop to form bridges. It's a step beyond anything that's been implemented before, if they pull it off.

I think it all sounds like fun. I haven't played the demo, but I really think it's a cool concept. I've read the previews as they've come out. I've known about the game, and I'm about to start the download, now that I'm home (which is why I posted a quick flurry of posts.) If it didn't turn out good, that sucks. But a lot of what I've read indicates that maybe it turned out pretty awesome.

Yeah, this is pretty unfortunate. Maybe nobody is aware of the plot. Short of it is, a guy signs up for a time travel program, gets sent to the 1900's and comes back to a merciless tyrant (Paraphrased from Gamespy). It sounds like it could be a pretty cool plot...or really cheesy. But I haven't laid out my judgement yet, without playing. I don't judge by what the rest of the community does, personally. What I've read and seen so far indicates it may just be a great game. Hopefully they pulled the game off, and if they did, I hope people get more interest.

[DirtyChimp]

hey, lets all fight about gimmicks

[Bumbuliuz]

I tried the game, I would get it for my 360 but not as a Pc fps. Something didnt feel right on the pc. This game feels like a console fps game.

[torrefaction]

Sounds like a party.

[GrinR]

Torrefaction, please don't mistake my being a jaded curmudgeon for my being right. I just have opinions based on years of experience - that means I'm old and calcified in my ways. Thus, I stick by my guns... at least until I hear that TimeShift is the most amazing game and holy shit the time-effects are teh best at which point I'll deny everything I said in this thread.

[Zurik]

It was ok, it ran like crap though so I put on lowest settings but it still had hiccups. Its either a pos or it hates my system for some reason. Gameplay is nothing special, but it could be kind of fun if everything is fixed. Graphics are ok, even on highest settings. A lot of scripted events.

I'm getting the same hiccups, and if my system can't run this game, I'd hate to be someone with an average system try to play it. After about 2 minutes of smooth graphics with little jolting, I'm done with this game. Don't hate it on its graphics or time shifting idea, hate it for the bad programming.

[Neosho]

I don't get any hiccups, i found the game fun, not world changing, but worth a bargin bin pickup. I like the particular style, and overall the game is entertaining.

[motor]

Here's my opinion: The demo is okay, very short (especially considering the download size). It did not run well on my machine and my machine runs half-life 2 smooth as silk. I don't think I would classify the time stuff as a gimmick assuming that you actually use it for something other then just helping you kill better. Most of the use of the time powers were explained in help text and didn't really feel like they changed game-play (pausing time so a door wouldn't close before you ran through, and pausing time so you could walk through fire). It will really depend on the level design, one good sign, there was a nice situation where you went around a corner and therre were three guys, if you paused time you could just head shot them, this is what I expected...but if you stopped time you could also run over to a mounted machine gun and use it against them. This sort of time+level layout could make for some cool moments.

A note on what I would call a gimmick: The slow down time in max payne I would call a gimmick, it really did nothing to game-play except make you aim better because the world slowed down. The experience for someone with 12 year-old reflexes would be the exact same without the slow-down. The telekinesis and other mind-powers in psi-ops is not a gimmick, it allowed you to solve problems in ways that you could not if you just went guns ablazing, plus it openned up multiple solutions to problems. Just my two cents.

So, will I buy TimeShift? Probably not. Frankly, I'm not a huge FPS person anymore, and it doesn't seem to bring anything really new to the table (it could be close), maybe if they had a longer demo that showed they had more interesting time+level design tricks I might reconsider. Also, it's not worth upgrading my machine for and I think that would be required to not have to turn down most of the graphic options.

[easi]

How many people in this thread are plants? After PA posted that email I'm on the lookout.

[alienchild]

How many people in this thread are plants? After PA posted that email I'm on the lookout.

...come again?

Anyways, I think I'll skip this game alltogether. Never had any confidence in Sabre. As for the "gimmick" discussion, stop being a fucktard and understand that not everything we say has the same meaning as would be understood from a dictionary. When a woman ask you to fuck her, do you literally start hitting her with a wooden stick? Because thats the old english meaning...

it was obvious from our conversation that a "gimmick" to us is a feature with no real use to the game at all, something un-exciting, totally uninteresting.

[SynapseLapse]

UGH, this demo was terrible. Great idea, but it doesn't help that you walk soooooo slowly, and every guard takes a long time to react to you.
This game made me feel like I was playing something that came out after wolf3d but before Doom 1.

Such as how two guards would be having a conversation, you could walk up, kill 1 with slowmo, and the other guard wouldn't do anything about it.

Oh well, guess I'll break down and go pick up f.e.a.r. instead of this.

[torrefaction]

...come again?
it was obvious from our conversation that a "gimmick" to us is a feature with no real use to the game at all, something un-exciting, totally uninteresting.

You missed the boat. My point was, first of all, that the time mechanic in Timeshift didn't equate to "oh shit, i'm dead" functionality. Second, GrinR had summarily dismissed the game as gimmicky without reading any previews or playing the demo. This type of behavior, this type of post, is what I was railing against. If I play the demo, and their *IMPLEMENTATION* of time control is shit, then I'll dismiss the game as shit, and uninteresting.

By the way...Quit being a fucktard and read the whole conversation. I didn't bring up the dictionary meaning of the word. GrinR did, suggesting that I didn't know the meaning of the word. And I quote "For kicks, try to look up the definition of "gimmick". And no, it's not obvious. When you say something is gimmicky that you know nothing about, and are quite possibly wrong, it's not obvious at all.