TimeShift

TimeShift
Developer(s)	Saber Interactive
Publisher(s)	Vivendi Games (Sierra)
Engine	Saber3D Engine, Havok 4.5 for the physics
Platform(s)	Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3
Release	Xbox 360 & Microsoft Windows October 30, 2007 PlayStation 3 November 19 2007
Genre(s)	First-person shooter
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer

TimeShift is a sci-fi, first-person shooter from Vivendi Games for the PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. It was developed by Saber Interactive, the same developers behind the game Will Rock, using a new proprietary 3D engine and Havok. A few pieces of Will Rock carry over to TimeShift, from the way gibs are shown, through some of the unique weapon designs, up to the beta suit's AI system (S.S.A.M., resembling Serious Sam, a favourite of Saber since Will Rock, which carried many similarities). On August 31 2007 a demo of Timeshift was released on Xbox Live Marketplace. Following this, a PS3 demo was released onto the Playstation Store on November 1 2007. The game was released on Xbox 360 and PC on October 30, 2007 in the United States; November 1, 2007 in Australia; and November 2, 2007 in Europe.

Story

Scientists from the near-future have begun work on creating a viable time machine. The project results in the creation of two devices, the Alpha Suit, a less advanced 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 AI designed to prevent the creation of Paradoxes.

The director of the project, Doctor 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-game or in 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. He then proceeds to assist the Occupant Rebellion against Dr. Krone.

Timeline

• Shortly before the events of the story take place, Dr. Aiden Krone makes a successful test jump into the past using the Alpha Suit. This becomes apparent to the other scientists on the project when they notice that Krone is describing theoretical concepts about the project as if they were fact. Then, Dr. Krone begins to plan his second journey into the past, this time with more drastic results.

• As TimeShift opens, Dr. Krone departs the project’s laboratory in the Alpha Suit and arrives at some point in time before 1939. To prevent anyone from following him, he plants an explosive device that destroys the laboratory and kills the staff. Krone is able to create his own alternate time line, because the Alpha suit lacks the automatic paradox-prevention measures present in the Beta Suit. However (as revealed later in cut-scenes) Dr. Krone has sabotaged the Beta suit well in advance of making his journey into the past.

• However, the protagonist, an unknown character, is a physicist working with the project, activates the Beta Suit and follows Dr. Krone back in time. The Beta Suit arrives in an alternate time line, being 1939 the closest year equivalent from the original one, an unknown time after Dr. Krone altered this time line and created a dystopian world ruled by the Krone Magistrate. The Beta Suit's Origin Drive that enables time jumps is then damaged and the protagonist is unable to return to his present.

• Following the damage, the suit's AI S.S.A.M. tries to fix the Drive, adapting it and creating the time-manipulating powers enjoyed by the player throughout the story (Slow, Stop and Reverse). Later CGI animations reinforce that the player is in an alternate time line, therefore no harm has come to his original time line yet. Since it's stated that any alteration to a time line creates an enormous amount of branching in that time line, one of these might actually collide with the original time line, causing it to apparently stop flowing (it's not made clear if both would merge or one of them would actually cease existing).

• Probably many years have passed in the alternate reality, because Krone has absolutely forgotten the scientists who were working with him. This is reinforced by his own speech at the last level, pondering who the protagonist with such a suit could be. But Krone has not completely forgotten as he addresses the player as "Doctor" and is not sure if it is the unknown character or Tucker in the suit. Also in one level, Commander Cooke says to the player that Krone has been ignoring a structural fault with his weapons plant for years. At the end of the story, the protagonist kills Dr. Krone and takes the Alpha Suit’s Origin Drive. It is shown that he was working undercover since the beginning and was to assassinate Dr. Krone in case he attempted a jump. He then returns to his present just before the explosive device goes off. Disarming the device, he averts the destruction of the laboratory. The Beta Suit then detects a paradox and initiates a time jump to an unknown time and location.

• The AI suit timejump was due to the AI having a complete Origin drive, allowing it to jump back to the moment when Krone reappears from his timejump. The protagonist must logically stop the bomb, to activate the AI protocol, to stop Krone and the destruction of the facility. The damage to the protagonist's Origin drive stopped him from doing this immediately and the suit's protection from chronological disturbances allowed the protagonist to have the knowledge to stop Krone after his first jump.

• The game does not explain who was the protagonist's real employer. Also, the alternate timeline remains altered by the actions of both Dr. Krone and the player, the consequences of this fact are never shown.

Gameplay

I'm saving you a lot of time and money. Don't play it.

Delay

The game was originally going to be published by Atari, 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. The most striking difference is the change in visual style, after claims that the original look "couldn't compete in the post Unreal Engine 3 world" and that the original steampunk style "didn't resonate with people."

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 the PC and Xbox 360, but at the 2007 SCEA Gamer's Day, it was announced that the game will also be appearing on the PlayStation 3.

Demo

A single-player demo of the revamped game for the PC 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.

Reception

Reviewer	Score
Daily Star	8.8/10
GamePro	3.75/5.0
GameSpot	6.5/10
GameTrailers	8.2/10
Game Informer	7.7/10
IGN	7.6/10
IGN AU	8.5/10
Team Xbox	7.9/10
X-Play	2/5

Interviews

John JCal Callaham of FiringSquad interviewed Matthew Karch (CEO at Saber Interactive) on November 21, 2007.

External links

• Official site
• GamaSutra TimeShift PostMortem
• Official List of DualShock3 titles on the PlayStation3 Includes TimeShift
• Director Kyle Peschel on the History of TimeShift