TimeShift is a GREAT game; though little bugs mar its immersiveness and ingenuity, it's definitely worth playing.
I for one, really had my eyes on Crysis all the way back to last November, and never would have considered buying TimeShift if not being my...accidental encountering with the demo some times ago...
With all the games coming out, it is very easy to overlook some of the less anticipated titles...and TimeShift being one that is DEFINITELY overlooked..
The game itself is very gravitating. The system requirements are surprisingly low, and you can probably do away with the game with a 2.0 P4 and an okey GPU (i.e. Nvidia 6200 or ATi 1300). Yet, when you turn the settings all the way up, the game looks ABSOLUTELY gorgeous. SM3 definitely plays an improtant part in the game, the ambient and the surroundings are very well defined and detailed, along with a HIGHLY destructible environment...
As for the concept, I can't say that the game overhauls the FPS genre, but it definitely spices the things a bit by allowing you to either slow, stop, or reverse the game time, while leaving the protagonist uneffected. Maybe I do have a fetish for chronographical concepts, but still, the idea of being able to manupulate time with one's suit definitely wins my likings (especially after experiencing the dissappointing Nano-Suit from Crysis). Anyways, though the game still follows the general FPS concept, but it does have certain new additions to make the game stand out.
There's not much to be said about the sound effects of the game, for it is not especially Spectacular...but still, it is DEFINITELY solid and realistic, and the gunshots really sound like that you would hear from real life....Dialogues are okey, not cheesy or overly pompous, just about right...
Just one more thing for you to consider:
Since your suit regenerates health for you (at a quite fast rate), the game seems overly easy...I was able to blast my way through the first 5 levels on hard without dying, which might make the GRAW fans think twice before buying this game...
Still, despite the greatness(es) of the game itself, there are certain bugs to consider:
- The game crashed to desktop a few (2 or 3) times during the play, and although the game's Checkpoint system is able to get you back close to where the game crashed, it is still a nuisanse to have the game crash on you during intense firefights....>_< hope a patch would fix it soon...
- Thought the system requirements are fairly low (you can do away with a system that's below the minimum requirements), the game simply looks horrible if you turn the texture quality to medium or low, and it is pretty irksome when the supposedly high-end weapons appear murky and distorted, and when the timeshift effect appear half-baked.....so, in essence, you DO need a decent system if you want to really enjoy the game...
-Lastly, there are collision problems with bullets not registering properly when aimed at certain parts of the body (i.e. the peripherals), and it's really awkward when with all this great physics system implemented to the environment, the bullet is simply passing through parts of the body as if nothing was there....>_<
All in all, if you are a fan of FPS and like fast paced actions, you should DEFINITELY check this game out, and if you feel dejected by the bugs with the game, wait for a while, and hopefully the developers will release patches to fix the problems listed above....