PS3 Fanboy

Here are twenty new screenshots from the PS3 build of TimeShift. The demo, which is currently available on Xbox 360 and PC, showcases the various time shifting abilities you have: you can rewind time, slow time and pause time -- each has their own strategic benefits. This looks like a solid shooter, but will it be able to stand out in a very crowded holiday, which includes Call of Duty 4 and Haze?

[Correction: TimeShift is not currently on the PS Store.]

Shooting stuff in slow motion isn't as original as it was way back in Max Payne days. That's why TimeShift is making that now "meh" function the focus of its gameplay, promising to breathe new life into time altering mechanics. We gave you a pretty comprehensive look at the game a while back, but we skipped over the multiplayer details. Now we have them, so we'll give them to you.

• Customization: you can create and name your own play modes, so if you want a no-gravity knife match, you can call it "Space Shiv" or something. The customization also presents ways to level the playing field. Sorry, "spawn camping whores," but you won't get kills that way in this game.
• Implementing time mechanics is still shaky, but it'll play like some kind of rock-paper-scissors. Using "slow" should trump "reverse" while reverse trumps "stop" ... full circle, "stop" trumps "slow." So it's Reverse -> Stop -> Slow -> Reverse. At this point in time, at least.
  

It's not much detail yet, but from the excitement the dev team over at Saber Interactive, they believe in it strongly. It might be the most customizable multiplayer shooter ever. We'll see!

If you're unfamiliar with TimeShift's development life, you should know it was originally slated as an Xbox and PC title. Original, fatty black n' green Xbox, we mean. It got stuck in development hell for reasons only the developers truly knew, but we now realize what was wrong. Saber Interactive was waiting. Waiting for the next-gen consoles, because what they wanted to do wasn't possible on old hardware. Forget about the full visual makeover it received, we're going to tell you some more detailed information about the game itself.

The old story, recorded dialogue with Dennis Quaid and Michael Ironside included, has been scrapped. Gone is the tragic war veteran who lost his daughter and replacing him is you, the player. Taking on a classic RPG style of unnamed protagonist, you're just a player in the war game, so to speak. If you were a silent protagonist, that'd be awesome, but unlikely. Regardless, you travel to an alternate timeline and take on an army of warriors protecting the man who changed the flow of time to make himself leader of all things gritty, dark, and somber.

A new time-control scheme lies in your suit, dubbed S.S.A.M. and given a female persona. One button controls the ability to stop, slow, or rewind time, depending on which would be most beneficial in a given situation. Using these in the levels would be nice, but the first four completed levels were completely scrapped, replaced by gigantic new ones, each with a specific purpose to advance the story. There's plenty more to discuss, like the enhanced AI, puzzle-solving opportunities and other gameplay gimmicks, but we'll stop here and let you check the rest out on your own. Shooters have to try harder to differentiate themselves from one another and this game is trying harder than most.

There's been some question about whether or not TimeShift was going to be coming to the PS3, but after Sony's Gamer's Day it's clear that it is definitely coming. The sci-fi first person shooter is based heavily on the utilization of time manipulation as a gameplay element. Check out these two brand new screenshots to see some great shots of the previously Xbox 360 exclusive title.