'Principes Non Homines'. When translated, this latin idiom reads 'leaders, not ordinary men', this certainly applies to the now anonymous protagonist, once known as Michael Swift. Timeshift is another developer's attempt to grant the player the God-like power of time manipulation, much like Blinx 2: The Time Sweeper and the more acclaimed Prince of Persia series. Does Timeshift have all of the nuts and bolts required to leave it cemented in time?

In the demo of Timeshift, you'll be thrown into what is presumably the first level of the campaign. The scenery screams City 17 of Half-Life 2 fame, and even bares a slight resemblance to an early stage in Project Snowblind. As you fight your way through the pandemonium in the streets, you'll spot the game's antagonist, Krone, sitting smug on a projection overlooking the mayhem, addressing his public. While you're faced with hoards of Krone's 'kronies', if you will, you're also presented with a Sentry behemoth (much like a mech-warrior of sorts). Capable of tearing down buildings with it's arsenal of heavy weaponry, and it'll make very short work of you if you leave yourself open for too long. As you progress, the Sentry shows up at various points in battle, inadvertently clearing a pathway for you to proceed -- how convenient, right?

A far cry from the ugly duckling that PC enthusiasts were treated to last year Timeshift has undergone countless changes in it's 'reconstructive surgery' Vivendi Games happily footed the bill for. Perhaps the most startling departure from the infamous PC demo is the game's visuals. While the game has advanced astoundingly ahead of its original stage, it's only until you get up close and personal. Nothing looks polished. Environments appear muddy, and as one, when you approach within reach, and the characters are hardly defined at all. The only graphical feature that made me 'wow' in the slightest was the rain falling from the skies. Just seems the water effects in games keep getting better and better. So while Timeshift has made respectable leaps and bounds in the right direction, it is still falling far short of benchmarks set by games like Gears of War or Bioshock.

Timeshift plays like a generic shooter. That is of course until you use your time-shifting. It feels great, doesn't it? Freezing time, running up and plucking the rifle from his hands and watching as he stands in disbelief, asking where his gun has gone. At numerous points in the demo, you find yourself outnumbered by the enemy. Unfortunately, you can't run and gun as we've grown to love in fast-paced shooters, because if you do, you'll find yourself on your back. Timeshift, in a way, forces the player into using time-control to get the better of situations when you're outnumbered three-to-one. However, where's the fun in freezing three guys, and running up and filling them with lead and watching as they all fall down? Nil. On the plus side, however, the 'kronies' are far from being mere cannon fodder. They'll use strategy and tactics to flank you if you're outnumbered, though it hardly matters when you can stop them in their tracks with a mere click of your fingers.

If you stop your enemies dead in their tracks, however, you mightn't want to settle down with a coffee before finishing the job, as your timeshifting powers are quite limited. The limitations on your powers make timing and efficiency essential in overcoming your obstacles.

Vivendi kindly allows the player to taste-test a few weapons in Timeshift. You've got the Karbine, a standard assault-rifle affair. We also used a crossbow quite similar to the Torque Bow from Gears, the arrows fired from the bow stick to a surface (preferably humans) and detonate, turning the poor sap you shot into 'licious gibs. Towards the middle of the demo, you'll gain access to a shotgun. While it's compact in size, it packs a mean wallop, as it levels 'kronies' at close-range. Its ability to level enemies at long-range, however, is cause for concern.

With the ability to manipulate time itself, you're bound to be presented with a few puzzles. For example, at one point in the demo, you drop into a corridor, but as you begin to walk, it begins to explode from the opposite end, towards you. What do you? You rewind time, and get through the corridor before you become toast. And of course, once you make it through safely, you turn back to watch your buddies that were in there get fried anyway! If the puzzles presented in this demo are any indication of their quality then I’m definitely looking forward to more complex brain busters in the full game.

Slated for a November release, Timeshift has a ways to go before it will hold it's own against the big dogs, like Gears of War, Halo or Bioshock. While it's come a long way, its textures and character models are far surpassed by titles that were released a year ago. Timeshift has limitless potential and if Vivendi Games doesn't cease in their improvement of the title, it just may make it.

For those interested in forming their own viewpoint on Timeshift, the demo is available on the Xbox Live Marketplace at a size of 582MB.

Article by Brodie Gibbons