Let’s get the cynical shit out of the way first. TimeShift is, at times, ruthlessly imitative. We’re not sure at what point during its convoluted development cycle it was decided that the game’s direction was to ape Half-Life so unashamedly, but whether by pure accident or by intentional design, that’s exactly what it does. From the Orwellian ‘voice of the people’ depicted on giant screens and espousing the benefits of various community-minded actions involving, in the main, shutting up and doing what your told, all the way through to the level structure and indeed the weapons that are available.

We were torn throughout our time with the game. On the one hand, it unashamedly steals ideas from others, while on the other, you simply cannot deny how tremendously enjoyable it is regardless. Should Unforgiven be stripped of its Oscars because it’s ostensibly just another western with sheriffs and bad guys? No. Of course not. So let’s put all that crap aside for a minute and talk about the game itself.

The game is set in a dystopian alternate timeline of the 20th Century. The timeline, an alternate history, has somehow been brought about by the invention and illegal use of the time-suit you’ll occupy throughout the course of the game. The suit, acronymically named S.S.A.M. is an artificially intelligent entity unto itself. The gameplay is a mixture of your standard FPS conventions; start with small gun, gradually build up to big gun and so on. Far more than your, now pretty much ubiquitous, Woovian bullet time, you also have the ability to stop time altogether and even reverse it for short periods. Time-reversal is really only useful during the puzzle-solving phases of the gameplay, but time-stop is genius; stop time, put a bullet through the head of six enemies, unpause and watch as an overpowering number of assailants become a synchronised shower of brains and red mist. Alternatively, how about using pause to casually run around and relieve them all of their guns, then laugh in their faces as they beg for mercy.

TimeShift may be a hotchpotch of other games all bundled together and rolled into one, but play more than a couple of hours before you judge, because it becomes very difficult to put down and goes on to reveal some staggeringly inventive and truly breathtaking moments. All in all, TimeShift is a hugely enjoyable shooter. Ignore it at your expense.

Dan Howdle