Atari today announced that TimeShift, an innovative first-person shooter in which players control time to complete missions and defeat foes, is in development by Saber Interactive for the personal computer and the Xbox video game system from Microsoft. TimeShift will leverage first-of-its-kind gameplay abilities and functionality, the latest graphics technology, and high production values to create a truly unique action game experience that is expected to be available in autumn 2005.
“TimeShift represents a totally new take on a massive gaming genre, and underlines Atari’s dedication, alongside that of Saber Interactive, to pushing the boundaries of what games can offer,” Martin Spiess, Senior Vice President of Marketing, Atari Europe. “TimeShift challenge players to use their wits and time-bending abilities as well as their formidable weaponry to complete the missions. Integrating the fourth dimension – time – into the fabric of the gameplay will shift perceptions of what a first-person shooter can be.”
TimeShift empowers players with the gift of time manipulation, including the ability to slow down, stop and rewind the world around them, allowing them to move freely while opponents and game objects are frozen in time. Featuring time control as an integral part of gameplay, TimeShift takes first-person action games in an entirely new direction.
Saber Interactive’s proprietary Saber3D game engine includes groundbreaking graphics technology, such as normal mapping to create amazingly high-detailed textures and characters, as well as advanced parallax lighting, allowing for realistic depth to environmental textures. The game engine will also incorporate futuristic physics technology for in-game objects and characters. TimeShift will also provide an added level of immersion with a deep and engrossing storyline created by a renowned Hollywood writer and director that incorporates a fantastic vision of our world existing within an alternate timeline.
TimeShift will feature more than 30 combat missions, each showcasing time control elements and challenges that players must complete using both their extraordinary capabilities and combat expertise. An array of devastating and unique weaponry from the world’s alternate timeline will be at the player’s disposal, including bizarre incarnations of traditional sniper guns, machine guns, pistols and more, as well as never-before-imagined armaments from an era humanity has never seen.
Developed by New Jersey-based Saber Interactive, TimeShift is expected to be available on personal computer and Xbox in autumn 2005.