TIRED OF THE SAME OLD TEAM DEATHMATCH?

SIERRA ENTERTAINMENT REVEALS INNOVATIVE MULTIPLAYER MAP PACK FOR TIMESHIFTTM

Sierra Entertainment today revealed plans to launch the Futures-Past Multiplayer Map Pack, a new downloadable content (DLC) package for TimeShift™ for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft®, available for free download on 9th May 2008. The map pack features five new multiplayer maps for players to unravel while annihilating online enemies with time-bending chrono grenades. Each map presented in the DLC package supports classic multiplayer modes: One-on-One, Deathmatch, and Team Deathmatch, but TimeShift's exclusive multiplayer modes, King of Time and Meltdown Madness modes reveal the future of multiplayer fragging.

For more information on downloadable content package, Futures-Past Multiplayer Map Pack, be sure to visit the official website at www.timeshiftgame.com.

TIMESHIFT™ XBOX360 MULTIPLAYER DEMO AVAILABLE ON MARKETPLACE ON 11/14

Sierra Entertainment, a division of Vivendi Games, announced today that a multiplayer demo for TimeShift will be available via Xbox Live download.

Developed by Saber Interactive and published by Sierra Entertainment, TimeShift is a first person shooter (FPS) video game that allows players to master the flow of time, to become the ultimate weapon in war-torn environments. Armed with the experimental time-manipulating Beta Suit and a huge arsenal of weaponry and vehicles, players have the ability to slow, stop and reverse the flow of time, allowing them to control several aspects of each battle sequence. Intuitive time controls give the player the ultimate advantage in avoiding attacks, correcting mistakes and outsmarting the enemy.

With a comprehensive online 16-player multiplayer mode, featuring time grenades, 14 different maps and over 40 different features, TimeShift gears itself to the players' unique style of gameplay by allowing matches to be completely customizable. Players can battle it out in a tight, well-balanced multiplayer experience that implements several aspects of the time-manipulating gameplay element found in the single-player campaign.

TimeShift has an ESRB "M" for Mature rating. For more information, please visit the game's official website at www.TimeShiftgame.com

Manhunt 2 (WII, PS2, PSP)
At long last it finally arrives, castrated but no worse for the wear.

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (X360, WII, PS3, PS2)
Barracuda, here I come!

The Simpsons Game (X360, PS2, DS, WII, PS3)
One Simpsons game to rule them all.

The Witcher (PC)
It's witchcraft, wicked witchcraft...

Hellgate: London (PC)
Welcome to the 'ell 'ole.

Culpa Innata (PC)
What life will be like 40 years from now. I can't wait to see if it's accurate.

Dementium: The Ward (DS)
GameCock rolls out the monsters.

TimeShift (PC, X360)
The clothes make the man.

Battalion Wars 2 (WII)
Who knew war could be so cute.

Tabula Rasa (PC)
Richard Garriot's futuristic MMO finally arrives.

Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness (PSP)
YOU are the Overlord. Or at least you will be if you win.

Virtua Fighter 5 (X360)
Beat down in HD.

Demo: TimeShift [Xbox Live's Major Nelson]

The good stuff is right here, though. For anyone who might've missed it, Sony has uploaded a high-def version of the Metal Gear Solid 4 Games Convention trailer, "Beauty and the Beast." Clips for Heavenly Sword, Timeshift and Haze are also ready to invade your sectors. Wallpapers for WarHawk and flOw round out the gaming content.

So, kick back in your super cool pad, curl up to your special someone and make it a PlayStation Network night. Watching progress bars fill is the definition of a romantic Friday night.

New movie trailers for Pixar's WALL-E, The Brothers of Solomon and The Lives of Others join new PS3 wallpapers for Blast Factor: Advanced Research and, again, Heavenly Sword. This update is so solid it makes me want to do our secret, multi-step handshake—you know, the one that ends with us doing a little hip bump and double finger gun snap-point at eachother?

Timeshift was seven bugs away from completion for Atari last year when Vivendi stepped in and put the game on hold, asking the developers what they would change about the game if they could.

That question spurred a tirade of suggestions and lead to the game being completely overhauled with a slick new look, feel and mechanics for the Playstation 3, PC and 360 game. Or so one of the developers told me in a punctuation-free explanation of why the game is going to kick ass. But all he really needed to do was start up the demo.

This game is AMAZING.

First you need to know that the game is using a proprietary engine. Not that I have an issue with any of the shooter engines out there now, they're mostly amazing, but using them too often can lead to the homogenization of a genre that's already struggling with a general lack of innovation. That's not a concern I have with Timeshift, its got a really gritty, dark look and, much to my delight, in this particular world it is almost constantly raining. Which is awesome when you can stop a rain drop in mid fall.

The general story is that a scientist creates a parallel time stream where he is a dictator. You are sent in to try and stop him, by using a suit with the ability to slow, stop or reverse time. The thing is, this time manipulation isn't like in a game like Prince of Persia (the developer says that form is essentially just an oh shit button). You don't use this to try and reverse what you just did, in fact the time manipulation doesn't affect you but it affects everything and everyone around you.

They should me a lot of very obvious examples of how you can use this. In one case the developer was cornered by two guys with better weapons. Instead of trying to shoot it out with them using his pistol, he froze time, walked up to the first guy and snatched away his better weapon. When time reasserted itself he killed the second guy and the first guy ran over and picked up his comrades weapon, a nice bit of AI.

In another example he jumped down a hole into a room infested with enemies who immediately lit him up. So he reversed time to before they spotted him, hid away and started it back up with them no longer aware he was in the room. Other examples include breaking a window to get into a room and then reversing time to reform the window so no one knows you are there.

Whats so cool about this is that it's not just some neat new weapon, it changes the entire way you play the game. In another example, for instance, the developer fell into a hole and instead of going around and starting his trip across the hole over again he shot a barrel from a nearby ledge into the hole with him. Next he stood on the barrel and reversed time, time-surfing his way back to the ledge where the barrel initially stood.

I am going to absolutely love this game. And the multiplayer sounds even more fun. To make the timeshifting work in multiplayer the developers had to come up with a better system because if you use the one used in single player, people would be perpetually frozen and on one would have fun.

Instead of a suit, gamers in multiplayer are equipped with timeshifting grenades, which come in all three flavors (stop, slow and back). When a grenade goes off it creates a time explosion that's about 12-feet in diameter which lasts for a short period of time. Anyone in that area is affected.

So, lets say someone shoots a rocket at you, if you hit the rocket with a reverse grenade it will fly back in the face of your attacker. Or you could use slow or stop to prevent someone from capturing a flag. It sounds like a whole buncha fun and certainly looked like a whole bunch of fun. I don't know if I'm more psyched about the single player campaign or the multiplayer time-surfing fragfest. Brian Crecente

What they really want is to make a believer out of you and are holding back a collector's edition of TimeShift unless there's a well-known public demand for it. Normally I wouldn't dream of stroking a developer's ego, but how long has this game been in production?! There should be a commerative dish by the US mint when this thing releases. It's on the table (the offer, not the dish) so if you guys want a collector's edition, all you have to do is ask. Kim Phu

Episode #99 - TimeShift Exclusive Podcast Interview [Gamertag Radio]

See the HD version here [GameTrailers]

What you see before you is a sketch Playboy put together for November's issue (on stands next week) which features the annual Playboy's Women of Videogames 2006 spread. The magazine will also feature a look at the state of the video game industry. The six-pages of gaming content include a 2-page foldout, final version of what you see above.

This particular sketch, given to us by Pboy editor Scott Alexander, was used to block the shot before the final renders were done. The image shows eight women from seven games. The cool thing is that all of the art you are looking out, be it pencil or final 3D render, was done by the various game studios. Playboy then melded all of the art into one two-page shot.

This image, showing the different stages of the creative process, is exclusive to Kotaku. No one else has it and no one else is getting it.

And now the run down. From left to right: Sarah Morrison of Tabula Rasa, two of the Femmes Fatale from Scarface (the third from left didn't make the final cut, her name is Jessica McRae), two women from God of War 2, a very preliminary version of Alicia Claus from Bulletwitch, Dr. Jasmine Lin from Timeshift, and Enrica from Splinter Cell Double Agent.

As a special treat, I got Fleshbot to agree to post the unedited version of the photo on their site a little later on tonight. I'll update once it's up. Brian Crecente

Sneak Peek Playboy's Women of Video Games [NSFW, Fleshbot]