Okay, so this isn't the perfect FPS game around...but then at present, I don't know what is. I have CRYSIS, CoD4, BioShock, UT3, STALKER and even MoH:AIRBORNE but when in need of a good "time-out" ('scuse the pun) session of good, simple FPS'ing, then TIMESHIFT has definitely replaced F.E.A.R. as my favourite.
Yes, it might be similar to HALO 3 , but we're not all HALO fans out here. I find to be more a cross between GoW and FEAR (as mentioned). The latter for its' rag-doll physics and smart (yes, I did say smart) enemy A.I. As an example, if you freeze time, grab the gun gun from one enemy and then kill another nearby, when time resumes you may turn to find that the disarmed guard has retrieved the weapon from his downed mate...oh dear! Face him squarely and don't allow him near the weapon and he will quite often throw his hands up and ask for mercy...not that any is forthcoming of course.
I mentioned GoW as that is the sought of atmosphere the graphics lend themselves to (most of the time). I would not have liked the previous "steam-punk" look, and besides that has already been done now in BIOSHOCK with its' 1950's-themed steam-punkish theme (if that makes sense). And BIOSHOCK did it well, so travelling back to an alternate WWII period (which is going to be drab and dark anyway) makes sense if it has the gloomy feel to it. But as I said, this is MOST of the time (as in F.E.A.R.-Extraction Point)...at times the ghraphic display is jarringly bright and almost cartoony, but thankfully those moments are brief and quickly passed. Otherwise, no complaints about the Textures or Character Models..they're great for this game (and I personally wasn't enthralled with the KPA character models in CRYSIS, so not everyone will see things the same way).
The sound, while initially overly loud (until turned down in the Options) are more than serviceable, though the grenades could do with a bit more "oomph". Then again, if you've heard real 'nades go off, they really don't have the Hollywood 'BOOM', so that's a minor quibble.
The Story or lack of? Well, really who cares? Its' a FPS and even though QUAKE4 had a good Storyline, it is not what players remember it for. It is the collection of "Ooh Aah" moments which all good games have, and TIMESHIFT is no different. So I won't detract points here.
If you loved F.E.A.R. (and still do), like the look of GEARS OF WAR but can't run it or whatever then this is a good bet. Multiplayer still needs work as there are at present about 4-6 Servers running at any time, and not all populated. I don't know if that is the NAT problem supposedly addressed in Patch 1.2, or they simply don't exist. But the game definitely needs more Servers as Multiplayer is fun, not a Spamfest like some others I won't mention.
Finally, the price is decent, for once and I believe reflects what PC games should genuinly cost us punters. We shouldn't have to foot the bill for advertising campaigns and pre-release hype. It certainly doesn't reflect on the quality of the game.