To paraphrase the Rolling Stones, in this game, time is on your side. You're a stone-faced cosmonaut strapped into a three-billion-dollar suit capable of pausing, stopping and rewinding reality itself -- like your own personal real-world TiVo. This first-person shooter excels through innovation. Instead of straightforward puzzle-solving and run-and-gun encounters, players can craft their own solution to every scenario. This arrangement is great for diehard enthusiasts. But beware: Casual users may find themselves quickly outclassed.

Called into action when balding evildoer Dr. Krone subverts the spatial continuum for his own purposes, grizzled hero Col. Swift (voiced by actor Dennis Quaid) must stop the scientist's plans to dominate the universe. Your arsenal includes futuristic arms such as plasma-shooting crossbows, guided rockets and energy cannons, but getting a chance to use it can be difficult, because it's hard to start battles on foot or from turrets with your strikingly intelligent adversaries. Initial mindbenders (e.g. freezing time to slap multiple switches or safely sprint through minefields) fail to excite. It isn't until later levels -- where you must manipulate the clock to leap onto chugging trains, send explosives soaring into giant helicopters or zip through raging wind tunnels -- that combat really heats up.

The B-grade Hollywood scriptwriting and sluggish solo campaign bog the game down somewhat, but it eventually delivers. Online multiplayer support for up to 16 also proves unexpectedly addictive, letting you paralyze your buddies with time grenades or compete in team-based capture-the-flag-type trials. Once you've taken the time to get good -- and you can bend the principles of physics to steal weapons from opponents' hands, avoid detection or confuse opponents -- you'll be rewarded for your patient dedication.