TimeShift

Time-freezing is this game's jerk mode: freeze time, steal the gun from an enemy, unfreeze and watch hilarious befuddlement ensue. Shooting the poor guy with his own gun is just the icing on the cake. And it’s worth noting in passing that TimeShift’s impressive enemy AI will send the gunless enemy off foraging unless you do choose to end him. You can even freeze a room full of people, fire a bullet at each of their temples, and return to normal time to watch them drop in synchronized death.

A few years ago, TimeShift was days away from going gold. Then publishers Sierra offered the devs the chance to make something better. Out went the original plot, the garish engine, the script, the physics engine. All were retuned and refocused to make something better. It was time well spent.