Fuck it, people seem to have this concept in their minds that thinking with time machine is garbage, but I have to disagree. Because for a mod made by one guy I think, it fairly in depth for what it is. The puzzles develop the complexity of the concept in a fair manner, and it does genuinely feel like this mod had a lot of care, thought, and fun put behind it in development. Overall while its certainly not anywhere close to the Valve levels of polish and design that the bass game was, it worth a playthrough for simply being a charming little addition to said games world; and for real, who expects that much out of this small mod? Oh yeah, the people who compare it to Portal Stories: Mel... minus well compare a Chromebook to a Razer Blade gaming laptop, and say the Chromebook is shit because it can't run Cyberpunk as well, while of course they are both fully capable computers just at doing different tasks.

I've always wanted a PS3, but that was mostly for stuff like MGS4 and having some solid HD remasters. Cut to 2022, and I have a PS3. I always remembered when I was a kid I played Second Son, was aware of the first two games, but couldn't play them due to only having a PS4. I decide "Fuck it" and ordered myself a copy. I definitely was satisfied with my purchase.
The game takes place in Empire City. No, it's not New York City, and no, blue werewolf hedgehogs are not running around fighting robots. It's just a generic city. Cole MacGrath is your name, and accidentally destroying an entire section of the city while delivering a package on your job is your game. You become a human capacitor, though, so that's a plus. As a conduit, you become a being with electric superpowers, and boy, does this game take full advantage of your powers. From powering trains, turning yourself into a fuse for new powers, killing anyone nearby when in water, and even defibrillating people, this game had potential with his powers and hit a 10 with it.
However, not everyone was a sharpshooter at Sucker Punch's archery range. Although it's far from the worst example, this game still kinda reeks of, as Noodle called it, "7th gen piss filter." The colors are pretty muted for the most part, with muddy textures. It looks fine, and in a city under quarantine with psychotic gangs on the street, I don't expect it to look all that colorful, but it's still not exactly painting worthy. The worst part isn't the graphics though. For my second Sonic Unleashed comparison today, this game was capped at 60 FPS and really should not have been. The game's sub-30 usually, so they may as well have put on a 30 fps cap. Music's not very memorable either, though when it does play it's pretty wicked.
Further bringing this game down a peg is the story. It was fine. This game has a Karma mechanic, where being good or evil influences things like powers and some plot points. However, for the most part the plot plays the same on both sides, so they had to write Cole to be both good and evil at the same time. This causes him to act a bit weirdly depending on how you play. Like, Cole saying stuff isn't his problem, despite the fact he helps people that aren't his problem a lot if you're playing the hero route. It gives Cole a bit of a "I'm not paid enough for this shit" attitude though, so despite him being a bit generic, and sounding like modern Shadow the Hedgehog (what is with all these Sonic references today?) I still enjoyed him as a protagonist. Others weren't so likable though. I personally found Zeke a bit insufferable as the game goes on, though near the end of the game I like how they treat him. Trish was a fine character, and had an okay arc. John White, voiced by Phil LaMarr, probably does to best voice acting in the game though, and he was a pretty good character as well. It's not a bad story, but it's not amazing either. The plot twists are pretty good, but it's no emotional rollercoaster by any means.
Now, with how critical I've been, why is the game not just some 5/10? Simple; The game is pretty damn fun. Even with his basic powers, Cole is a fun character to play as. The game plays like a third person shooter/action game, and remember when I said the creativity of how he uses his powers was great? Well, that translated to the combat as well. It's rare that I play a game where every single power is actively useful, always available for use without some weapon wheel or menu of any kind, and fun to use. Whether it be using your basic electric zap, gliding around, sniping people in slo-mo, blowing stuff up with the Megaton Hammer, or smiting enemies with the might of Zeus near the end of the game, everything is useful and fun, without being broken or making any of the other attacks obsolete. I played on Hard, and on this difficulty enemies will rip you to shreds if you're not careful, and while this can be kinda frustrating at times, figuring out good ways to demolish everyone in your path and then proceeding to make each goon vanish like someone left Sonic Heroes on the ground was really satisfying and really awesome. They also mix in platforming elements that work really well, though it's moreso inspired by Assassins Creed, and that game does wall-scaling a bit better. What I will say against the gameplay though is that I wish Cole had faster means of transportation, as no matter what he's just a bit too slow for my liking. Also that one hot air balloon mission near the end of the game can go fuck right off.
Overall, this game is not a masterpiece, but damn it's fun. A "good enough" story and "eh" graphics kinda drag the game down, and the framerate should not have been the way it is, but some pretty stellar combat brings it right back up. If you'd like a western action game with third-person shooter and platforming elements, give this game a shot, you won't regret it.
7.7/10

This is usually the part where I tell you he best way to play the game, but it's only on PS3, so there ya go. If you have a beefy computer I'd recommend emulating it for better performance tho.