Despite being published by Activision, Singularity was released with more of a whisper than a bang just over a month ago — but that doesn’t mean that this game isn’t worth shouting about. Singularity is a sci-fi, first person shooter experience, where you destroy mutants in increasingly creative ways and solve environment puzzles with the aid of your shiny gadget/weapon, the Time Manipulation Device (“TMD”), whilst jumping between eras in time.
Set on the bleak isle of Katorga 12 — which is discovered by the US after a curious amount of radiation emitting from its placement on the map is detected, sparking an investigation into the shady research going on within its depths — the game begins with a not-so-original helicopter crash that we’ve seen many a time before. But hey, how else are we gonna get stranded on an island filled with mutants? It’s also set in a state of affairs where Russian scientists have discovered a new element — Element 99 — which, among other things, creates time-bending craziness and ugly mutants that conveniently want to kill you in many gruesome ways. You must then brave the horrors of the aftermath of E-99 to find out the secrets of the island, discovering notes and BioShock/Arkham Asylum-style recordings left behind and piecing together a chilling narrative which you’ll surely want to discover completely.
At the beginning of the game I found myself really sitting on the edge of my seat, with scenes of creepy school children and stories of families torn apart creating a unnerving atmosphere fitting for any thriller or horror game. This sets the standard for the rest of the game, really giving the impression that this will be something a lot more than your average run-of-the-mill shooter. However, it does seem a little bit that once you get past the initial scene-setting stage and you get better guns, allowing you to mow down those pesky mutants, the atmosphere either sadly isn’t that prevalent anymore, or you’re simply desensitized to it. Maybe if this atmospheric feel carried on to the end at the same standard it began at, it would make this game stand out much more.
Singularity can be completed in 6-8 hours depending on your difficulty setting and skills, so it leaves a little to be desired in terms of length, but it’s nothing too outrageous considering other similar games. There is a multiplayer mode, but it’s kind of half-hearted, and I can’t see it going any deeper than a bit of fun to pick up and play with some friends — but then, that’s not all bad. You can also play as the creatures in versus matches, which is a lot of fun.
There’s an array of artillery for you to do battle with, and most make use of the infamous Element 99 for ammo or upgrades. The upgrade system is very useful, using weapon lockers where you can also swap out your equipment to find out what works best for you. There are also stations for you to upgrade your own stats, like your health capacity or melee damage. This provides another level of progression in an otherwise pretty repetitive environment. My favorite weapon of all, however — and this seems to be the opinion of other people I know who’ve played it — is the Seeker, which packs a punch with explosive ammo that you steer towards your opponent in epic, slo-mo style. The TMD itself can also be upgraded, adding different mechanics to the experience. One of the most notable is the gravity upgrade, which effectively turns it into the gravity gun of Half-Life 2 fame — another of the many ways in which you can fairly say Singularity borrows from other top releases.
The game itself is a good looking one, with its roots in Unreal Technology clearly shining through — especially the mutants in all their gruesome glory. The art style, although relatively subtle, is fitting and atmospheric, doing a lot to really get down to the nitty gritty of the narrative at Singularity’s heart. Particularly nice is seeing the change between the eras of certain environments, especially them being either rebuilt or destroyed to tell the story — and the flow is seamless, at points reminding me of those photographs of modern day buildings combined with the old, as if to make some poignant historical remark. At some points it can look a little generic, although the setting of “Russian Research Facility” doesn’t make the best opportunity for Wonderland craziness.
The environmental puzzles are a welcome, if very basic, addition, and are either solved in simple platformer-style ways, or by using the talents of the TMD — but are really quite repetitive, only retaining their novelty value for a while. The environments are also rather predictable in terms of where to go next, meaning there isn’t much character exploration going on, and it doesn’t help immersion when your way is blocked by a door that simply won’t open or some conveniently placed vegetation. As I mentioned before, Singularity is very linear, but this is always the problem for a game expecting to portray a story. This one does it well in the sense that you really do feel a sense of control for a second when you watch your actions in the past affect the future — that is until you come back to Earth and sadly realize that it would have happened anyway.
The controls and interface are easy to understand and well organized, considering the complexity and amount of gameplay mechanics that come with Singularity, and this helps you to mix up the action when you’re battling mutants and soldiers, switching weapons seamlessly and easily. The controls are perceptive and intuitive, meaning you can blast away enemies with your TMD without even thinking about it. I also used the auto-aim feature because I’m pretty rubbish, and I was thankful for it in moments when I wasn’t quite on the ball or too busy getting freaked out by mutants. It was easy to notice the smoothness of the controls, especially when using the beloved Seeker, allowing you to elegantly swerve the bullet right into your enemy’s head before watching it explode.
Singularity is pretty fun — despite the linearity, the borrowed game mechanics and other minor flaws. The combat especially is exciting. Once you get over the initial shock of mutants jumping on your face (I jumped a fair few times in the beginning of the game) it is all the more fun to mow them down. And everyone knows how fun it is to shoot arms off mutants. Combining a creepy atmosphere and narrative with interesting guns and gameplay mechanics, there are some neat ideas in Raven Software’s hypothetical alternative future (or is it past? Time manipulation is a confusing thing.) – even if we’ve seen most of them before.
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Things We Liked: The creepy atmosphere at the beginning (if only it lasted longer). The range of weapons, upgrades and TMD capabilities. The Island itself and its backstory. Solid controls. Killing mutants in awesome ways. The platformer feel to some of the environmental puzzles.
Things We Disliked: Not-so-subtle linearity. The unoriginal stuff (at least try and hide that you stole it next time?). Multiplayer Mode that is hardly worth a mention. The fact that it seems a little uninspired at times, especially in level design. Needs more ammo… please? Predictable AI.
Target Audience: Shooter fans. Horror game fans. Fans of BioShock, Half-Life 2 or Metro 2033. Fans of time manipulation (aren’t we all?). Fans of FPSes who like a little more story with their violence. Fans of watching explosive bullets pop heads off things (don’t worry, we won’t judge you…)
(Singularity – Developer: Raven Software. Publisher: Activision. Available on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 – PlayStation 3 version reviewed. A copy of the game was provided by the publisher for review purposes. Unfamiliar with CFD!’s review system? Read our newly revised explanation here.)
