Singularity – [Review]

Singularity 

Developed By:   Raven Software 

Published By:   Activision 

Platforms:  PC, Xbox 360, PS3 

Players: 1 (Singleplayer),  12 Players (Multiplayer) 

Rated M for Mature by the ESRB 

The Breakdown 

Mastering the power of time has never been more fun in this era-hopping alternate history title from Raven Software! 

The Important Stuff 

The United States cemented its position as the foremost world superpower with the discovery of atomic weaponry during World War II.  The development of these nuclear weapons eventually led to some very tense years in the world, eventually leading to the stand-off between Russia and the US known as the Cold War.  

But what if there was technology and weaponry more powerful and more destructive than nukes?  Raven Software brings to us Singularity, a game which answers that question by imagining a reality where Russia has discovered a new isotope known as “E99″ during the Cold War which allows them to harness the potential of Time itself.  This new isotope is only found on one tiny island in the world, which Russia quickly sets up as a research base known as Katorga-12.  When something goes horribly wrong sometime in 1955, leading to the complete devastation of the island, Russia quickly and quietly erases all records and knowledge of the base.  

This can't be good for your health!

Flash forward to the present, when a huge electromagnetic burst mysteriously destroys an American spy satelitte, our government is quick to react and learns the location of the blast originated from the tiny uninhabited island.  Since we’re obviously pissed that our satellite got blown up, we dispatch military teams to find out what’s going on.  When a second electromagnetic burst destroys the helicopters en route, the story begins in the shoes of Captain Nathaniel Renko who survives the crash landing on Katorga-12.  

As Renko begins to explore the island, you’ll suddenly get thrown back to the year 1955, where you’ll learn that your actions there will have some serious effects on the present day.  Through the course of the game you will travel across this mysterious research station in order to learn the secret behind the Singularity and the mysterious isotope known as “E99″.  

"E99" - Making kickass weapons and mutating people since 1955!

As you progress through the game you’ll have access to many different types of weapons, most of which are powered by the “E99″ isotope.  The most interesting tool at your disposal however is a device known as the TMD, short for Time Manipulation Device.  The TMD allows characters to age enemies till they turn to dust, revert them to a primordial monster, knock them away with concentrated blasts of energy, and even able to throw “bubbles” which slow to a near standstill whomever is unfortunate enough to be trapped within.  In addition to using the weapon against your enemies, the TMD can be used to affect some of your surroundings.  Staircases can be rebuilt, the cover your enemies are hiding behind can be aged to dust to expose them, even rockets and grenades being thrown at you can be grabbed mid-air and returned to sender.  It’s quite a fun weapon to use, but in the early parts of the game its power is limited to only a few uses before you either have to let it manually recharge, or use “E99″ canisters to replenish it quickly. 

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust!

 This game is hard to review without making some comparisons to Bioshock.  The HUD elements are extremely similar, with one Health Bar and one TMD Energy bar (which eerily similar to Bioshock’s Adam meter).  Just like Bioshock, you can heal with health packs you carry around, and replenish “E99″ just like syringes replenished Adam.  Basically instead of Adam, you have “E99″.  Instead of spending Adam at vending machines to unlock new abilities, you spend “E99″ at dispensors to purchase weapons/ammo/abilities/perks. 

Singularity also features two Multiplayer modes which include “Creatures Vs. Soldiers” and also “Extermination”.  The former essentially is a modified Team Deathmatch gametype, while the latter is is more of a Control Point match.  As of this review, I have been unable to access the multiplayer games.  The game searches for games, but then gets hung up while “searching for the best connection”.  This is a problem that has been discussed on the Xbox Forums, but I still have not been able to get it to work.  Some suggested workarounds include, “keep trying” and “if you manage to get in to a game, join a recent player again through the dashboard”.  I find both of these to be unacceptable workarounds and hope for a patch in the future to address the issue. 

Tips & Tricks 

- Don’t waste all of your “E99″ energy packs.  Sitting in a corner for a minute or so will allow you to automatically regenerate your energy without resorting to using your energy packs. 

- Don’t be afraid to use your TMD to help you out of sticky situations.  It has multiple ways to be used, so feel free to experiment! 

- Fully upgrading the Assault Rifle early on will help you take out the bad guys, but try some of the other available weapons as well. 

- Stuck with nowhere to go?  Look around you for environmental items that can be moved/restored/destroyed using the TMD to make a new path. 

- If you figure out how to get Multiplayer working, please let me know.   

Reaction 

Singularity’s singleplayer experience was exceptionally fun, and offers up three different endings depending on the choices you make.  I’ve always enjoyed “alternate history” stories, and Singularity’s tale of Cold War experimentation gone wrong combined with the ability to manipulate time itself was awesome.  

Graphically the game exceeds well using Epic’s Unreal 3 engine, an engine that continues to provide some very detailed environments.  But as flashy as the graphics can be, Singularity essentially is still just your average linear shooting game.  Level design is very straightforward and you’re only ever offered one real route to take to get from point A to point B.  There are collectibles scattered throughout the levels, with audio logs (another Bioshock homage), blueprints and designs for new abilities, but even with these additional touches it still doesn’t offer much replay value due to the feel like you’re just constantly pushing forward and not really exploring anything.  I’m not saying the game doesn’t have a gritty and cool atmosphere that pulls you into the story but I am saying that at some points I just felt like it was one long hallway that I was walking down, with no doors on the sides, shooting all enemies that popped up in front of me while I was on my way to the other end of the hall. 

Where should you go? Probably straight forward!

Singularity does feature some awesome weapons though, not to mention the cool powers of the TMD.  I like a game that offers a good variety of weapons, even upgradeable as well, but the icing on the cake is the TMD.  

*Spoiler*  DO NOT READ IF YOU DON’T WANT TO BE SURPRISED *Spoiler* 

Towards the very end of the game, you gain unlimited “E99″ energy with the TMD.  This was honestly one of my favorite parts of the game, but I just wish it was longer.  I didn’t even need guns anymore, I was just blasting/aging/reverting to my heart’s content.  It unfortunately didn’t last incredibly long and left me wishing for more enemies to use my newfound unlimited powers on. 

Lastly, Multiplayer was a big disappointment.  I haven’t been able to get into a single game since launch.  As mentioned above, some Xbox Forum users have stated to “keep trying” but I only have so much patience for something that is essentially broken.  The game types do sound fun though, especially Creatures Vs. Soldiers, so if I am able to finally check out the multiplayer I will update the score for this game at that time.  If you’d like to get a good idea of what multiplayer is SUPPOSED to be like, then feel free to check out this link directly to Raven Software.  

Singularity is a lot of fun.  If you can pick it up cheap (I got mine on sale at Kmart for $34.99 which wasn’t a bad price) I highly recommend playing it.  I absolutely recommend renting it if you can get your hands on it.  I just can’t justify a purchase at full retail price for a product that is essentially missing advertised features like multiplayer, but on a positive note there are specially branded retail copies which have a rebate to get a FREE copy of [PROTOTYPE] if you pay shipping & handling fees.  $34.99 for TWO games isn’t so bad! 

CoyAndChris gives Singularity a 7.5 out of 10!

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