Review | Singularity

Back to the Future…

Format: PC/Xbox 360/PS3 | Genre: FPS | Publisher: Activision | Developer: Raven Software | Release date: 25/06/10 | Price: £49.99

Greg Giddens rarely has so much fun screwing up the timeline in SINGULARITY.

SEEMINGLY COMING out of nowhere, arrives Singularity – a new FPS from Raven Software – but as obscure as it is, Singularity is already proving to be one of this year’s surprise hits.

You take the role of Captain Nathaniel Renko, sent to an abandoned Russian research island – Katorga 12 – where in the 1950s scientist were experimenting with an element called E99. E99 – as it turns out – has the power to cause rifts in time, and before long you find yourself transported back to the 1950s where your actions change the course of history for the worse. It’s now up to you to correct your mistake and destroy the E99 powered singularity causing these rifts.

The narrative itself is excellent, telling an interesting, self contained – if a little short – story with equally interesting multiple endings. Sure, time travel is nothing new but Singularity delivers the narrative particularly well, it never gets too convoluted and the pacing is maintained at a steady rate – once the first hour is over – to keep you interested throughout. On the downside, in order to deliver the narrative in this way your freedom is compromised, with each level being very linear.

So much to see

Playing through based solely on the mandatory information you receive only really tells half the story. Hidden paper notes, chalk notes on the walls, and audio files fill you in on the history of Katorga 12 and the experiments that were conduced there. Occasionally these notes give away a lot about what’s coming up next which ruins a few of the surprises but makes perfect sense come the credits. The linearity unfortunately can restrict how much of the backstory you get to learn about, with no backtracking – or even a level select after completing a level -  to help you find and understand Singularity’s hidden intricacies. However, you inevitably come across enough to gain an insight into the past, and you’re completely briefed about your role, but it feels like a missed opportunity not to allow more freedom for players to experience the rich backstory.

In keeping with the time travelling premise, Singularity’s other features are also somewhat lacking in originality, but they’re implemented so well that is doesn’t really matter , your enjoyment is never compromised by the déjà vu and is in fact amplified by the homage Singularity pays to other titles.

The first hour or so feels a great deal like F.E.A.R. with its spectral imagery showing you flashes of the past and disembodied susurrations floating on the wind. It’s genuinely eerie, pulling off a horror-esque atmosphere wonderfully, however, this first hour does feel slow to get going and can easily give you the false impression that Singularity is just another generic FPS title. Once the first hour is over, however, the atmosphere makes its transition to action – appropriate to the narrative – and once you find the TMD and E99 based weapons, Singularity really steps up its game.

The TMD (Time Manipulation Device) allows you to manipulate the age of objects infused with the element E99 as well as living beings, as a result it doubles as a puzzle solving tool and a powerful weapon. Turning the TMD on the living produces a variety of results; humans crumble to dust, the phase walking Zeks are forced into slow motion, and the zombie-like Reverts explode, add to that an ability you gain further along where you can transform humans to Reverts, and the melee attack being replaced with an Iron Man-esque pulse instead, and your options for offensive time manipulation is endless.

Continues…

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