Developer(s): Raven Software
Publisher(s): Activision
Engine: Unreal Engine 3
Platform(s): Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3
Release date(s): June 29, 2010
Genre(s): First-person shooter, science fiction
Mode(s): Single-player, multiplayer
Rating(s): BBFC: 18
ESRB: M
PEGI: 18+
Media: Blu-ray Disc, DVD
Input methods: Keyboard and mouse, gamepad
Singularity is a video game developed by Raven Software published by Activision and released for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3, Singularity is Raven Software's second title based on Epic Games' Unreal Engine 3. The title was announced at Activision's E3 2008 press conference.
The game takes place on a mysterious island known as "Katorga-12" where Russian experiments involving "E99" took place during the height of the Cold War era. Sometime during 1955, a terrible catastrophe known as the "Singularity" occurred on the island, causing the island's very existence to be covered up by the Russian government. The player controls Nate Renko, a Black Ops soldier who is sent to investigate bizarre radiation emissions coming from the island, only to crash land there. After regaining consciousness, Nate finds the TMD (Time Manipulation Device) and discovers that the island is constantly shifting between the time periods of 1955 and 2010. He also encounters Victor Barisov, the scientist in charge of the Katorga-12 experiments who reveals that a man named Nikolai Demichev is on the island to try to restart them on a much larger scale, which could cause an unthinkable disaster. During the quest to stop Demichev, the player will have to deal with hostile Russian forces in both time periods, and the hideously mutated flora, fauna and former residents of the island, some of which have developed time manipulation power of their own.
Gameplay:
Singularity's main gameplay device is an artifact known in the game as the TMD (Time Manipulation Device). This device is powered by a very small E-99 core, and can manipulate timespace on a virtually limitless scale. The TMD can move an object backwards or forwards in time, attract something and hold it indefinitely, or send a pulse of energy that can stun or even kill enemies. The only weakness is that the TMD powers can be applied only to living beings or objects that have been in contact with E-99 (supposedly, almost everything on Katorga-12 is imbued with the element, but in practice, the TMD can only affect a limited set of objects like certain types of crates, tape recorders, barrels etc.). Some living beings, like the Spetsnaz Elite troopers who are covered in a heavy armor designed to repel E-99, are immune as well.
The TMD can also be used in conjunction with special power stations scattered across the island that greatly amplify its power. In some instances, the player can use this to restore entire ruined buildings or wrecked ships to their pristine state in order to progress. However, these major alterations are highly unstable and will begin to revert almost immediately, forcing the player to dash through the restored structures as they start to decay and collapse around him.
Last Words:
The downside, the upgrade systems for weapon and player are a bit perfunctory, although good enough to keep you ticking along. Also, like almost every FPS game ever made, there are times that you become acutely aware that you're running down a long mazy corridor with fireworks in it, spending a disproportionate amount of time collecting shiny objects. And some of the enemies are slightly annoying, like the knee-high exploding spider things.
Singularity has more to recommend it than simply being a polished, entertaining collection of well-executed clichés and set-pieces. It's the first game I've played in ages that realises first-person shooters can bundle in as much philosophy and as many moral dilemmas as they like, but fundamentally they're still about shooting monsters in the face, and so what it lacks in originality it makes up for in variety, pacing and exuberance. First-person shooters are always silly! Well done to Raven for making one that likes being silly.
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