Some shooters are about deep philosophical questions and compelling stories and characters.
But others are like Singularity. In those kinds of shooters, you blast everything that
moves and worry about the consequences later. This sci-fi first person shooter can feel
a little old, but boy is it ever fun. You get cool weapons to shoot, neat powers to
play with, and a few cool boss fights to cleanse your palate. And when you aren't blasting
nasty mutants to smithereens in the campaign, you're shooting them up in multiplayer. Or
even better, playing as one of them! Singularity is hardly the best looking shooter out there,
and it's a little glitchy. But it's also really enjoyable and a bit cheesy in the good way.
So grab a shotgun and start shooting.
So the setup is all sorts of nutty. As Nate Renko, you're sent to investigate an island
off the coast of Russia called Katorga 12. It seems the Soviets were up to some trouble
back in the 1950s. Using a newly discovered element, they were poised to give the united
states a run for world domination. But things didn't turn out so well and it's up to you
to change the course of history using a time manipulation device called the TMD attached
to your left arm. You jump back and forth from the present to the past, shooting hideous
mutated things and using the TMD to take care of business. It's all kooky nonsense but it's
the kind of crazy shooter fans can get behind. Besides, this is Raven Software, the folks
behind last year's Wolfenstein. And not only is Singularity crazier than that game... it's
also better.
A lot of the fun comes from your time manipulation powers. You can make enemy soldiers age in
a second, turning them into dust. You can drop a big time bubble that slows down everything
that comes inside it. You can let out a powerful shockwave to damage nearby enemies, and pick
up explosive barrels and throw them. Who needs a good reason for all this? It's super fun,
and it gives firefights a lot of variety. The game does a great job of mixing things
up and keeping the pace varied. Enemies react to different powers in different ways, and
set piece battles and boss make things even more diverse. You also use those powers to
solve puzzles. You slow down giant fans with your time bubble and put crumbled staircases
back together by reversing time, for example. A few of these puzzles are actually pretty
clever, if not exactly challenging.
The shooting action is really good. This is old school stuff, run and gun shooting with
a few interesting weapons thrown into the mix. One great weapon lets you steer your
bullet right into your target. The sniper rifle let's you slow down time, which leads
to some fun moments. Most of the weapons are old standbys, but they feel good to shoot.
Unfortunately, the visuals are also old school. This is not the best use of the Unreal 3 engine
you've ever seen. Textures are low resolution and you won't be blown away by the simple
lighting or simple animations. But the moody art design and some campy voice acting set
exactly the right tone. You might also notice the soldier AI, as human enemies get confused
when you flank. Or they might take cover on the wrong side of a barrier and turn their
backs to you. Some bugs may also get in the way. Animation glitches are common but not
much of a worry. Others, like having a boss spawn outside of the play area and forcing
a reload, are a little more bothersome. But for the most part, the shooting is a breeze,
and Singularity feels as you'd expect a well made old fashioned shooter to feel.
The variety spills over into the multiplayer side of singularity. There are only two modes
here. One is an assault and defend type mode called extermination, and the other is a team
deathmatch variant called creatures versus soldiers. Two modes doesn't sound like a lot,
but these are actually interesting twists on the usual class-based warfare you see in
other games. It's always creatures versus humans, and not only do you choose a class,
but you also select a few different perks to slot in. It's fun to play as a human, but
it's even more fun to run around as a creature. As one class, you can simultaneously harm
enemies and heal teammates by puking all over them. With another class, you can leap into
an enemies head and take over his body. Matches are set up in such a way where you get to
play as both human and creature, so things always stay fresh and interesting. Singularity's
multiplayer isn't as wildly entertaining as, say, Bad Company 2, but its different enough
to carve out its own place on the shooter landscape.
So let's say you like shooting guns in games. And let's say you like games that don't take
themselves too seriously. In that case, Singularity is for you. It isn't gonna set your world
on fire, and it's got its drawbacks, but it's so fun and so well paced that you probably
won't pay much attention them. Singularity isn't great because its innovative. It's great
because the solid mechanics and varied time manipulation abilities make it a blast to
shoot dudes in the face.