Singularity (Xbox 360) Review - PAGE 1

Time travel, Russians, and audio logs define Singularity. You think those three things sound random? Try this game; if you’ve played it, then you know where I’m coming from. First and foremost, Singularity is a shooter with a twist, the twist being artful usage of time manipulation. The story follows Black Ops captain Nate Renko, who finds his training totally useless once he becomes stranded on the fictional island Katorga-12.

Katorga-12 is haunted by a horrible accident during the Cold War, caused by careless experimentation using the also-fictional Element-99 or ‘E99.’ A lengthy narrated montage brings you up to speed at the start of Singularity, so you won’t be totally lost once you’ve been dumped in Renko’s shoes. Basically, the Soviet Union was pushing its researchers to produce bigger and better weapons using their new ace in the hole, just so Stalin could flip the United States off.

Because the Umbrella Corporation hadn’t been established yet, Soviet Russia didn’t realize that science can be deadly. Most of the research island’s residents – civilians, scientists, and soldiers – are killed or transformed into flesh-eating monstrosities. The Soviets wipe the incident from the history books, and the whole thing’s been kept under wraps for decades, until the meddling United States noticed the anomaly in 2010. Renko and friends drew the short straw and are sent in for a closer look.

It doesn’t take long for our American hero to figure out the island is completely FUBAR, between reliving weird flashbacks and encountering the rabid, mutated population. Now Renko is stuck as the phantom population’s last hope, and he must save both present and future by rectifying the past.

One thing to remember is that Singularity plays heavily on concepts in time manipulation and travel. Renko repeatedly slips back into the ‘50s, and his actions there alter the present he returns to. The story is completely scripted, but observing the affects of your past actions is still satisfying. The earliest example is seeing a statue of Stalin change into another dictator after a brief excursion into the past.

At a glance, the plot is damn cool and makes perfect sense. Just don’t try to analyze it any further – it’s time travel. Locations along Katorga weakened by the E99 incident appear haunted, replaying the final moments its victims suffered.    Less compelling storytelling is done through countless notes and audio tapes, the latter bordering on ridiculous in number. You can expect to find notes in almost any environment, but clunky antique audio devices capturing the voices of frightened scientists and school children gets old and… weird. Singularity borrows much from BioShock in aesthetic and style, and I get that. But there is absolutely no incentive to listen to these recordings, except to set a spookier mood. Although relatively interesting to start, I found myself skipping over most of them before I was midway through the game.

The lack of subtitles certainly doesn’t help. Everyone in the game boasts a Russian accent, and while not authentic enough to give you trouble, subtitles should really have been included as an option. The current options menu is pretty minimal.

Combat, on the other hand, is absolutely and unbelievably fun, even joyful. All weapons and abilities revolve around E99. You’ve got your standard high-powered pistol, assault rifle, shotgun, sniper rifle, and heavy weapons, all accessible via weapon stations or scavenged from enemies. More exotic weaponry is found scattered around the environments, like the incredible ‘Seeker’ rifle with its large caliber ammunition; when firing at range, you’re given complete control of the bullet from a third-person perspective, letting you witness its gruesome effects up close.

Moving on, we have the TMD, short for ‘Time Manipulation Device.’ Worn over Renko’s left hand, it bestows powerful abilities upon our dear, confused protagonist. The starter melee attack (knife) is replaced by a high impact burst, and you gain access to Age/Revert, the ability to age objects and creatures back and forth. As you progress, upgrade stations will unlock more special abilities for the TMD, like manipulating objects with Gravity or slowing time using Deadlock. When used in combination with one another or your normal weapons, the results are both devastating and satisfying. Turn your enemies into dust or brainless mutants; one of my favorite tricks is yanking a hostile soldier’s shield away, and then throwing it back in his face. 

The campaign can end in one of three ways, based on Renko’s decisions in the game’s final moments. Multiple endings tend to be synonymous with replay value, but that isn’t the case with Singularity. You can easily experience all three endings by reloading the last checkpoint, since everything up until that point is already predetermined. 

Multiplayer is scant, to say the least, and feels like an afterthought hastily tacked on toward the end of production. The entire multiplayer experience is comprised of only three maps and two team-based modes that pit mutant monstrosities against human soldiers armed with TMDs. 'Extermination' involves capturing ponts on a map and holding them, while 'Creatures VS Soldiers' drops players in a standard team deathmatch. You've got weapons, perks, and team-specific classes to choose from, which are plenty fun to play as despite the somewhat steep learning curve. That I found the multiplayer entertaining is what makes its lack of content so tragic, and much potential remains untapped.  

Singularity has all the rough spots you’d expect from an IP, and yet I find myself enamored.   Epic boss battle, grotesquely beautiful backdrops, and some of the most amazing super powers you’ve ever seen in an FPS. The robust single-player effectively overshadows a lackluster multiplayer, though the latter could certainly be rectified with a bigger budget. Granted, Singularity won’t be ousting Acti’s current favorites, but it certainly deserves an extended lifespan.