In Russia, Singularity plays you!

Another update folks! My impressions of games are flying on to my blog lately. So many games, so little time!

As I'm writing this piece, I have began playing Assassins Creed: Brotherhood and completed Call of Duty: Black Ops on veteran difficulty. Impressions of those games later on.

This weeks update is about Singularity.


Review

Played on: Xbox 360
Released: 2010

You may have missed Singularity. I sure as hell, almost, did. It was released quietly earlier this year. Strangely enough, I heard Activision weren’t happy with the sales of this release, but I blame them for not promoting it enough. It simply passed by me and only recently I picked it up for cheap.

Singularity takes place on the fictional island of Katorga-12, an earlier Soviet owned island. I doubt it exists in real life, but then again neither does the new super energy source the Soviets have found in the story either! The new element found, is called E99, and has given the Soviets enormous powers and abilities. 

The game is set in 2010, but there are many flashbacks to the Cold War and the development of E99. The story focuses on the concept of time travel, giving room for some great plot twists and scenarios along the way.

You arrive at the island as an US elite force, going to investigate what's happening there. However, a large explosion grounds the team and you are quickly stranded alone. I enjoy how it dares to put you alone, instead of with a gang of stupid A.I. teammates. more like the old-school shooters. It helps build the dark and creepy atmosphere all alone. You see, the island inhabitants aren't exactly human anymore!

To compare Singularity with other first person shooters, I'd say it’s a cross between Bioshock and Half-Life 2. Actually, I think that comparison is spot on. 

The story and atmosphere, combined with the juggling between traditional firearms in one hand and special abilities in the other is clearly borrowed from Bioshock. While the puzzle elements, are from HL2 and are all built around physics and the way you need to use the time and gravity element to change the environment. You can pick up objects to climb on and you can send objects back and forwards through time to either destroy or build them up.

This combination of shooting, against varied types enemies, combined with the storytelling, special abilities and environment puzzles, make a really solid game. While it never goes to the heights of Bioshock's complex story, or the depth of HL2’s gameplay, it does a great job of combining both. It was an unexpected experience for me and took me by surprise. The game even lets you collect E99 as a currency to buy upgrades and abilities, further giving the gameplay depth.

Overall, if you enjoyed Bioshock and Half-Life 2, I'd say that picking up Singularity is well recommended. The shooting is solid and should give experienced shooter game fans quite a challenge, but I wouldn't recommend it for people who simply play shooters for the action and gameplay alone. You need to understand the story, atmosphere and variation to really enjoy Singularity.

As with most shooters though, it is a short experience and you're really just getting into things when it’s over. I would have liked it being lengthier. Can’t shooters learn this from the Half-Life titles?!




I'll be back, in a short while, with my impressions of COD: Black Ops and maybe a look back at an old classic.

See you around!