For the last year or so, every FPS I have played has felt the same, publishers admired the success of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, and told their developers to emulate. Same old modern setting, same old linear levels, same old serious business attitude, same old everything. I have had enough of playing as a heroic marine in the present. Thankfully, Singularity came along, a game which feels like a breath of fresh air, something that is different with a good alternate atmosphere and narrative. But, isn’t afraid of just being plain stupid (in a good, enjoyable way).
Singularity is the first new IP from Raven in just over a decade. The game places you in the shoes of Captain Nathaniel Renko, who is a member of a US Black Ops team. Renko and his squad have been sent to the top secret Russian island ‘Katorga 12’, where crazy Russian scientists experimented with the rare Element 99. Of course with most Russian things in video games, these experiments went wrong and as a result the island is filled with teleporting mutants, dumbass zombies and angry Russian soldiers.
After the first hour or so you obtain the TMD (Time Manipulation Device). At the start of the game you will be able to:
- Open rifts in time so you can travel to the past and present.
- Pick up objects and throw them.
- Age/Rebuild objects/enemies.
- Inflict damage on enemies with impulse
At certain points in the game you will come across devices which will upgrade and add functionality to your TMD. I don’t want to spoil all of the upgrades but, I will share my favourite power with you. Deadlock is a power that requires a small charge, once charged you are presented with a glowing, transparent blue sphere. You aim with your reticule and shoot this sphere where you please; the Deadlock will explode on contact and create an area where time passes extremely slowly. My favourite use for this power is to get a mob of angry Russians or Zombies inside this slow time bubble, then switch to my shotgun and shoot each enemy in the face a few times. Once Deadlock expires, the consequences are initiated, and in most cases for me, a whole group of enemies will suddenly drop to the ground. It’s kind of corny but satisfying at the same time and very different.
A lot of puzzles are completed through the use of your TMD, it can include aging/rebuilding objects, moving objects, slowing down the movement of objects or a combination of those. Some of the puzzles do feel a bit contrived due to the constant reappearance of it (Aging box to fit under door, I’m looking at you!) but, the majority of the puzzles are satisfying and inventive.
You do not only have the TMD at your disposal to eliminate your opponents, it’s a Raven game there are going to be guns. You have your standard Assault Rifle, Shotgun and Pistol. The Sniper Rifle has mode where you can slow down time for small amount of time. This allows you to line up headshots on several enemies without any time to respond to your gunfire.
Raven has also included more interesting guns, such as the Seeker. The Seeker allows you to control the bullet while in flight; the gun appears in areas which you are usually heavily outnumbered. Of course while controlling the bullet, you are operating in a slowed down version of reality, so you are able to take out multiple enemies at once with the seeker. There is a gun that shoots spikes which explode after a short amount of time, a grenade launcher which has an alternate fire which allows you to control a rolling grenade.
The shooting itself feels very solid; it adopts the left trigger to zoom, click left thumb stick the sprint controls. Guns feel like they have a weight to them, and enemies are not bullet bags that soak up an immense amount of lead. There is a good wide range of enemy types, and thankfully there is only a few which you simply have to shoot in the face. Some are covered in heavy armour, some are blind and some shoot laser beams. The wide range of enemy types keeps the longer combat sequences fresh, as you are constantly adapting to execute on their shortcomings.
As you make your way around Katorga 12, you will come across various objects that you can interact with, either directly (akin to Oblivion) or by collecting them. The main collectable in this game is E-99 samples, which are also used for your currency when buying ‘Hero Perks’ or weapon upgrades. ‘Hero Perks are modifications to Renko which may include; more TMD energy, more health, longer Deadlock duration etcetera. You can also upgrade each weapons clip size, damage and accuracy with the use of the ‘Weapon Tech’ collectable.
While traversing the broken Russian islands landscapes, you will encounter Audio Logs and glowing messages written on the wall. The audio logs fill you in with a bit of back story to the area, they usually involve a Russian person mourning about the explosion that is about to happen or some other dreadful thing. The written messages are used to foreshadow the narrative, and work very effectively, they have you question characters real motives and end up leading to a clever twist. If you’re itching for your Russian propaganda video fix, Singularity has plenty of Russian Infomercials to keep you entertained.
The story is well written, with a good sense of direction and time-jumping mysticism. The game will take you about 10 to 12 hours depending on how much time you spend on collectables and Audio Logs. Raven have constructed Singularity in such a way that the game never loses your focus for a seconds, this is due to the well timed plot twists and introduction new mechanics. They also break up the puzzle sections and combat sections well, so you never feel like you have been shooting Russians in the face for two long, or vice versa.
For example, in one portion of the game you are given a helpful tip that the Zombie enemies in this area are blind. These zombies are also very strong, so there is no real point to try and run and gun every last one. You are forced to crouch and creep very slowly through the infested sewer; your desire for collectables is tested as they are resting very close to a group of blind deadly monsters, ready to beat the crap out of you.
Singularity also has really well done set-pieces, whether you be fighting a enormous monster, shooting Russians in the face in slow motion or using your power-grid driven TMD to revive giant items from the depths of the sea.
I really appriciate the look of the game, the graphics are good, they can illustrate a dark and dusty abondoned Russian school and can also show clean modern metallic labortories and rusty old sunken ships well. I have come to really appriciate the UI in games, I like the orange tint in the holographic menus and the occasional backwards letter, just to remind you that, you are on a Russian island.
The singleplayer campaign is the main focus Singularity but there is also a online multiplayer component. There are two game modes Creatures versus Soldiers, which is basically team deathmatch and Extermination, where creatures must control 3 points on the map and the Russian soldiers must do the opposite. In both game modes you will either be placed on the Soldiers or Creatures teams, both teams have 4 classes. As a soldier you are in possession of TMD device, which (depending on what class you have chosen) can be used to teleport, heal or protect. As a creature you can summon explosive barrels, vomit on people, climb on walls and possess enemy soldiers and shoot laser beams. You can also choose two of 8 perks before you respawn, perks include things like; increased speed, increased damage and quicker energy regeneration.
Both modes are enjoyable and include leader board support, but there is no persistent levelling system which would propel users forward and encourage them to play the Multiplayer more often.
The thing is, apart from most of the time manipulation most of the concepts and mechanics that exist in past games, Raven has just managed to combine all of these great concepts from less mainstream shooters and wrap a compelling narrative around it, and it works. Singularity is a polished product which is constantly mixing the gameplay up to keep your upmost attention, and is one of my favourite shooters of the last few years. If you enjoy the first person shooter genre, and particularly enjoyed games like Bioshock and Half-Life, buy this game you will enjoy it, it will be well worth the full retail price.